Lowe Stinger 195 vs Lowe Stinger 175 vs Ranger 178C

Ok, so I'm hopeful you guys can give me some of your vast experience and opinions.

Looking at getting a boat. Don't have a huge budget as it wont be something I'm using (currently) weekly. Looking to go in with my 75 year old father on a crappie boat. But do want something pretty good just not over the top for what we're doing.

First off we'll be fishing mainly in Lake Eufaula, Ok with the occasional trip to Lake Texoma and some other lakes, but 90% of the time on Lake Eufaula. (I'm also going to ask this same question on the Lake Eufaula forum).

Typically we'll fish out of our Pontoon boat as it does have 2 bow seats on a fishing platform and a live well, but as you can imagine it's not the best "fishing" boat. It's mainly just something we take out for the kids and dogs etc to cruise around.

Today I ran up to Cabela's and they are running some really great pricing on Lowe Boats because they will no longer be Lowe dealer with the merger/acquisition with Bass Pro.

They had the following:

Lowe Stinger 175 with a Merc 60, Motorguide X3 70 Trolling Motor and it has that interior that is the spray in like a rhino spray. $17,200 comes with cover, trailer and a single Hook 5X
Lowe Stinger 195 with the Merc ProXS 115, same Trolling Motor, Carpet, and everything else basically the same $22,500
Ranger 178C with same electronics, same engine as the Lowe 175 etc etc. Frankly it's the same thing as the Lowe for hardware, electronics, but nicer seats and of course a Ranger.


Question; best option of the listed above? the Lowe 195 priced on their website as built at Cabelas is about 7K more, but the cabela's price is low because they wont be carrying Lowe any longer.

Thoughts?

biggest boat that fits your budget. Then you will still wish you went bigger

I’d go with the 195, purely because of the size and stability. Lowe makes a great boat, as does ranger, but I bet the ranger is pretty close to the price of the 195 if I was going to guess. That’s not a knock on the Ranger at all, it’s a fantastically nice boat, but I would go as big as I could afford.


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I’ve got the Lowe 195. It’s plenty big for me. Very stable, big enough for two bugs guys up front spider rigging. Never felt unsafe in rough water


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195

I think you will love a 195. I have owned a 180 with 115 opti for 10 years and I've fished it almost 800 times and love the boat. No problems to speak of. I can only imagine the 195 is that much better with more storage and ride comfort. I love my front livewell for crappie fishing.

I personally wouldnt buy a Lowe. Had a buddy with a brand new 195 stinger. We were prefishing Grenada and some how the welded seam split where the hull starts swooping up.
It was about a 12" split. We were fishing and turn around and look and there was about 3" of water in the floor of the boat. We went and found a boat shop. they welded it up. We salvaged the tournament. He ended up sending it back to Lowe multiple times. He ended up with a new boat. But I wouldnt wast my time with Lowe. I bought a brand new SeaArk it was a great boat but I ended up selling it. I found a 2005 Ranger 620vs used with 40 hrs on it. I was gonna sell it. But I have decided to keep her. My advice is for the money you will spend on a new aluminum boat. you could a really nice used fiberglass boat. With all the trials and tribulations I have been through on the water. I would rather be in a heavy fiberglass boat. Nothing worst than being in an aluminum boat and a serious storm hits. Get's sketchy getting back to the boat ramp.

Sounds like bad luck to me. I’ve beat the snot outta my 2014 195 stinger and haven’t had any problems. I’ve been on water I shouldn’t have been and had to take it slower getting back to the ramp but never felt unsafe. Sometimes it just luck of the draw


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I loved my lowe bought it new in 1997 sold it about a month ago and ordered a new boat. I would never hesitate to own another lowe

For just fishing out of it every now and then your probably OK with a Lowe. But if you get serious about tournament fishing there will so many things you have to fo to it to make it really fishable. The front deck on those are made of really light gauge metal. Alot of creaking and popping goes on. Plus you get blown around on the water like a leaf. If you only fish when conditions are ideal your probably Ok. I am not a professional by any means. I am just sharing my experiences.