Though both Minn Kota Talons and Power Poles are shallow water anchors, they use very different techniques to accomplish the goal of anchoring your boat. After reading this article, you will be able to choose which one best suits your preferences. Shallow water anchors are not a cheap investment, so we want you to make the best purchasing decision possible.
Let’s find out which one is best for you by directly comparing some features and the pros and cons side by side.
Table of Contents
Power Pole Features Vs. Minn Kota Talon Features
| Power Pole | Minn Kota Talon | |
| Multiple Depths | Yes | Yes |
| Drive off Protection | Yes | Yes |
| Work Lights | No | Yes |
| Remote Use | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple Colors | Yes | Yes |
| Compare Prices Online: | Check the Current Price | Check the Current Price |
Hydraulically Driven Vs. Electrically Driven
The main difference between these two shallow water anchors is the Power Pole design is hydraulically driven while the Minn Kota Talon is electrically driven. Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages, which one is best for you?
1/ What is hydraulically driven?
The Power pole is hydraulically driven, meaning it uses hydraulic fluid pressured into or out of a cylinder to raise and lower the spike. This means you will have a hydraulic pump and fluid on board the boat connected to the battery to power your Power Pole.
2/ What is electrically driven?
The Minn Kota Talon is electrically driven, meaning it uses an electric motor to drive the spike straight down. The electric motor adds more weight to the shallow water anchor.
Talon Vs. Power Pole: Breaking it Down
This section will consist of a more in-depth look at the features and which shallow water anchor offers the highest quality. While both brands accomplish anchoring in shallow water, the differences begin to stand out when compared side by side.
How to use a shallow water anchor?
Using a shallow water anchor is as simple as pressing a button. Both brands offer simple functionality.
Once you have found the spot you want to fish and have come close to stopping, you can deploy your shallow water anchor. Ensure you are in shallow enough water for your anchor to reach the bottom and enjoy staying anchored in one location.
How do they work?
The Minn Kota Talon drives a spike straight down using an electric motor with the press of a button. It raises the spike back up with the press of a different button. You can use a remote, mobile app, Hummingbird fish finder, foot switch, or the controls on the Talon itself to raise and lower the shallow water anchor.
The Power Pole presses a spike down using a hydraulic pump and cylinder with the press of a button. The spike raises back up with the press of a different button on the remote, mobile app, or footswitch.
Affordability
The prices are nearly identical when compared side by side, with the Minn Kota being slightly less expensive for the same depth.
Alternatives
There are several less expensive alternatives to shallow water anchors. However, the other options will be more of a hassle and labor-intensive. You can purchase push poles that you manually push into the bottom to anchor your boat.
A traditional anchor is another alternative, but the boat may sway more than other shallow water anchors. If you have a trolling motor with Spot-Lock using, that is better than nothing, but you will not be locked into place like you will be when using a Power Pole or Minn Kota Talon.
Multiple Depths
Both brands offer models in varying sizes. However, one brand offers models that will anchor at deeper depths to give you a more comprehensive range of use for your money. Having an anchor that can be used in deeper depths provides the angler with an advantage.
Power Pole
Power Pole offers shallow water anchors ranging from 4’ to 10’ depths, depending on your purchase model. If you have the 10’ anchor, you can anchor your boat in water 10’ deep or less.
Minn Kota Talon
The Minn Kota Talon is offered in 4 different depth ranges depending on the model you purchase. You can get an 8’, 10’, 12’, or 15’. So the Minn Kota Talon will anchor in deeper water than the Power Pole.
Winner: Minn Kota Talon because it can anchor in 5’ deeper water than the Power Pole.
Drive Off Protection
Both brands offer drive-off protection of sorts, but which one is best? This ensures you don’t drive off with the anchor down and break it. Sometimes anglers can get in a hurry and forget to raise the anchor. This feature helps to remind the angler.
Power Pole
Drive-off protection is a feature offered by Power Pole. You won’t have to worry about driving off and breaking your power pole unless you try to break it.
Minn Kota Talon
The Minn Kota Talon will alert you if the Talon is deployed with a Deployment Notification Alarm.
Winner: It’s a tie! Both brands offer a warning or protection against driving off while the anchor is still deployed.
Work Lights
Whether you’re working late at night in the back of your boat or rigging early in the morning before you launch, having a work light or two comes in handy. So which brand sets itself above the other with this feature?
Power Pole
Because of how Power Pole has designed its shallow water anchor, it cannot have a work light integrated into the product.
Minn Kota Talon
Minn Kota Talons have a work light at the top of the Talon. Talons offer three brightness settings of white and blue lights.
Winner: Minn Kota Talon comes standard with a work light and a variety of settings.
Remote Use
The option to deploy the shallow water anchor with a remote means less moving around on the boat so that you won’t scare off as many fish.
Power Pole
The Power Pole comes standard with two wireless remotes and access to the free app to control your Power Pole. You can also purchase a wireless foot switch to place wherever you’d prefer.
Minn Kota Talon
When you purchase a Minn Kota Talon, it comes with two wireless remotes and a free mobile app. You have the option to buy additional ways to control your Talon, such as select Hummingbird depth finders, wireless foot switch, and I-Pilot remotes.
Winner: It’s a tie! Both come with multiple remotes and have additional ways of controlling your shallow water anchor.
Multiple Colors
As superficial as it may seem, matching the color of your anchor to your boat helps you feel good. If you feel good, you fish good, so having multiple color options is vital to better fishing!
Power Pole
You can purchase a Power Pole in four colors: white, black, red, and blue.
Minn Kota Talon
You can purchase a Minn Kota Talon in 5 different colors depending on the model you choose, white, black, red, blue, and silver.
Winner: It’s a Tie! Both brands come in multiple colors so that you can match your boat.
Final Recount
Both brands were neck and neck, but one managed to edge out the other in the selected features.
Power Pole won ⅗ Features.
Minn Kota Talon won 5/5 features. Making it the winner of the features section of this article. Let’s move on to the pros and cons to see if the Power Pole can make up the little bit of lost ground.
Power Pole Vs. Minn Kota Talon Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons | |
| Power Pole |
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| Minn Kota Talon |
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Final Verdict
When it comes to Power Pole vs. Minn Kota Talon, either one is better than none. It ultimately comes down to your preferences. For us, the winner by a narrow margin is the Minn Kota Talon. It offers more features at a less expensive price. Both brands offer high-quality products at similar price points.
Though they accomplish the job in different ways, they both anchor in shallow water. It’s now time for you to decide. After the facts have been presented to you, which one do you think is best?
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