Price + Mirage Drive 180 Turbo Fins

I see the MD180 as a mediocre solution to an imaginary problem.

I see the MD180 as a mediocre solution to an imaginary problem.

There is nothing mediocre about this solution. The struggle was real.

Great thread with a lot of helpful info and insights.  Thanks guys.

I'm going to wait a bit before pursuing my 180 drive, but as soon as it came out I started counting the times I could've used it during a typical day OTW.  For certain applications such as casting towards banks, vertical jigging on individual marks on the depthfinder, vertical fishing tight to docks/log booms/kelp forests, and side-drifting/boondogging in rivers, I could see the reverse feature getting a LOT of use.  For basic trolling applications and open-water drift fishing over structure, maybe not so much.  So depending on your style of fishing, you may or may not have much use for this feature.  I know I fall in the former group, and others fall in the latter.  I do know that one of my chief complaints with Hobie drives over the years has been the lack of a reverse feature, and I'm glad to see they're attempting to address that concern.

Guys who currently have the 180 drives, I'd appreciate if you continue posting your thoughts about them and your likes/dislikes.  More positive reviews might tempt me to bite the bullet sooner and get one of my own  .

It looked like Adam put his to good use last week when we were out. It very useful to me.

Great thread with a lot of helpful info and insights.  Thanks guys.

I'm going to wait a bit before pursuing my 180 drive, but as soon as it came out I started counting the times I could've used it during a typical day OTW.  For certain applications such as casting towards banks, vertical jigging on individual marks on the depthfinder, vertical fishing tight to docks/log booms/kelp forests, and side-drifting/boondogging in rivers, I could see the reverse feature getting a LOT of use.  For basic trolling applications and open-water drift fishing over structure, maybe not so much.  So depending on your style of fishing, you may or may not have much use for this feature.  I know I fall in the former group, and others fall in the latter.  I do know that one of my chief complaints with Hobie drives over the years has been the lack of a reverse feature, and I'm glad to see they're attempting to address that concern.

Guys who currently have the 180 drives, I'd appreciate if you continue posting your thoughts about them and your likes/dislikes.  More positive reviews might tempt me to bite the bullet sooner and get one of my own  .

You nailed it.

I can't wait to use the 180 boondogging for American shad.

Has Hobie announced the release of the actual drive already?

The reason I'm asking is I bought a couple of Hobie's in November 2016 from Adventure Sports and during the time of purchase they said if I bring the V2 drive in I can pay $200 for the MD180 and trade up. I called Adventure Sports today and they said Hobie hasn't released them yet and will be 1-2 more months? When I bought the kayaks they said March 2017.

PS: I was given $150.00 store credit for each yak so I'm just paying the additional $100 bucks + (2) V2 drives for the MD180 drives.

I'm in the same boat.  I was waiting for March 2017 to trade in and pay the up charge to upgrade my Drive from August purchase of my PA12.   I guess you're telling me It's now May. 


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I can't wait to use the 180 boondogging for American shad.

Let me know how that goes!  With all the rivers in my new area, I really want to use my Hobie on the larger ones and boondogging is one of my favorite river fishing methods.  Those bites feel so vicious  .

I am really hoping Hobie offers a full conversion kit to keep the cost reasonable.  No way am I buying a new 180 Drive by itself. 

After people get some miles on their 180 drives, I'd like to know:

a) How well does it hold up under harsh conditions (salt, sand, grit)?
b) How noisy is it, compared to the non-180?

It seems to me, with more moving parts, there's a greater chance that the 180 drive won't be as robust as the non-180. And, I really, really hate a squeaky/noisy mirage drive---more moving parts, seems like more chance for those annoying noises...

Has Hobie announced the release of the actual drive already?

The reason I'm asking is I bought a couple of Hobie's in November 2016 from Adventure Sports and during the time of purchase they said if I bring the V2 drive in I can pay $200 for the MD180 and trade up. I called Adventure Sports today and they said Hobie hasn't released them yet and will be 1-2 more months? When I bought the kayaks they said March 2017.

PS: I was given $150.00 store credit for each yak so I'm just paying the additional $100 bucks + (2) V2 drives for the MD180 drives.

I bought mine at Adventure Kayak as well.


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^ is this a universal deal or just you? Man I just bought 2016 revo 11 from them December..=(

^ is this a universal deal or just you? Man I just bought 2016 revo 11 from them December..=(

Call and ask them! The worst that can happen is that they will say no.