2016 NXT 22 vs. 2016 MB B52

Hey guys,

Looking for comments and opinions.

I ordered a 2016 Mastercraft NXT 22 and it comes in this week. I have not put anything down and have the right to refuse it. They just ordered one for stock the way I would option it out.

Price difference between the exact 2 boats I picked is only about $2K (MC is $2K more)

We mostly hang out 50%, surf 40%, wakeboard 10%

My thoughts so far....

MB Pros:
No stereo upgrade needed, 23', Raptor motor, flake gel coat(i like flake), better looking tower, bigger bimini, nicer interior

MB Cons:
3 year warranty, dealer 3 hours away, tower looks goofy

MC Pros:
5 YEAR WARRANTY, color screen, MasterCraft quality and resale value, ordered exactly how I like it, better dash, black trim around windshield

MC Cons:
Need to drop $5K+ on stereo, less factory ballast and no room for additional due to factory hard tanks, only 22', Bimini stupid looking and smalli, local dealer

I'm not sure anyone has posted about the NXT22, yet. Wasn't fond of the NXT20 I saw when I was at the MC/MB dealership. Any other boat in the MC line, I'd have to think long and hard about, but the NXT...I'd take the MB 23 all day long. No replacement for displacement (storage, ballast, length).

One boat is cheaper because it is a value line and they cut out all the expensive nice touches. The other is cheaper because they have lower overheads and marketing costs. I'll let you figure out which one is which

For what it's worth I heard the nxt wakeboard wake was small even with all stock ballast full.

Need to drop 5k on a stereo?? That would be one hell of a stereo, and about 5x better than any MB factory setup..... Also, what do you mean there is no room for additional ballast? There is enough room in the rear compartments, and bow, for at least 2500lbs more piggy backed in....

Bimini is crappy for sure.

One thing I can say about the NXT line, is that it gets trash talked by everyone that has zero experience with them, especially here. Nobody on wakeworld knows anything about the NXT22 yet. You are best off demoing both boats, when the time comes. Make your own decision. There are plenty of happy NXT20 owners out there. No reason why the NXT22 isn't a great boat. Is it an X-Series? No. That's why it costs 30% Less.

MB makes a great boat too. There isn't a single comment, that will be posted here, that is going to change the way you really feel after you give both boats a long and comprehensive demo........ But we do want to hear your thoughts!

mbs run indmar raptors, so the engine warranty should be 5 years like it is for all the other manufacturers.

mb will need supplemental ballast to surf well but with supplemental ballast it will surf as well as any manufacturer's flagship boat.

3 hours to dealer really means 6 hours unless your dealer does while you wait service. I bought an MB from a dealer 2 hours away (biggest MB dealer in California AFAIK), and learned quickly that if the warranty issue was something I could fix myself for $200 or less it was worth my time and gas money just to do it myself. I always got great warranty service when I needed it, but holy moly was it a pain taking it in and picking it up. Burned two days each time (one on drop, one on pickup).

We put 300 hours on our 2011 MB before I sold it last year and it held up very well. It was harder to sell than I expected though. They are rare boats that not that many people know about. The name Mastercraft will certainly make the NXT easier to flip in the future, especially if you are located outside of California (where MB is more well known).

@Fixable -- MBs have a pretty decent factory (Exile) system now. It's certainly worth $2500 as installed.

Originally Posted by shawndoggy

@Fixable -- MBs have a pretty decent factory (Exile) system now. It's certainly worth $2500 as installed.

Ah, gotcha. I didn't think the Fusion/JL system in the NXT was anything to sneeze at though..... Could stand maybe another amp, and 2 more cabin speakers. $1k investment would make it a fantastic system IMO. It starts with a pretty good base system.....

2016 Axis A22 and T22 has a 5 year warranty and will surf better than both of those boats. Oh and less $$$.

Originally Posted by Fixable

Need to drop 5k on a stereo?? That would be one hell of a stereo, and about 5x better than any MB factory setup..... Also, what do you mean there is no room for additional ballast? There is enough room in the rear compartments, and bow, for at least 2500lbs more piggy backed in....



Bimini is crappy for sure.



One thing I can say about the NXT line, is that it gets trash talked by everyone that has zero experience with them, especially here. Nobody on wakeworld knows anything about the NXT22 yet. You are best off demoing both boats, when the time comes. Make your own decision. There are plenty of happy NXT20 owners out there. No reason why the NXT22 isn't a great boat. Is it an X-Series? No. That's why it costs 30% Less.



MB makes a great boat too. There isn't a single comment, that will be posted here, that is going to change the way you really feel after you give both boats a long and comprehensive demo........ But we do want to hear your thoughts!

Shouldn't cost 30% less. Price should be more like 50%

The 2016 that I looked at and thought about purchasing came with PNP rear bags already on top of the hard tanks. It was a MC option that comes standard on the 22 supposedly. I believe they were 750's. Double check that. The 5 year warranty is huge...for piece of mind.

I like the other comment and agree that the new 2016 Axis T22/23 would be what I would go with. The price difference between the NXT and my 15 T23 that I ended up with was huge. But my dealer had the very first 16 NXT22 off the assembly line. They had it early June and as of a couple weeks ago, it was still sitting there. The Surf gate on Axis/Malibu is so much better than either of the MB or MC systems. Unless MB changed their system this year, you can go to the MB forum like I did before I purchased my new boat 6 weeks ago and read about all the owners that didn't like the factory surf system. I believe it is a fantastic wakeboard boat, but I don't wakeboard. Quality and fit/finish would be higher than the Axis for sure. Don't buy a boat from a dealer that far away. I had an engine oil leak that was there from the factory. Ended up being a brass fitting on the top of the engine block, but 7 quarts of oil later and a couple weeks to figure it out made me realize the value of a close/local dealer.

There's my .02 and I'm sure many will disagree.

Surf gate is good! Axis interior is not! My 12 MB interior is still nicer than the new axis in my opinion. And the last 15 boat show I was at in OKC the axis was $73k! That's not a good price compared to the MB...

You really should look at the MB F22. It surfs better straight out of the box than the two options you have thrown out there. After seeing and NXT in person I wonder why anyone would chose that over an MB - MB kills it in fit and finish.

But, if you really want to turn heads, get a Tige RZ2 and have yourself a real man's boat. LOL

Originally Posted by spikeTX42

You really should look at the MB F22. It surfs better straight out of the box than the two options you have thrown out there.

Evidence? Listed the 23 def owns the F22. With switch or gosurfassist? Sample size too small to say as far as I have seen. Big advantage of F22 seems to be clean wakeboard wake esp at lower speeds.

Just my input…. I spend a lot of time on multiple t22's, a t23, g25, and an mb b52 21. All 2015 model years. I agree that surfgate probably works the best out of all the surf systems ive been on. The amount of water slowed down delaying convergence just works the best. And it works really good when you have a heavy weighted down boat. The t22 is my favorite boat for quality and performance for both wakeboarding and surfing. The t23 is rad no doubt but this boat has a ton of bow rise. We have over 2k in weight just in the bow. The g25 is the party boat for sure. Aesthetically my favorite one but performance wise the worst. Its so big and buoyant that it just takes tons of weight to get the same results as the others. Surf wave is realatively short compared to the others and wakeboard wake is great but we have to ride fast. Not a fan of the digital tech that nautique and other high end boat mfgs are using bc its finicky and takes a minute to get everything dialed and set up right. Now on to the mb… best price hands down. Fit and finish is good compared to axis for the similar pricing…. The gen 2 surf system works good in my opinion… just takes quite a bit of extra weight… which every boat ive been on does… factory ballast is never enough

heres my opinion on nss and mb's switch surf systems… if you have too much weight in these boats sometimes….the water flows over the top of the surf device…. The mb to be honest is usually listed over still and not completely level.

All the boats are rad and all have their own pro/cons. Im pretty fortunate to ride on all of them and they are a rad .

Originally Posted by Fixable

Ah, gotcha. I didn't think the Fusion/JL system in the NXT was anything to sneeze at though..... Could stand maybe another amp, and 2 more cabin speakers. $1k investment would make it a fantastic system IMO. It starts with a pretty good base system.....

Eric, thanks for the input, but I think we have two different views on stereo systems.

We typically beach at huge party coves and have 20+ boats listening to our music. I need it LOUD, VERY LOUD!

Originally Posted by Fixable

Also, what do you mean there is no room for additional ballast? There is enough room in the rear compartments, and bow, for at least 2500lbs more piggy backed in....

There are hard tanks between the rear lockers and rear seats that prevent you from fitting a bag any larger then the factory 450lb bags that MC puts in when you get surf gate.

Yes, there is room in the bow

Originally Posted by 83Starsnstripes

2016 Axis A22 and T22 has a 5 year warranty and will surf better than both of those boats. Oh and less $$$.

I test drove a brand new Axis about 3 weeks ago.

The wake maybe great...

But I have never seen a Wake Boat put together so cheaply. Every panel on the interior was rattling and felt like it was about to come apart.

The dash looked like something off of a 80's golf cart

Build quality on the Axis is terrible

But if your number one concern is the wave, I can see where the Axis fills a niche.

Originally Posted by onetogofast

And the last 15 boat show I was at in OKC the axis was $73k! That's not a good price compared to the MB...

Man! the dealer in OKC is not even using any lube!

This one had a full Wet Sounds stereo

Originally Posted by shawndoggy

mb will need supplemental ballast to surf well but with supplemental ballast it will surf as well as any manufacturer's flagship boat.

The one I test drove had GSA and two additional 750's in each locker plumbed in from the factory

Ya if you wait for 2016, mb has a plug and play option available on there boats along with the gravity ballast. Huge plus! Ive got guys putting enzo sacs and 11oo's plumbed in on their 21 footers. Havent heard the official word yet but mb was entertaining the idea of using surf assist as their surf system. Gen 2 still works just fine. The one surf assist system we installed was on a 2009 21 tomcat and factory ballast just wasnt enough to make it worth talking about.

Originally Posted by tarek

Ya if you wait for 2016, mb has a plug and play option available on there boats along with the gravity ballast. Huge plus! Ive got guys putting enzo sacs and 11oo's plumbed in on their 21 footers. Havent heard the official word yet but mb was entertaining the idea of using surf assist as their surf system. Gen 2 still works just fine. The one surf assist system we installed was on a 2009 21 tomcat and factory ballast just wasnt enough to make it worth talking about.

Ummm yeah, all the 2016's at Texas MasterCraft have GSA on them, none have the Gen 2/2.5.

And they all have 750's plumbed into the factory dash switches, I think thats from MB