I ride 100% salt water. A few years back my business was doing well so I was fortunate enough to be able to ride a lot, averaging 3 times a week. I had heard how well the Skat Trak Mag pumps work in the surf so I picked one up. At that time the Solas Mag was not yet available. I loved the Mag pump, my ski would hook up through the white water of a wave just like I was riding in glass. Unfortunately, after only about 6 months the bearings started to sing so I sent it back to Glen at Skat Trak to inspect and rebuild it. The bill was $500! Oh well no ever said this sport was cheap and I got my amazing pump back. Another 6 months go by and the bearings are starting to sing again. I was frustrated because I had just spent $500 not to long ago. I pulled the pump to send it back to Glen again and discovered not only were the bearings going bad but that the Aluminum pump housing had completely split from the SS Stator section due to electrolysis. The repair bill this time was over $700! $1200 in repairs in less than a year was too rich for my pocket book, so I decided that even though I loved the pumps performance, it just didn't hold up well enough in Salt water use to be worthwhile. I switched back to my OEM Yamaha pump and have never had a pump problem since. That was over two years ago. I'm not sure if I had a defective Mag pump, or if Glen was just gouging me or a little of both but it left a really bad taste in my mouth concerning Skat Trak. I would love to run another Mag pump in my ski again, however this time I will go with the Solas. A new Solas is less than what I paid on just one of my two repair bills from Skat Trak. Plus since the Solas is all SS it cannot get any electrolysis damage. I've heard about the Solas having bearing problems but my Skat did too and at least with the Solas the causes have been identified and corrected. When it comes to salt water riding, going with the Solas is a no Brainer
