Posted on February 16, 2022
MAITLAND, Fla. — Feb. 14, 2022 — Bonnier has revealed the winners of its second-annual Best Elex Awards, which honors standout marine electronics and technology products that have been reviewed and approved by the editorial team behind the leading titles in marine media: Boating, Yachting, Cruising World, Marlin, Sailing World, Sport Fishing and Salt Water Sportsman.
Over the course of two months, the nominees were evaluated by a Bonnier team of seven judges, including the editors-in-chief and electronics editors of all these iconic boating, fishing and sailing brands. In the eyes of this expert jury, six new products set themselves apart.
The 2022 Elex Award winners are:
Editors’ Choice: Raymarine Cyclone
Leading-Edge Technology: Garmin SurroundView
Best in Entertainment: Garmin Fusion Apollo Series Amplifiers
Best Integrated System: Raymarine YachtSense
Most Innovative for Sailing: Balmar Battery Monitoring
Most Innovative for Power: Yamaha Battery Management System
The judges selected Raymarine’s new Cyclone for the top Elex, the Editors’ Choice Award. Next-level design and the ability to weather the toughest conditions stood out to the judges as premier features of this new radar series. They summed up their decision with these comments: “While the open-array grabs your attention first, the Raymarine Cyclone radar backs up its stylish design with a high level of functionality that includes excellent target definition, great power, Doppler target tracking, an advanced dual-range feature, highly effective bird mode, a high-RPM setting and more.”
Docking can be a harrowing experience, but the new Surround View Camera System from Garmin minimizes that anxiety and boosts boater confidence by giving captains a clear view of their surroundings in crowded marinas and harbors. The judging panel agreed that this product is a game-changer, which earned it the 2022 Elex Award for Leading-Edge Technology.
Garmin took home a second Elex Award for its new Fusion Apollo Series Amplifiers, judged to be ground-breaking in Entertainment for ease of installation and tune-free functionality. The judges concluded: “More impressive than a moonshot, Apollo amps ease installation and setup of marine audio amplifiers.”
Raymarine was also a double winner in this year’s Elex Awards competition; its new YachtSense systems of modules earned the company the honor for Best Integrated System. All the judges characterized Raymarine’s digital-switching system as a remarkably commonsense approach to cleanly managing ship’s systems such as lighting, pumps, windlasses, entertainment systems, generators and air conditioning. They praised YachtSense as scalable and customizable, and suitable for boats as small as 35 feet.
The judges gave the Elex Award for Most Innovative for Sailing to the Balmar SG230/235 Battery Monitors, commenting that “Captains can access battery information with Balmar’s monitors using a smartphone app. This has tremendous appeal for sailors who don’t always want to run a chart plotter to check their power supply.” The judges also liked the product’s ability to monitor lithium batteries, which is unique to the market. Of course, this is not just a sailboat win; powerboaters can also appreciate the SG230 and SG235’s NMEA 2000 networking capability.
The final Elex Award went to the new Yamaha Battery Management System, named as Most Innovative for Power. The judges said: “Yamaha’s new battery management system simplifies rigging, saves money, reduces weight, and facilitates easier service of multi-outboard-powered boats, proving once again that less is more.”
The Elex Award judges noted a theme throughout this year’s new products: a focus on making everyone’s life—from boater to builder—easier. For more information about the 2022 Best Elex Awards and all of the new marine electronics and technology products reviewed by the editors of Boating, Yachting, Cruising World, Marlin, Sailing World, Sport Fishing and Salt Water Sportsman, visit the brand sites or Bonnier’s comprehensive resource: bestmarineelectronics.com.
Click here for an image: Best Elex 2022
About Bonnier Corp.:
Bonnier Corp. is an American outdoor-adventures company with a broad portfolio of iconic media brands and experiential events. Notable brands include Boating, Yachting, Cruising World, Sailing World, Marlin, Sport Fishing and Salt Water Sportsman, among others. Bonnier Corp. is owned by Sweden-based Bonnier AB, a globally operating media conglomerate.
