I have the Wilderness Systems Ride 115X Advance Angler and have been very happy with it. It is safe reliable and the "Advance Angler" model comes pre-rigged with some fishing gear.

I bought mine from LL Bean (can't beat their service) and while usually it is more than $1000 I had gotten an e-mail they are running a sale right now so when I read your post I went and checked the price and they currently have it on sale for 20% off which brings it just under $1000. You really can't beat that price for the quality and features.

I don't know how long it will be on sale but they do run sales periodically if you wanted to wait closer to Christmas, but not always with that large a discount.They do have other brands and models that are less expensive as well if that one is still more than you wanted to spend.

Here is a link to the one I reverenced above. Good Luck, I'm sure your son will love whichever you end up deciding to get him. That is an awesome gift!

http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/81895...Value_0=Desert Camo&productId=1373313