Humminbird 398ci SI combo for kayak, thoughts?

[wahanlin]

Hey guys. I've been looking into a good handheld gps for marking spots and uploading contour maps too, and realized that I was going to spend more money than I wanted to get a good one. I noticed that on Amazon, they have the 398ci SI combo for only $320, not a heck of a lot more than I would have ended up spending on a good handheld gps. I am not in a position to get this today, but may in the next few weeks. Do any of you have advice with the 398? It would be a big upgrade from the humminbird pirhanamax portable depthfinder i'm using now.

I will be fishing from a kayak, and am hopefully going to upgrade my yak by this time next year.

Is it possible to upgrade the head unit later on down the road if i want a bigger screen, without paying the full cost of another gps/fishfinder unit?

Is the screen size big enough to easily work with the 398?

Thanks

[Humminbird_Greg]

Humminbird does not normally sell control head units only. We do sell a “CHO” version of some units but all that means is it comes with everything except for the transducer.

[wahanlin]

I see. Thanks Mr Greg. What do you think about the HB 398, as opposed to saving a little more and getting a 598?

[Vik3]

For kayak HB 398 for $320 is a very good chose. I am happy with my HB 385 with SI transducer for my pontoon boat. I use cheap Chinese battery for $20 just half a pound of weight for 6-7 hours of working. It keeps sonar records with no problems, and you can review all the records several times with bigger speed in any views any modes on it in the boat or on the bank, and also on a big computer screen. With HB 598 you will not get any visible advantages, but it will weigh and cost two and a half times more. Actually price is not critical, but weight of batteries and size of whole assembly. IMHO.