I did a ton of research on both Lowrance and Humminbird for a big screen sonar/GPS unit for my big lake cruiser. It really did become a Ford/Chevy thing. My brother-in-law has a Lowrance and loves it. I bought a Humminbird 898c HD. I had trouble from the git go in deep (over 80') water. Humminbird customer service was top notch...advice, new transducer, and eventually a new head unit. As it turned out the trouble was in the wiring. I was getting interference at the dash where the power line from the unit connected to to fused board. Had it rewired directly to the batteries at the transom and it worked fine. I "heard" that Lowrance customer service was poor. I think both companies make great units, very comparable in many ways. I do own several small (one portable) Huminbird "fish finders" for my other boats..LOL...and they are super little units. One other comment. IF you get a side imaging unit, consider that the transducer MUST be mounted low enough to prevent the lower unit on your boat motor from blocking one side's signals. That is the case with the IO on my cruiser. The transom mounted transducer is blocked from sending/receiving signals on the port side because the lower unit is down and blocks it out. I could have opted for a through-hull transducer but didn't like the idea of cutting a hole in the bottom. If you're looking for a front (trolling motor) mount, what I just said is moot. I hope this helps you out. Good luck!