TRYING TO GET AN IDEA WHAT TO BUY
LOOKING TO GET A NEW ONE
Printable View
TRYING TO GET AN IDEA WHAT TO BUY
LOOKING TO GET A NEW ONE
Depends on how much you want to spend. One thing I've learned is color and large screen are important. Color makes it easier to pick out objects on the screen and just like watching TV, the larger the screen the more detail you can see. This is especially true if you have a combo GPS/DF.
A few years back, I bought a HB 350 combo and with a 3.5" screen, when you split between the GPS and sonar you need a magnifying glass to see anything. It was a good unit and functional, just hard to make out.
I now have a Lowrance HDS7 touchscreen and it is a real joy to use, but even the 7" starts to shrink if you put 3 screens up at once.
HB has just rolled out their Helix series of DF and you can get a pretty decent 5" screen DF/GPS combo in the $250 to $300 range. That is not chicken feed, but it is a lot cheaper than what that would have cost you a couple of years ago. I paid more than that for the 350 I mentioned above back about 6 years ago.
Yep, I'm liking the HDS7 touchscreen. Only had it 2 months now, but so far so good.
I'm still running an ancient Lowrance LMS 522 but as long as it keeps working then I'll keep using it. I would love having one of them 7" screens though. Maybe one of these days I guess......
I've got humminbird 999 and lowrance elite 7.
Which does the best job giving you the most confidence that what youre seeing is actually fish? Do you like the buttons best on the HB or the Lowrance?Quote:
Originally Posted by Saludariverman
Check them all before buying one. It's what you'll need to be happy with and use. Ray says it all in his post screen and color makes a big difference. :highfive
To be honest they both do a good job marking fish and bait on both 2d and down imaging. But the humminbirds got side imaging which I'm still learning to use. The lowrance is way more user friendly only a few buttons easy to get the hang of. But I will say I didn't take me long to get use to the humminbird. The HB 2d is a lot grainier if that's even a word like a old nitendo game but it has better down scan views of structure.
Lowrance elite for me. Money well spent!
I still use a Lowrance X27c (2009 model). Thinking of upgrading soon. Have been told if getting a side scanning unit, that minimum practical screen size is 9 inches. Buddy of mine just got a 10 in HB Onix, and he really likes it for striper fishing, especially in open deeper waters. Depends on one's budget. You can put yourself in the poor house buying FFs these days. I'll probably go with another Lowrance unit just so they share info well.
i use a hds 8 by lowrance and love it. i might know where there is a lowrance 7 . a friend of mine bought it new used it once and bought a 12 and took the 7 off and put back in box. if you are interested let me know and i will see what he wants for it .