Who likes Lowrance or Garmin or Humingbird the best or the easy to work with?
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Who likes Lowrance or Garmin or Humingbird the best or the easy to work with?
I like Humminbird....easy to work and good customer service.
I like Humminbird I have several on my boat(4) they are kindly like the old timex watch. "They take a lickin and just keep on ticking" so instead of replacing one I just add another and use the older one just for GPS. To me the Birds are just (old man) user friendly. Once you learn one all of the other Humminbirds work pretty well the same. The one advice with any sonar that I can say is buy the biggest screen sonar you can afford.:twocents
I'm 'Bird man myself. Have 2 and had 4 previously. Geezer friendly!:biggrin
Lowrance here. Don’t have experience with the other 2. I’m still using Gn 2 T7 linked to Xi5. Got 2 dinosaur Lowrance paper graph chart plotters in storage.
Garmins customer service is top notch. I had no complaints with their product either.
Huminbird here.
LittleJohn
Like my Garmin.
I have HB and Lowrance I like the lowrance better but have had it longer so may like the bird better after I use it more.
Garmin here....simple to use.
Garmin for me. I'm sure the other brands are good. But I prefer Garmin due to quality and easy to use
'birds, but mostly because I've never used anything else
Quote:
Originally Posted by wannabe fisherman
Amen...I'm getting old enough to stop fixing what ain't broke. My MEGA unit does all I need and more, so no need to complicate things.
Really like my Garmin 7SV but I'm interested in a finder that only shows fish in their feeding mode!
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Me too Drfishduck let me know if you find one [emoji23]
I have a lot of trouble working thou my Lowrance Elite 9ti
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My fishing buddy has every brand on his boat: Humminbird, Lowrance, Garmin, and Raymarine. If you are going by the graphics, the Raymarine has the best 2d and down imaging i have seen. Now I'm not sure about how easy it is to setup, but I would guess that if he is using it then it is probably pretty easy! If i didn't already have a bird then I would have gotten a Ray.
What are you looking for in a finder? What is most important to you? My experience is with Humminbirds (on my fishing partner's boat) and Garmin (on both our boats).
He has Helix 10s (three of them) and a Garmin SV93 Plus. I run a Garmin 93SV Plus and he brings his Garmin with Liveview on my boat.
Humminbird: Great units and have the best sideview. Much more complex to setup and use than Garmin. Has Humminbird 360 available but that is not even CLOSE to Garmin's Liveview. Has a software issue that Hummingbird is aware of giving false depth readings in shallow water (less than 8 to 10 feet.). Not fully resolved yet even though they published a "fix" update.
Garmin: Much simpler interface. That's not necessarily a bad thing because it is extremely easy to get good results fast without much tweaking. Good side view but not quite up to Humminbird's yet. Easy to interface multiple units. The very best thing about it is Garmin's Liveview. This adds considerable cost but dang, it is amazing. Like video game fishing. My partner has his set up as a mobile unit and we use it on his boat and mine. Amazing technology and neither Humminbird nor Lowarance even comes close.
Decide what is important to you and go for it.
Tom
I had Lowrance for years but moved over to the Humminbird recently and love it. I think Lowrance takes a little more knowledge to set up than the bird.
Switched from birds to garmin here. I was happy with both actually, just like the advancements that garmin is rolling out.
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I can use any of 'em, but my boats are wired Lowrance and I can't see rewiring for another brand. These things are smarter than most users anyhow. I use all auto features including auto networking. Why complicate life?
You and me both!!Quote:
Originally Posted by DRFISHDUCK
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I’m no expert and don’t have the others
But like my Garmin with the touch screen.
Love the image quality and navigation ability
It was actually easier to learn how to use than I expected
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I don't think there is one that is much easier than the others to use. They all have a learning curve.
I will say that I like the Garmin UI the best, but I hate their power connectors. Always falling out. Lowrance has a screw lock which is best IMO. Had it happen on the Bird a couple times too.
Have lowrance and humminbird on my boat,but like lowrance better.Both are good though if you learn how to use them.I would say 90%of the guys i know dont have a clue how to use them.If i wasnt gonna spend the time to learn to use it i wouldnt buy one,just my opinion.
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Me too. Just got the Panoptix package for ice. Gonna transfer it to the boat after ice season and I get one of those ducer mounts from my buddy Mark Ridl. Cornfield crappie gear.Quote:
Originally Posted by nnelzon23
Which unit do you have?Quote:
Originally Posted by Atimm693
I had plus units, they had screw on connectors. Never had a problem with them falling out.
I like lake master contour maps better than any I use. I use a bird because it is what I have learned to use. If I was buying a new one today I believe it would be a Garmin Pan Optics
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One thing I have not seen mentioned is I like the SI on the birds for sure but the biggest thing is I have gotten to where I fish more smaller waters and rivers and the Birds ability to make contour maps while I am fishing of these places that have no maps available is awesome for repeat trips to these lakes and for finding areas that I want to try.
The mapping capability is built in on the Birds and the unit has a certain amount that can be stored in the onboard memory but the purchase of a zerolines mapping card gives pretty much unlimited capacity mapping wise and the maps once stored on the zero lines card can be switched between units.
Just a worthwhile feature on the Birds you do not see mentioned often.
Garmin has self-mapping too. And not only that, you can upload the maps to their site and other people can download them.Quote:
Originally Posted by vfourmax
Tom
Can do that with the birds as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by T_om
Striker 7SV and 5DV. Guess they don't get the good connectors, it's an annoying issue.Quote:
Originally Posted by skunked again
I think they all have their good and bad points, personaly I run an old Lowrance right now and I,m due for a new one and not really sure which one to go with myself.
Garmjn here. Very simple to use. I like the mount on the echomaps, so easy to pop off the head unit and store to keep it safe.
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Really debating getting the Garmin Strikers, but, I really want the option of a map chip. I know chartplotting can get you from A to B easily, but, I also like the idea of not having to rely on Google Earth to get ideas for my next run.
Garmin customer service is top notch. I had no complaints with their product either. I have ran Lowrance and Bird and since I started using Garmin I will not go back. easy to use., it is usable right out of the box.
That has crossed my mind a lot as well. For now I am just going to rig up a cheap tablet in the boat with the Navionics app. About as cheap as boat navigation gets.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dschouest42
My Strikers will store waypoints well enough. Navionics will show fish attractors and contour maps.
they even have upgrades to their GPS to software at Bass Pro.