OT: fish finders
- Thread starter siebo454
- Start date
I don't think you can side imaging in the 300 dollar range. Your probably looking at a 5" screen. It really comes down to preference of brand between hummingbird or lowrance. Personall, I like the lowrance and would get an hds or chirp model. The 7" chirp was on sale for 399 last week in Cabelas when I was in there.
+1. The Lowrance 7" chirp for that price would be a great place to start. Just bought a used fishing boat with one on it. Really looking forward to putting it to use.
I purchased a Humminbird a couple years back and really like it. Even if you don't want side or down imaging, I recommend getting a model with GPS if one is available in your price range? I got caught in some very bad weather on a Canada trip and the GPS was the only thing that got me back to camp. I fish in remote area(s) without power and have weight restrictions. I can fish 2 days on one charge of 12v gel cell battery.
Second reason I choose Humminbird was by advice from Bass Pro Representative. He said if you have to sent a Lowrance in for repairs it will take 6-9 months to get it back. Humminbird repairs usually only 30 days.
All that said. I have not fished a Lowrance so I can only provide one side of the story. Good luck with your decision.
That's a great model and you won't get more bang for your buck than a 7" CHIRP unit for that price but it does not include GPS.
Having GPS and mapping on the unit greatly increases its functionality; I fish lake Erie for walleyes all summer and fall and couldn't function without it; not only from a waypoint standpoint but boat speed and direction, and lots more.
I started with a gen 1 Lowrance 5" HDS unit and have purchased a second touchscreen 7" Lowrance HDS and have them networked together; I typically run GPS on the 5 inch unit and sonar / downscan / sidescan on the 7".
For several years, though, that 5 inch unit was splitting double duty -- heavy use -- GPS and sonar and worked fine. Just a tad difficult to read if you're not sitting in the driver's seat
Some of my buddies run Humminbirds and like them just fine as well. I really think there is not a lot of difference in the technology of either on the base models. I like being able to network them as I upgrade them.
Really, for a new base 5" screen base unit GPS compo, the humminbird HELIX including their unimap go for about $350; lowrance HOOK with navionics map goes 400-450. Do not purchase a GPS unit without built in maps; you'll just be upgrading it later at more cost.
I have the 7" chirp with gps. It came with an sd card and a screen cover. I paid 499 last year. I thought that was the same set-up I seen yesterday, but I may be wrong. GPS is a MUST, Imo. Go with a smaller screen size of your budget is real tight.That's a great model and you won't get more bang for your buck than a 7" CHIRP unit for that price but it does not include GPS.
Having GPS and mapping on the unit greatly increases its functionality; I fish lake Erie for walleyes all summer and fall and couldn't function without it; not only from a waypoint standpoint but boat speed and direction, and lots more.
I started with a gen 1 Lowrance 5" HDS unit and have purchased a second touchscreen 7" Lowrance HDS and have them networked together; I typically run GPS on the 5 inch unit and sonar / downscan / sidescan on the 7".
For several years, though, that 5 inch unit was splitting double duty -- heavy use -- GPS and sonar and worked fine. Just a tad difficult to read if you're not sitting in the driver's seat
Some of my buddies run Humminbirds and like them just fine as well. I really think there is not a lot of difference in the technology of either on the base models. I like being able to network them as I upgrade them.
Really, for a new base 5" screen base unit GPS compo, the humminbird HELIX including their unimap go for about $350; lowrance HOOK with navionics map goes 400-450. Do not purchase a GPS unit without built in maps; you'll just be upgrading it later at more cost.
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I just switched to humminbird and I love them. Always had Lowrance in the past but I couldn't pass up the price on the humminbirds. For your price range you could pick up a helix 5 with gps.
I just bought a Humminbird Helix 7 DI with GPS. The sonar and DI are great, but the GPS is somewhat limited. To receive a decent GPS map I will have to purchase a separate map card for about $125 which I will probably do. I agree with the people above comments, you are looking for a price range of $450 to $500 and will still need to buy a map program to get details of the lakes you may want to fish. Good luck, even with all this additional tech, i can't catch a crappie in a bucket.
Just looking to get back into fishing after about 12 years away so this stuff is far different then I am used to. Are there any in that price range that come with maps? I worked in the marine department at Cabelas during college so familiar with how they work run for the most part. Lowrance used to be the king but since minn kota bought hummingbird they have impressed me. Just looking for one that comes with some basic maps.
http://m.ebay.com/itm/221956614077
This is what I'd buy in your budget unless you want a hummingbird. Comes with maps and a couple different down scan frequencies.
I have had both hummingbird and lowrance over the years and currently like the maps on hummingbird a little better, I'm a big fan of Lakemaster, with that said I think Lowrance has a much better quality sonar, I ran a humming bird for 5 years and just switched back to Lowrance 2 years ago, I run a Gen 2 HDS 9 touch w navionics maps and they are pretty good, and then run an X-4 on my kayak for max battery life and use the nation ifs app on my phone for maps. Right now the elite chirp series are being phased out by lowrance as are HHD series by Hummimgbird so there are good deals all over, check sportsmansguide.com and consider joining their buyers club to get an extra 10% off. But keep in mind good quality maps with accurate contours cost extra also a 5" unit is inexpensive but too small to run a split screen of gps and sonar and see any detail so consistent deer a 7" unit you'll be happy you spent the extra $.