Shloim Posted March 10, 2016 Report Share Posted March 10, 2016 Looking for a new sonar and currently have a bottom of the line hummingbird that came with my boat. Looking for something in the $700 range and for me I think that user friendliness will outrank a zillion features that ill never use... Im so torn and confused, please help OFC electronics wizards S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landry Posted March 11, 2016 Report Share Posted March 11, 2016 (edited) HBIRD are known for easy operation and their customer service is excellent. The Helix units are reasonable. I owned a lowrance Elite and liked it too.buy what u feel is the best value - get the biggest screen u can. Edited March 11, 2016 by landry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey Posted March 11, 2016 Report Share Posted March 11, 2016 It's Humminbird (no G) and we prefer that to the Lowrance. We had such a hard time with the Lowrance that came with our boat we ditched it and got a few Humminbirds instead and are very happy with them. Easy to use and much better digital IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisherman Posted March 11, 2016 Report Share Posted March 11, 2016 Anything you buy today is "obsolete" tomorrow, I picked up a Lowrance Elite 5 HDI a couple years ago on a killer deal and am quite happy with it. They send out updates which improves the system, easy to install. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misfish Posted March 11, 2016 Report Share Posted March 11, 2016 It's Humminbird (no G) and we prefer that to the Lowrance. We had such a hard time with the Lowrance that came with our boat we ditched it and got a few Humminbirds instead and are very happy with them. Easy to use and much better digital IMO. Im looking for a lonely HB ( SEE CLASSIFIEDS ) Blind mouse here, I like my Lowarance. Once I got it figured out ,with help,. It works great for my needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porkpie Posted March 11, 2016 Report Share Posted March 11, 2016 I've owned humminbird, lowrance and now raymarine. The early hbirds where junk, but they've come a long way in the last ten years. For ease of operations in a push button format, I'd say humminbird is pretty hard to beat. I had a 597 and it was a great unit, I currently use a 385 on the ice and on the tinny at the cottage. I love the Raymarine touch on my boat, and its really easy to use, but they'll set you back a bit more than your budget. I never really liked the lowrance elites all that much, but my older lowrance greyscale x85 and x15 where great units. I think the new lowrance elite 7 TI touchscreen is pretty cool, but again a bit more than you want to spend. The humminbird helix 7 is on sale with a rebate for $700 and change at bass pro this week. That includes side imaging and all the bells and whistles. If I had to pick in that price range, I'd probably go with one of them! The screen is amazingly bright too and all the familiar humminbird controls. My non expert 2 cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shloim Posted March 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2016 Do it looks like a bird it is, my friend upgraded his loerance units last year and he's had sonars for years and he struggles to figure things out all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishwilly Posted March 11, 2016 Report Share Posted March 11, 2016 Another vote for Humminbird. I use a 858 for trolling lake Ontario and it provides all I need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassMan11 Posted March 11, 2016 Report Share Posted March 11, 2016 I have a Lowrance Elite 7($699) at the tiller and a Helix 5 DI ($325) at the bow. I find for 2D sonar the Lowrance looks a lot better then the Hummibird. Down imaging is good on both units. The Helix is much brighter and easier to see from anywhere in the boat. I like both units and you really can't go wrong with either brand imo. For your price point I would go with the Helix 7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garnet Posted March 11, 2016 Report Share Posted March 11, 2016 I'm in the high end market. Thiers major changes coming next year. I would wait for the sell off of this years product. I'm waiting for the new stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hirk Posted March 11, 2016 Report Share Posted March 11, 2016 Raymarine Dragonfly with chirp di might be worth a look for you too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lape0019 Posted March 11, 2016 Report Share Posted March 11, 2016 It's a Chevy vs Ford thing. Both make products that work and both have a following. Both are easy to use if you take the time to read the manuals but the edge will go to Humminbird for customer service. Go do a search for Lowrance customer service and you will see what I mean. My local shop only carries Humminbird for this specific reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedimaster Posted March 11, 2016 Report Share Posted March 11, 2016 I just picked up a Garmin sidescan/Downscan/GPS 7" screen for 6 and change at BPS on sale right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sterling Posted March 11, 2016 Report Share Posted March 11, 2016 I'm in the high end market. Thiers major changes coming next year. I would wait for the sell off of this years product. I'm waiting for the new stuff. Care to elaborate? Genuinely curious as to what's coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garnet Posted March 11, 2016 Report Share Posted March 11, 2016 I disagree Lowrance manual is awful to read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Farmer Posted March 11, 2016 Report Share Posted March 11, 2016 Humminbird Helix 7 got voted #1 at icast. Birds are very user friendly, I think the Navionics + chip is $99.00 if you buy it now. Myself I'd go the down image + GPS unit. each to their own. I've owned both and my next would be Helix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted March 11, 2016 Report Share Posted March 11, 2016 down image sucks for icefishing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aplumma Posted March 11, 2016 Report Share Posted March 11, 2016 Lowrance if you take the time to learn it. I have HDS series on all three boats and love them. I however have not even seen a Hbird so I am biased. Art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecmilley Posted March 12, 2016 Report Share Posted March 12, 2016 the lowarance can do more the bird units are easier to use in lower and midline units, depending on your budget, the canadian tire in lindsay has a bunch of lowrance and dird units on clearance ie a mark 4 hdi for 227 and a 858 bird for 499 check around your area may get a decent unit from last year for a great price Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KraTToR Posted March 12, 2016 Report Share Posted March 12, 2016 I've only owned HB but one thing I've noticed is that the hard core (tournement) guys go more for Lowrance. With that being said, the new HB Helix is an awesome unit. They did a great job upgrading the old core units.. faster, better graphics, and new features. Check them out carefully tho, the list of features changes drastically once you get in to the Helix 9. Also, some come with compact transducers, some with the HD. You can always upgrade but something to be aware of. PM if you have any "specific" questions and I'll do my best to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister G Posted March 13, 2016 Report Share Posted March 13, 2016 Lowrance Touch Screens blows the doors of Hummingturd...... About 2 years ago I was fishing Lake Erie out of Point Abino and met up with my brother in-law who was in his boat. We were slowly trolling with our TM pulling worm harnesses for walleyes. I kept finding scattered walleyes laying on the bottom and would circle them to get them to bite. Brother in-law kept saying he didn't see anything on the bottom with his Hummingturd..............I shared some of my catch with him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave524 Posted March 13, 2016 Report Share Posted March 13, 2016 From what I've seen, the Birds seem to be most popular with shallow water fisheries while deep water Great Lakes trollers are using more Lowrances and the fellas stateside are big on Raymarine and Furunos on bigger boats for deepwater salmon and trout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landry Posted March 13, 2016 Report Share Posted March 13, 2016 I have owned both. Many say Lowrance marks bottom fish better. This is not true. If you turn your sensitivity up too high in a Bird the. Fish will be hard to see and show as bumps. If you turn it down then they will show as green and yellow bumps with a red blip just like a lowrance. The touch screen is better/faster for marking a quick waypoint off to the side on side imaging though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted March 13, 2016 Report Share Posted March 13, 2016 Lowrance transducers lose strength faster than Hbirds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted March 13, 2016 Report Share Posted March 13, 2016 Lowrance transducers lose strength faster than Hbirds. I find that is no longer true , they don't use the high power the way they use to so they no longer burn out the ceramics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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