Lowrance or Garmin?

[Gobble Doc]

Anyone have any bias of Lowrance vs. a Garmin fish finder?  I'm looking for something color and under $300.  Not sure how important down view is as I have never used it before.  I probably won't end up with GPS at this price but that is probably OK.  Both companies look like they sell options that get good ratings.  I'm choosing a model based on thinking that I am going to use it in the salt to look and see what depth the coho and pinks are at.  I currently have an inexpensive Hummingbird and haven't been too thrilled with it.  Has anyone had bad experiences with either Lowrance or Garmin brands or would you avoid either of these brands in the under $300 range?  Thanks for the ideas.   

[Russ McDonald]

I see that they have changed models but I have 2 Garmins.  One is a 100 non color and the other is a 300 color.  One in the front the other in the back.  I like them both, they work great.  The color I have on my console so I can have it on while I am motoring along and how ever is sitting on the back seat pedestal can see it.  Color shows up great in the sun.  Good luck. 

[wildmanoutdoors]

My Lowrance LCX 18 color chartplotter/ fish finder was used heavily for 9 years on an open boat. Never had an issue. Just sold it with the navionics chip for 200 bucks.

Just installed the new Lowance Gen 3 touch on the new boat. Hopefully its just as good.

I dont think you can go wrong with either.

[BABackcountryBwhntr]

Garmin has the best GPS, furuno has the best sonar.. I have had nothing but issues with lowrance. I have had 5 different HDS models with issues and their customer service is some of the worst i have ever experienced.

[Skillet]

Been a Lowrance user my whole life.  They are a bit "techy" compared to Humminbird, but once you learn your way around you'll  really like it.

FWIW,  I think in that price range you can buy a really good used color Sonar/GPS combo that will allow you to use mapping chips.  People upgrade all the time and sell off a two year old model for less than half of new.  For a real deal, look for an "LCX" model fish finder.  If do and end up needing a transducer let me know - I've got several I've accumulated over the years. 

Haven't used the Garmin, so don't know about that.

 

[Ripper]

No matter which model you get make sure it has the 50/200 transducer or it wont work worth a dam in salt water. I like the Lawrance HDS series but that will be out of your price range unless you find a gen 1 used. Watch ebay and you can get good deals on used ones.

[h2ofowlr]

Raymarine Firefly!   

[Skillet]

I also like a 50/200 transducer for the salt.  When I was running a LCX-25C with the 83/200 (250 watts, I believe), it had marginal bottom signal over 120 feet or so.  I upgraded to the higher power (600W, I believe) 50/200 transducer and it was like a whole new machine.

[Gobble Doc]

Thank you everyone for the suggestions.  I will definitely focus on getting the 50/200 transducer.  This may help explain why my current cheapo hummingbird that I inherited with the boat isn't cutting it in the salt.    

[fishngamereaper]

Try amazon for screaming deals. Ive been a Lowrance user for years and no problems. You can find an HDS5 for around that price.  The Elite models are ok but I would spend a little extra and get the HDS with Nautic Insight mapping.

[gasman]

Love my HDS5  , once I starting playing with it and learning it, its great.

[BABackcountryBwhntr]

Love my HDS5  , once I starting playing with it and learning it, its great.

give it time, I fish 250+ days a year.. they will fail on you at some point. Just go look at the reviews on lowrance.

[lokidog]

Combo units are nice because you save some coin up front, however, I run two units (both are combos, it's nice to have backups) BUT I pretty much use one for a map and one for the bottom.  Unless you get a really wide screen, each screen in combo mode, especially on a 5", is quite narrow.  For me it is not as big of a deal for the gps, but I like to be able to look back at my FF and see what was there so I don't have to be staring at it constantly.

I generally run my humminbird on depthfinder and my Lowrance on GPS/depth combo.  I am a bit pessimistic about what my FF is showing me and it is nice to have two images to look at as they do not always match up.  I do like the Humminbird's graphics better for the FF but like the Lowrance's features better for the gps.

BTW, you do not want to try fishing the salt without a GPS as it is absolutely critical for staying on your structure and determining drift directions for bottomfishing.  It is also nice to be able to go back and backtrack a troll line for salmon fishing.

As mentioned, Lowrance's customer service can be sketchy.  Humminbird, on the other hand, has INCREDIBLE customer service.  You might try contacting them regarding your current FF to see if they have any suggestions or options to getting it working.  Honestly, this would be my first action if it did not seem to be functioning properly.

Oh yeah, my Humminbird that I am still using spent two days upside down in the salt sitting next to the Lowrance that I had, key word being in the past tense.      

[Kola16]

To the OP...you would be better off with the Garmin for the saltwater. You won't get a GPS unit for that price though if you do go with Garmin. If you go with Lowrance, you could get an Elite 4 chirp for $300 which does have a good GPS, but I would highly recommend getting the Elite 4 chirp with a 50/200 transducer which is $100 dollars more. It is waaaay better for saltwater than the 83/200. So if you don't want to spend $400 for a small Lowrance screen, go with the Garmin.

I really would recommend considering one of the newer Raymarine Dragonfly's too. You would get a GPS ($350-$400).

As far as my ranting goes.......

Love my HDS5  , once I starting playing with it and learning it, its great.

give it time, I fish 250+ days a year.. they will fail on you at some point. Just go look at the reviews on lowrance.

Maybe an Elite, but an HDS is a great unit. There are always a few bad apples, but the HDS's have been awesome.

[Ridgeratt]

I'm a lowrance fan!!

LCx- 28c & Mark 5x pro in the big boat
A mark 5 in my waterfowl boat
X67C ice for hard water

No problems with any of them and the key strokes are all pretty much the same.