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.

[lokidog]

I'm not sure what all the negativity is about the 83/200 is in saltwater?  Both of mine (Humm 788ci and Lowr. HDS5) have this and I have absolutely no problems in the saltwater, including bottom readings in 400+ feet of water at 25 mph. 

[wildmanoutdoors]

I'm not sure what all the negativity is about the 83/200 is in saltwater?  Both of mine (Humm 788ci and Lowr. HDS5) have this and I have absolutely no problems in the saltwater, including bottom readings in 400+ feet of water at 25 mph.

Im with you! My new Gen 3 touch HDS has the 83/200. Was out Sunday and it was spectacular! At 300 plus feet It was awesome still!

[Gobble Doc]

Hmmm.  50/200 vs 83/200.  I will have to ponder the pros/cons and figure out what probably makes sense for me.  I'm hoping that I'll be choosing between 2 good options.  Thanks for everyone's insight and suggestions. 

[Ripper]

I was on the phone with Lawrance the other day and they say the 50/200 is for salt water and works in fresh, the 83/200 will only work right in fresh water. That has been my experience also.

[Skillet]

I think it depends more on what you want to see at that depth.  With  my 83/200 I could get bottom readings at the depths loki is talking about, but I wanted to know more.  Bottom composition, be able to distinguish a fish hugging the bottom, etc.  Stuff I absolutely want to know when I'm vertical jigging for walleye in freshwater, I like knowing in salt even if it doesn't seem to matter as much when trolling salmon coho and pinks up in the water column.  But for halibut, deeper lings and bouncing dowrigger balls on the bottom for blackmouth, I definitely wanted more info.  So the 600W 50/200 transducer was a massive upgrade for my style of fishing.   
Of course, I was using a pre-HD LCX fishfinder and these guys are using HD finders, so the technology may make better use of the 83/200 return signal than my LCX did.

There is also the difference in cone angles for each frequency.  Per Lowrance's website:

"Cone Angle
A transducer's cone angle determines its coverage area of the underwater world. The wider the cone angle, the greater the area that's covered. We offer a variety of 200 kHz transducers with either a wide (20°) or narrow (12°) cone angle. The 50 kHz transducers come with a 35° cone angle. The dual-frequency transducers come with both a narrow (12°) 200 kHz and a wide (35°) 50 kHz cone angles. And the dual-search transducers come with both a narrow (12°) 200 kHz and a wide (35°) 83 kHz cone angles."

Clear as mud, right? 

I was on the phone with Lawrance the other day and they say the 50/200 is for salt water and works in fresh, the 83/200 will only work right in fresh water. That has been my experience also.

You actually got a human at Lowrance?  That's an improvement.  Fan of their products, but not at all of their customers service...

I think we have to remember that when people typically talk about fishing salt water, they're typically talking offshore halibut depth capability.  Salt water is slightly denser due to the dissolved mineral content, but it isn't concrete - 83 hz still  gets the job done to a certain degree and will give 66% more feedback signals than the 50hz, but they will be comparatively weaker signals for the same wattage output.  Also, both 'ducers offer up a 200hz signal, so your finer definition in shallower water is covered there.

[huntnphool]

I've owned both and much prefer the Garmin.

[Rick]

I've owned both and much prefer the Garmin.

Me too.

[lokidog]

OK, I just looked at mine more closely.  I have the HDS 5 with the nautique insight which uses either 53 or 200 Hz (you have to choose one or the other) and I have the Humminbird with the 80/200.  The Humminbird can use either, each, or both, which is a nice feature.  I don't know if any of the Lowrances will do this, but it is nice.

I think I have had both set on 200 Hz for the smallest cone angle since I mostly used it for bottomfishing/lingcod.  I will have to play with them a bit, especially since I can compare both the 53 and the 80 side by side.

[Kola16]

I was on the phone with Lowrance the other day and they say the 50/200 is for salt water and works in fresh, the 83/200 will only work right in fresh water. That has been my experience also.

There is pretty much no downside when going with the 50, unless if 95% of your fishing is in freshwater. Get the 50! It also comes with a nylon mounting bracket that won't rust like the one the 83 comes with. The metal bracket that comes with the 83 will eventually rust which will interfere with the sonar. The only thing an 83 is good for is.....well nothing Maybe lake trout in Chelan or finding schools of kokanee

[Spawnstar]

Neither, hummingbird!!! I've owned them all and hummingbird is the best in my opinion

[lokidog]

Alright y'all.  I had to run to town today so I figured I would do a side by side test of my Humminbird and my Lowrance. 

So the 85hz did, indeed, suck.  The 200 gave the best high speed bottom signal with the 53 showing bottom but with lots of noise.  I was able to do the 53 and 200 side by side on the Lowrance and I was not able to detect anything more with the 53 than the 200, however I was not working any structure or marking fish.  My Lowrance has to be set to only show one frequency per screen (but can be set to any of the three).  My Humminbird can do both frequencies on the same screen and with FishID on gives them a different color depending which cone they are in, I like that feature.

Some more food for thought.

[Gobble Doc]

Loki,

Thanks for the additional information.  I'm going to try to get into a store this weekend to look at some of them in person.  So far I can't find a Hummingbird or Garmin that has the transom mount 50/200 and a GPS anywhere in the right price range for me.  There is a HDS-5 online for $499 that has the 50/200 transom mount. 

[lokidog]

Good luck.  You will be happier with the best unit you can get.  Maybe make due with your Humminbird until you can stash a bit more away?

[PolarBear]

I have owned just about all of them (Lowrance, Eagle, Humminbird, Garmin, Furuno, SiTex, Raymarine, etc) and have had the best luck with Lowrance followed by Garmin.  You can't go wrong with either brand.  I had the most problems with my Humminbirds and SiTex.   I used them for everything from commercial saltwater shellfish/fishing to tournament bass fishing and everything in between. 

[gasman]

Loki,

Thanks for the additional information.  I'm going to try to get into a store this weekend to look at some of them in person.  So far I can't find a Hummingbird or Garmin that has the transom mount 50/200 and a GPS anywhere in the right price range for me.  There is a HDS-5 online for $499 that has the 50/200 transom mount.

If your not in to much of a hurry, Sportco has there tent sale next month, you might find thea good deal then 




I picked up my HDS5 for $399 at Sportco last year 

[Gobble Doc]

I think I'm getting closer to a decision.  Either the HDS-5 Lowrance or else this Hummingbird.  Both are about the same price.  Both have the 50/200 transducer.

[lokidog]

I don't think you will be unhappy with either of them.  From my experience, Humminbird has better customer service, they upgraded my transducer for free (I've never gotten a response from several attempts with Lowrance), and I like that you can run both frequencies at the same time.  The Lowrance can be networked to other things like a fuel flow meter and I don't know if the Humminbird will.  As mentioned, I run both as the depthfinder screen is very narrow when running both onscreen at the same time with the 5" display.

[BABackcountryBwhntr]

This post is literally killing me. DO NOT go with lowrance. 5 diff HDS units and everyone has had issues. Top that off with awful customer service and it gets old very very fast. I tested a furuno in astoria last fall. I loved it. No issues at all.

[lokidog]

BAB, what have been your issues with Lowrance?  My only issues with mine were that the old one had an internal antenna that sucked and I had to install an external antenna so it would lock a signal on the dash of my boat, it also did not survive two days upside down in the saltwater that my Humminbird survived.  I like having the fuel flow meter on the Lowrance that the Humminbird does not have. Lowrance also has range rings on its GPS display though my newer one does not seem to have them calibrated to any given scale, they are just there and you have to figure out their spacing.

Having said that, there are also things I like better about the Humminbird, like being able to have the dual frequency on at the same time.  I can also get the module to tie my Cannon downriggers into my depthfinder.  And, as mentioned previously, their customer service has been topnotch.

As far as bottom pictures go, sometimes one seems to give me more detail than the other and sometimes it is the opposite.

I had a furuno but it was from 1991 or something so does not compare, I am sure, to theirs now.  Aren't the Furunos quite a bit more expensive?  They do seem more expensive, but this unit sure looks nice and not too bad of a price with its wide screen.  http://www.thegpsstore.com/Furuno-GP1870F-Color-GPSFishfinder-P3598.aspx?gclid=Cj0KEQjwuI-oBRCEi87g0K3O8OoBEiQAb25WAcfTKq-zPcHeVMfODlX0JhtFD3-WpjGfcKfol0H-nikaAqFp8P8HAQ Still have to buy the transducer though.

[Wacenturion]

Humminbird

[floatinghat]

I am also looking to upgrade my current unit.  I am waiting a little while, I really like the Lowrance but their CS sucks.  While there are many people with old well functioning units, from what is all over the fear having a problem.  Right now I am leaning to either Raymarine or Humminbird.

[Hot Lunch]

I have ran Lowrance unit for years including my recent unit a HDS-8 with structure scan. I love my hand held Garmin units and may consider getting a Garmin unit when I upgrade. The technology is moving fast and prices are coming down. I think there is a lot of solid choices on the market these days, just find the price point and features you want and go for it.

[Gobble Doc]

I think I'm getting closer to a decision.  Either the HDS-5 Lowrance or else this Hummingbird.  Both are about the same price.  Both have the 50/200 transducer.

OK, I made my purchase today.  Found this Humminbird for $349 online with free shipping.  It will give me the 50/200 transducer along with a built in GPS.  I would have liked to get the 7" but maybe in the future. 

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.  Hopefully I'll be able to post some pics of fish when I get it up and running.