Printable View
I'm looking at Humminbird and Lowrance to determine which is best. I'm willing to spend about $1200, but it is difficult understanding all the features. I like the Humminbird 898C HD SI, but need to determine the value of side imaging. What about the Lowrance HDS7. Lastly, is it worth the money to upgrade or should I just stay with a 5" screen which would be a little less.
I'm sure this is a frequent question, but would appreciate others input.
Thanks!
[QUOTE=jp;505959]I'm looking at Humminbird and Lowrance to determine which is best. I'm willing to spend about $1200, but it is difficult understanding all the features. I like the Humminbird 898C HD SI, but need to determine the value of side imaging. What about the Lowrance HDS7. Lastly, is it worth the money to upgrade or should I just stay with a 5" screen which would be a little less.
I'm sure this is a frequent question, but would appreciate others input.
Thanks![/QUOTE]
Humminbird all the way, So easy to use. The Si is great for finding deep cover, you can cover 100 ft off each side of the boat in one pass. See something you like mark it with your gps and go back over top of it with your Down scan or sonar to see what it was and if its holding fish. I use it a lot in the summer. I know Universal Mania had the 998 Si combo cheaper than the 898 si combo so shop around before you buy.
[QUOTE=jp;505959]I'm looking at Humminbird and Lowrance to determine which is best. I'm willing to spend about $1200, but it is difficult understanding all the features. I like the Humminbird 898C HD SI, but need to determine the value of side imaging. What about the Lowrance HDS7. Lastly, is it worth the money to upgrade or should I just stay with a 5" screen which would be a little less.
I'm sure this is a frequent question, but would appreciate others input.
Thanks![/QUOTE]
IMO it is all about what features that you think will end up really making a difference for you personally. I went with a Humminbird 858C HD DI Combo and I have been happy with it. I really wanted a 7" screen vs the 5", that was very important to me. I also thought while I liked the idea of downimagine as an option I didn't really care too much about the side imaging, although that does seem to be more popular. For what it is worth, IMO whichever way you go getting a 7" display is really nice to have and worth the extra money especially when using a split screen view.
I have a Lowrance HDS-7 with structure scan, and I'm very happy with it. but I was reading and looking at some screen shots on a crappie forum. and the guy posted some pictures from his Hummingbird, that were unbelievable, how good they were. I've never seen any fish on my Lowrance unit as detailed as those on his HB were.
I just purchased my Humminbird 898 CI SI HD from a sponsor on BBC. It saved me $200. The sponsor BBG Marine sold it to me for $1249. I would look into it if your are concidering to purchase any depth finders. I had the same question earlier and my conclusion was to stay with Humminbird. They just seem to be more user friendly and you don't have to purchase anything extra to get the SI and DI. Good Luck
Dan
Evansvillebassmasters.webs.com
Evansville Bassmasters Bass Club|Facebook
If you aim on getting si dont go with a 5" screen, youll be disappointed. I have a 900 series si unit at the console and a 700 di at the bow. I cant argue with my setup and strongly suggest hbird over lowrance. I have friends with the lowrance and theyre more difficult to use and arent as refined imo. I bought my units from universal mania and you wont find a better deal anywhere
I think I got a 700 series Humminbird with downscan but not sidescan. Haven't really had a chance to fish with it yet but from just tinkering with it the downscan is sweet. I couldn't fork over the bills to get the sidescan.
If I were purchasing a unit for the console, I would go with side image all the way. If mounting on the trolling motor I would just stick with a down image and not worry about the si. As far as brand I vote Humminbird. I have not used the Lowrance units but I really like the ease of use and the customer service has been great.
I'd way rather have SI at the trolling motor. If you have SI with an internal antenna up front & mark a spot in open water your always facing it to where on jackplate you'll have a margin of error of how many feet from transducer & antenna to front of boat & can be off several feet & hard to hit a small object that's deep in open water. I tried it on back of the boat, but like it way better in front. If I mark something I can go straight to it. Also helps if shooting under docks. You can very slowly turn trolling motor & search just about anything & when seeing fish on screen get on top of them & drop straight down or see them just out of cast reach to the side. If I had only one choice it would be a unit with si ,di & 2-d up front with internal antenna for my use & honestly believe you'd be happy with it too.
Have the 898 and its great! Does what I want it to do.
I know this is an old post. I am looking for depth finders for my boat and was considering a Lowrance Elite 5-HKI for the console and a Garmin 301 dv without maps. I am now considering getting a Hummingbird SI because of some of the comments.
Glad I read this because the comment by Les Young; I probably would do more marking of fish from the trolling motor than from the console. However I would need to mark the spot from the console also; to get to the area.
Which brings up my point; and also a contention with this. To me it seems you would want the SI at the console because you are searching a wide area and like mawi97 said the down scan and sonar should work because you are working a more defined area.
If Les (or another that agrees with Les) would like to clarify why SI would be better at the trolling motor than the console that would be great.
It seems if the SI really is needed at the trolling motor; you need it really for both the console and the trolling motor; because it seems you would do more focused searching from the console and more fishing from the trolling motor?
I have SI at the console but would have absolutely no need for it at the trolling motor. If im searching for brush/fish im idling and looking. If im on the trolling motor im fishing. A lot of guys that have si at the trolling motor say the turning of the transducer when you spin the motor completely screws up the si picture.
I rarely use my DI, i learned on sonar and still feel like i can tell more by looking at the sonar picture than the di picture. If i see something i question ill flip it over to the di and make my best conclusion. If youre only going to have one unit with gps and its also your si unit, you almost have to have it at the console to run