Lowrance or Humminbird???

I apologize if this has been posted before, with that being said I am looking at updating my electronics and I have to admit I have not done much research as of yet. Most if not all info I have on Lowrance and Humminbird have been from right here on IDO. Some of the things I have heard is that Humminbird customer service is so much better then Lowrance. The other thing I have heard is that Humminbird is much more user friendly then Lowrance. I also have heard of anglers who have switched from Lowrance to Humminbird and are very happy. So I would like to hear your personal experiences the pros and cons. Thanks in advance for your replies!

I’ve been a lifelong Lowrance user. Awhile back I was to the point that I was ready to make the switch on my next unit. I think that Lowrance has made back some ground on both quality and customer service over the last year of so. I have fished with a few friends who now own a Bird and I have to say they are nice units as well. I don’t think you can go wrong with either.

I don’t think you can go wrong with either brand. They are both good. I have fished with both. Dad has Bird, I have Lowrance. He does “oooh” and “aaah” when in my boat.

I prefer Lowrance myself. I’ve never had any problems with the customer service, either.

I didn’t vote:because I just bought my first H-Bird last week and haven’t even hooked it up yet.

Why the change? My friends that have ‘birds’ tell that when they have had questions(no problems) the folks at H-Bird are there for them, no hassles.
I’ve had many frustrations w/L-rance, and I’ve finally had enough and in fact the 335cDF is for sale! They don’t even want to help anymore I guess because it’s a little dated! So what Sure they want to give me a ‘break’ on buying an update…That was NOT what I was looking for. And after being in my buddies boat last week with his 1198Bird, that was good enough for me to see the difference.

If your going with SI then Hbird is the way to go. Even with the new LSS2 Low is not getting god shallow water or any real distance with useable information at depths. Turning dark and not seeing much for the return signal.

I too just up graded myself. I went with the 998 and 788 birds. I really like them so far but still in the learning stages.

I too have been burned by Lowrance CS, 2 failed 113’s and a failed 38. These were installed at the same time my 1197 was installed. In that time I had the failures mentioned already and Lowrance issued all of one, maybe two updates to the software. Nothing has come out since the new HDS series came out. The HB on the other hand has given me zero problems and about two software updates a year seem to come out. To include the addition of the downscan or whatever they call to give equal functions to match the feature that Lowrance came out with when their sidescan came out. Played catch up there yes, but the update was no charge.

My Lowrance units have worked now for 2 or 3 years now, I do wonder every time I turn them on if they will work though. When they die they will be replaced with a new bird. I have heard that the Lowrance quality has improved and that CS has made improvements too. My units are so far out of warranty that I guess I will never know. As much as I would love to, I cannot afford to buy $6k in electronics every couple years when Lowrance releases a new design and they drop support for the previous model. For that $6k, I also expect it to work for more then the duration of the warranty.

The 997 I bought in 08, is nowhere close to the 997 that I now have in my boat (with an 1197) thanks to the software updates that have come down the pipe from Humminbird…. at no cost to me.

Steve,

I have always run Lowrance. No problems, happy customer. But one big reason I like Hbirds is the ability to run Lakemaster chips. That reason alone would be a major factor if I was going to buy one today.

-J.

I started with the bird many years ago and liked the unit. I then bought two from Lowrance and used them for years. Last year I jumped into my first HDS and this year added another, along with LSS. I’m very happy with my units and operation of them.

Just bought a new HD5 for my bow and I love it…I have a 9 year old 332C on the console and it will probably last forever…or at least until I have the cash for another HD7 to replace it!

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…I have a 9 year old 332C on the console and it will probably last forever…or at least until I have the cash for another HD7 to replace it!

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I sure hope you’re right….that’s what I’ve got on my console too! Still running strong, but these days I use it for mapping only.

Speaking of which, I’ve got a MOB on a lake I fish frequently, and I can’t get it off the screen. Menu doesn’t give me the option to clear it. Can anyone help with that?