New sonar/GPS : which direction

I am looking to purchase a new Sonar/GPS and am wondering would you go with a smaller color unit like a 332C or B&W with a larger screen and little highter Pixel count like the X-17M? Any input would be appreciated.

Don’t look past the Humminbird stuff. The “new” Humminbird era is pretty darn good. (no–I’m not sponsored by Humminbird!)

I ran the 787c2 on both rear and bow this year and was very happy.

Steve Fellegy
218-678-3103

I have the 337c & x102, what I’ve seen is the better pixels & color is worth it. The 337c is the same as a 332c but dual freq. & the x102 is the same as the 332c & 337c but no gps.

I work in a sporting goods store and have not sold one 17 in 2 years ,but have sold around 50 LMS332’s!Color is the way to go.The 332c is the best value in it’s class.Good Luck.

eagle has some good units for the price. check out the link to jolly ann marine. nobody can beat wade’s pricing and he ships for free. eagle is made by lowrance, they just don’t have all the bells and whistles that lowrance has. i use a eagle intellamap 480 on the bow of my boat and it goes in the truck or on the wheeler or snowmobile for ice fishing. i use it year around………….tom fellegy
BTW- i am not a professional angler. i only have been trained by some the best here in minnesota and steve too

I agree with Steve on this one. Yes, Humminbird is a sponsor of mine, but I looked long and hard at their products before I made the switch. The 900 series units from Humminbird are very impressive. They are relatively new yet, so you don’t hear a lot about them, but their performance is excellent

Oh, I run the 937C units.

Color, color , color anyday over b/w It’s easier to see and read, in any condition, with a unit like the 332 I highly doubt you’d miss much, if any with lesser pixels. My 337 is on the way, I’ll have in a couple weeks. Go look at one in the store to compare them both, chance are one of the first things you’ll do with out even thinking about it on the b/w is reach out and adjust it so you can see it better, time and time again I see people do this when checking out thier options, no one ever notices they do it and no one ever does it to color units

Maybe I shouldn’t have used examples in my original post. I haven’t decided on brand. Just wondering whether to go with a smaller color or a bigger B&W with more pixels. Both would keep me in the $6-700 range. Discounting brands it does seem like people lean towards color.

I would rather go with the 5 inch color screen before I went to a larger black and white unit.

As for which ones, these guys gave you some good suggestions. The Lowrance LMS-332C or the Humminbird 787C would be at the top of my list for 5 inch color units. I run the 332C myself. The one advantage of the 332C over the Humminbird is that it has a few more mapping options. It’ll run Navionics maps and Lakemaster maps, versus the Humminbird, which will run Navionics maps but not lakemaster maps. Right now, I run the Navionics premium North chip and it’s been outstanding, but when Lakemaster releases their new MN chip I will add that to my collection as well, and run both chips, depending on what lake I am fishing. I point this out because a buyer needs to consider what maps he will run while he is researching different combo units. Good luck in your search!

How do the unit’s compare in the eas of use area ??? What about dependiblity??? You guys are offering great advice, I too am in the market for a Sonar/ Gps combo Thanks for the in put

Both the Humminbird and the Lowrance are easy to use. As with any new electronics, you need to read through the manual and get a little practice in before you’ll get the most use out of it. But, you can basically turn either on and go fishing if you just plan to use the basic features.

Just thought I would throw my thoughts out here as well. I have a Hummingbird 595c. This is my first color GPS/finder combo. So far, I really like it. It is very easy to use, the color is awesome when compared to B/W, and when coupled with the Navionics Premium North chip, it has been an excellent purchase I have heard the 900 series Hummingbirds are very nice units as well

Mike, The Humminbird 900 Series is outstanding. Customers love the units. But, they are of course a little more expensive than the 5 inch units. We do have a $200 Rebate on the 931, 937, and 947, which helps put the final cost into more people’s budget.