Garmin 73cv Ice Bundle

Question for the Garmin Guys. I have always ice fished a flasher until last winter. I bought a Humminbird Helix 5 ice and used it last winter. It was nice having maps, I felt the unit itself bad it’s issues for ice fishing. I sold it with my old boat this summer. I went back to a Marcum flasher for the winter. I have really missed the mapping capability. I thought about picking up one of the Garmin Ice bundles but I have heard some reviews that say they don’t work great in the cold. I fish outside almost exclusively and am hesitant to spend the cash if they struggle in the cold.. also has anyone mounted one to a lithium shuttle?

I’ve never heard of issues in the cold? I’d stay away from the shuttle due to the pita replacement process when the cells go bad. There are sooo many good & cheap lithium battery replacement options available now (Amped, Norsk, Marcum, Dakota)

I’m using mine for the first time this year. 73SV with a marcum brute battery. It hasn’t been super cold but I’ve been hole hopping on some single digit mornings without any issues. My guess is the battery would last the better part of 2 days.

I love the Zoom capabilities on the garmin and how easy it is to change it with the touchscreen. I still have my marcum but I’ll likely sell it.

I’m on year 3 with mine, never noticed an issue in the cold. I do fish inside most of the time, but spend a fair amount outside as well.

Garmin 63CV user here. Never had an issue with cold. Had the unit in my truck overnight various times and it runs as expected as well. I really can’t even compare this unit to a vex after using it for 2 seasons. You will not regret your purchase.

I also went with the 63cv, been out in -5f (so far this season ) and no problems. went with Dakota battery last all day and some. I was a vex guy but sold that after one trip with this new unit.

AaronMoore wrote:

I also went with the 63cv, been out in -5f (so far this season ) and no problems. went with Dakota battery last all day and some. I was a vex guy but sold that after one trip with this new unit.

Is the 63cv compatible with panoptix should one wish to add it later?

JoeMX1825 wrote:

I’ve never heard of issues in the cold? I’d stay away from the shuttle due to the pita replacement process when the cells go bad. There are sooo many good & cheap lithium battery replacement options available now (Amped, Norsk, Marcum, Dakota)

I agree that lithium options are really expanding. The draw for me to the Marcum shuttle was some of the features outside of battery life,like the rod holders,usb ports, transducer cord management etc. I have noticed that over the years I really notice the small things that make my day on the water/ice more efficient.

Gilgetter wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>AaronMoore wrote:</div>
I also went with the 63cv, been out in -5f (so far this season ) and no problems. went with Dakota battery last all day and some. I was a vex guy but sold that after one trip with this new unit.

Is the 63cv compatible with panoptix should one wish to add it later?

Not on this model, 73cv you can

No issues. Folks probably complaining about the crappy stock battery in the cold.

Cameron white wrote:

No issues. Folks probably complaining about the crappy stock battery in the cold.

Some of the issues I read about were about the touch screen not working great when the unit was cold. From the sounds of it here not really a concern.

If your looking at shuttles I’d go this route and use a Amped or Dakota lithium instead of Marcum shuttle. JMO
https://basskhang.com/

I see Scheels has both the 63CV Echomaps Plus ($449) and the 73cv Echomaps Plus ($579) on Sale. These are the older models as they now have the Garmin UHD Line.

What would be the drawbacks or differences between between the Plus line and the UHD Line.

I love a deal and have been looking at Garmins alot lately however If there’s major upgrades between the two I might hesitate to take advantage of the deal.

I can’t speak to how much better the UHD lineup is, but I bought the regular 73cv plus unit this summer before they were all replaced by the UHD models. It seems the UHD versions are more expensive, and I was more interested in a deal than I was making sure I had whatever benefit came from the UHD.

The 73cv plus seems to give very good detail to me.

glenn-d wrote:

If your looking at shuttles I’d go this route and use a Amped or Dakota lithium instead of Marcum shuttle. JMO
https://basskhang.com/

Do you know the dimensions of the shuttle and large shuttle? Can’t find any information on the website…

Dash Adams wrote:

I see Scheels has both the 63CV Echomaps Plus ($449) and the 73cv Echomaps Plus ($579) on Sale. These are the older models as they now have the Garmin UHD Line.

What would be the drawbacks or differences between between the Plus line and the UHD Line.

I love a deal and have been looking at Garmins alot lately however If there’s major upgrades between the two I might hesitate to take advantage of the deal.
[/quote
Are these prices for ice kits or open water set-ups?

Scheels has 73sv UHD side view for 499$

The main difference between the plus units and the UHD units is the frequencies transmitted from the Transducer and recognized by the display. The UHD units use higher frequencies for down and side view which increases definition of targets. I think for ice fishing there would be little or no difference unless you use the open water transducer.

Scheels has the Ice Fishing Bundles on sale

https://www.scheels.com/p/garmin-echomap-plus-63cv-ice-fishing-bundle/75375924026.html#q=garmin%2B63cv&lang=en_US&start=1

https://www.scheels.com/p/garmin-echomap-plus-73cv-ice-fishing-bundle/75375924027.html#q=73cv&lang=en_US&start=2

uninc4709 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>glenn-d wrote:</div>
If your looking at shuttles I’d go this route and use a Amped or Dakota lithium instead of Marcum shuttle. JMO
https://basskhang.com/

Do you know the dimensions of the shuttle and large shuttle? Can’t find any information on the website…

Email G he’ll respond for sure !

Dash Adams wrote:

Scheels has the <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>Ice Fishing Bundles on sale

https://www.scheels.com/p/garmin-echomap-plus-63cv-ice-fishing-bundle/75375924026.html#q=garmin%2B63cv&lang=en_US&start=1

https://www.scheels.com/p/garmin-echomap-plus-73cv-ice-fishing-bundle/75375924027.html#q=73cv&lang=en_US&start=2

Seems like a decent deal.

If I was to complain about one thing, it is the performance of the touch screen with cold fingers. Some times I can’t get it to register a touch until I put my fingers in my coat and warm them up.