Humminbird or Lowrance???

Upgrading from the old marcum vx-1. Looking at either the humminbird helix 5 ice or the Lowrance elite 5 chirp ice.. Any suggestions or experience with either of these units? Thanks

I don’t think that the units you have in mind will be better than the vx1. the huge bonus will be the gps if you get it however the return is much slower and not as good as the vx1 plus if you fish with other units near by they will blow you out of the water. I take my lx7 and a gps with mapping

The gps is a bonus. Plus I like the idea of the scrolling history, aid in finding a cadence. From reviews and youtube vids ive been watching it sounds like the slow return is somewhat of a myth that maybe was an issue with the older models. But your points r noted.

The slow return is absolutely not a myth with the helix 5 ice. I have fished mine in the same hole as my FLX, no interference but very noticeable lag versus the Vexilar. Also fished it along my Ice 55 with no interference issues and noticeable lag. the history is great, but the lag is something I couldn’t get over.

Lag lag lag, that seems to be the problem, along with interference when near multiple units? Maybe?

Only interference I’ve had with the helix is next to another helix. It was manageable, but never completely cleared up.

The Helix also takes a while to load up maps. Could be because I’m using a lakemaster plus with overlay turned on, however. Still better than navionics mobile app, but not better than the portability of the H2O.

Well this is disappointing to hear….anybody has any experience with the lowrance?

I’ve been running an Elite 5 the last four years and really like it. When in the flasher mode, I can’t really detect any lag. I’ve heard the Chirp is even faster. There is certainly lag if using the scrolling chart. One draw back is they are a bit more complex than Vexilar and you have to dial the unit in by adjusting settings, etc. There can be some interference with other units but has never been too much of a problem. I love that the Lowrance is quiet, no spinning vibration noise like a Vexilar. All in all, it’s probably not as perfectly fast as the Vex but it really fishes well. Oh, and gps!

After dealing with customer service, I would only consider the Lowrance. Just my two.

I run a lowrance hds5 and a Marcum lx7. The lowrance does awesome on the ice. Having the adjustability it has is great. You can tune it perfectly. Lowrance menus are the same so if you are familiar it’s all easy. The detail is awesome and you can change ping settings and scroll speed. I like the low rance over the birds .

If you have the right side of the screen setting on it is instant. Like a vertical graph.

I’ve been using my Lowrance 68C and 334C units on ice for years and just love them. My buddy has a Hummingbird that looks pretty sweet, too. Since all of our units are older models, I’m sure the newer models are even better.
Al

Thanks for the info everybody! Definitely leaning towards the lowrance now. but still researching. At that 500 price point its between the elite 5, vex fl18, and Marcum vx5. Seems like the lowrance is the better buy. more features. Anybody have an idea of battery life with the elite?

$579 for an lx7 or $429(price shows up in the cart) for lx5i at Reeds right now. I just got the lx7 and LOVE it. Definitely worth the extra $79. Shipping is free as well.

I run a 10 ah battery with my hds5 it will run a long 12 hr day no problem. Same footprint as the 9ah but 1″ taller. A 9ah would do well also.