Hummingbird ice series

What are people’s opinions on the humminbird ice series of flashers

I have had the Helix Ice 7 Gen 3 all last season. I love it. It goes in the pontoon during the summer. The GPS/flasher combo is great to have. These are not for the technically challenged at least not right away. Lots of menus and settings and not always easily understandable. There is a learning curve just like all new higher end flashers. You Tube is your friend. You will certainly want a lithium battery.

If you’re looking at the ICE 35/45/55 I would recommending spending your money on either their Helix Ice units or find another brand of flasher. I know of ICE units (two 55’s and a 45) that all gave up the ghost in the past year, and Humminbird wanted $385 to repair. I ended up spending money on a Vexilar FLX 20 and have been very happy.

If you want a flasher Id go vexiler, I have a 28 that i really like. I also have a helix 7 I use ice fishing that i like even more tho.

Ive only used the Helix for 1 season and those are the bees knees. Had an ice 55 before that and it never let me down for years and years. can’t go wrong with them. my buddy had a 55 that stopped working but he bounces his around the back of his sleds and ATV’s.

If your going with a unit for just ice fishing then vexilar may be the way to go. If your going to buy a unit you can use all year round then the Helix 7 is your best bet. I have both a Vexilar and I purchased the Helix 7 G3 Mega SI unit and fished with it now for almost a year and it is one of the best purchases I have made in recent years. Great for Ice Fishing and good in the boat. Only issue I can say is that with the Helix units there is a slight lag about 2-5 seconds when you put the ducer in the water ice fishing where as the vexilar you do not get that. But the Vexilar is not a unit you can use in a boat.

If I were to buy an ice unit tomorrow, it would be an ice 35. Easy decision for me.

FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

If I were to buy an ice unit tomorrow, it would be an ice 35. Easy decision for me.

I had an Ice 35 and used it 3 times a week for two seasons. Didn’t have any issues with it and told me where the fish were every time. Not flashy but very affordable. I have heard of people having issues with them as mentioned above but I did not.

I owned an ice 35 for several years. Friends of mine purchased their own as well. All came away happy with them.

I’ve had the Ice-55 for I think 5 years and it’s been reliable and I like it. Battery seems just fine and I’ve had no issues.

I don’t have a great or elaborate story for why I went with Humminbird. I had been undecided on what brand to go with and then a guy that took me out for a veterans fishing thing told me about a really good experience he had with Humminbird, so I went with that.

I had a Humminbird ice 45 for several years and had no issues. Upgraded electronics on the boat to a Helix 7 which is now used on both open water and on the ice. My neighbor bought the ice 45 and is still using it.

One nice thing about the Helix 7 is you also have GPS to get back to that secret hot spot.

Have the 35 for that last 10 years never had an issue. Love both Vex and Bird neither are a bad choice.

I’ve had a 45 for at least 10+ years. Love it. My only complaint is that the wires are a little small to the battery. Strap the battery in tight and there should be no problems. The 45 has zoom at any depth, not just the bottom, is always the most powerful in the house, and if I’m fishing with buddies I’m never the one with interference.

I also have a marcum base model for tip ups, and it struggles compared to my Humminbird.

Vexilar made a great product, but I feel like they rested on their laurels and their name. Humminbird definately passed them by.

If you want the GPS feature, definitely go with a Helix. If you’re just going with a flasher, all of them will work, but I’d still go with a Humminbird.

My humble opinion of course.

I’ve had a Ice 35 for 10 or 11 years and it has treated me very well – I have no complaints. I also added a 55 to my arsenal a few years after because I like having a spare for fishing partners. Both are great units and I have nothing bad to say about either.

When it comes to bang for your buck in the flasher world, its hard to beat the Ice 35. The 55 has more color options and an auto digital depth read out in the center, both nice but not need to haves. Other than that, there isn’t a ton of difference between the 35 and 55 IMO. The 35 has adjustable depth to anywhere in the water column and dual cone angels which both are huge assets, especially for this price point.

Have two gen 3 -helix7s one for the wife in the cover and one to hole hop Got to throw this in the mix bought a livescope system for the wife in the hut and she loves it. Got to say sometimes I steal it and hole hop with it great to see the direction they come in From helps the hole hopping. Nothing against the vex 28 have a friend uses one and we have gone next to each other with the helix and don’t see a lot of difference with target seperation or return speed. Batt life better on vex definitely go with lithium batts. Other than you can run some history with the helix in a split screen mode. Reeds sporting has given me the best pricing and service over the last few years

I started w a HB 797c2 about ten years ago and replaced w HB Helix 10. My 797c2 is now my ice fishing sonar/GPS. I have had great luck w HB quality.

I have a ice 45. As far as a flasher. Its as good as any vexilar or marcum. I use mine for run and gunning and after I set up in my permanent. Unless i have a guest then they use it. Easy to read and user friendly. Battery life is very good.
I own a Ice45, lx9, lx5, and a showdown. As well as a garmin livescope and a lowrance elite ti ice .
Big fan of my Ice 45

Another thumbs up for the Ice 35. I’ve had mine over 10 years, never a whiff of trouble and nice feature set at the price point.

I have had my Helix for one season… upped the battery to a Lithium is all…I really like the flasher mode with the A Scope setting… extremely impressed !!

I started with an FL8, went to a LX5 which I liked, but wasn’t totally satisfied with. Went to a ICE55 which I really liked at the time for ease of use, but didn’t care for the magnifying glass zoom vs an actual zoom, then went to the LX7, which I loved.

Made the decision to upgrade boat electronics from a Helix 5 to a Helix 7 and really like the Helix 7 in ice mode & A Scope as Dave referenced above so much that the LX7 is now the backup / loaner unit on trips for friends.

There is definitely some tuning that’s required, but the Helix 7 works really well.