Why not Ice 55?

Hello all, I am a new member to these forums so forgive me if this has been hashed over before. I am going to pass down my trusty FL8 to my son and use my fantasy football winnings to upgrade my flasher. Was thinking of a FL-18 or a LX-5 but started seeing this Humminbird Ice 55 in the same price range but don’t know anything about them. Can anyone give me some pro’s or con’s on this unit? Seems to get lower ratings by cabella’s or gander mountain reviewers due to quality issues. Thanks for the help!

I’d take a LX-5 over the 55 every day, there has been issues with the HB units in the past hence the poor reviws, the FL-18 isnt even in the same ball park as the LX or 55….

Will be interesting to here what others here say as there are a ton of Marcum fans. What I can tell you is a buddy took one out for the first time on LOTW last weekend. All of us were pretty impressed and the guy with the LX-3 was thinking of switching the Humminbird.

I got an FL-22 at the end of last season. Unfortunately I was having some type of issue and couldn’t compare them head to head.

I have a 55 and a 22,like them both.The 55 is just as good as any of the other brands.If you plan on fishing next to someone alot they are really nice,you could put both transducers in the same hole if you wanted to and no interferance.The digital readout is nice and 6 colors ,Love the blue.

I’ve got an Ice 55 and an LX-5 for the wife. We both like the 55 better. It works just as good as any other and I really like the big flat screen it has on it. Haven’t had a problem with mine yet.

The LX-5 is a nice unit too though, you would be just fine with that one also. Did burn through one transducer right after I bought it, but other than that, this one’s been good to me too.

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Hello all, I am a new member to these forums so forgive me if this has been hashed over before. I am going to pass down my trusty FL8 to my son and use my fantasy football winnings to upgrade my flasher. Was thinking of a FL-18 or a LX-5 but started seeing this Humminbird Ice 55 in the same price range but don’t know anything about them. Can anyone give me some pro’s or con’s on this unit? Seems to get lower ratings by cabella’s or gander mountain reviewers due to quality issues. Thanks for the help!

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Jigawhopper
I think you will not make a bad decision on a Ice 55 ( i too have almost bought one) I like the LCD part of he display. I have had a LX-5 for some time and love it. I think you will get a lot of debate from various replies) What stopped me from buying one is that the target separation was not as good as the LX5 which is 3/4 of an inch vs the 55’s 2-1/2 inch and vexilar’s 2.65 inch. In simpler terms the LX-5 can differentiate two targets 3/4′ apart while the other units can only differentiate 2.1/2-2.65″ apart. The LX-5 will show it as two targets while a HB or Vex will show it as one target.

I cut my teeth on a vex FL8SLT loved it but was more impressed by the LX-5 when I fished them side by side. I sold the vex and presently own a LX-5, LX-7, Showdown 5.6 dual beam, and a show down ice troller. (Yeah I have some bias ) But I have to admit I was really impressed with the HB-55 and who knows I’m an electronics “junkie” maybe I will still get one.

However my personal opinion is buying any motorized flasher is out dated technology be it LX-5,HB-55, FL-18. Please take a closer look at the LX-6, LX-7, Showdown series of digital products. These are the latest products early in their product life cycles and are upgradable over time.

In the end buy what you are most comfortable with

BB

Last year I was trying to decide between a Marcun LX-3 and HB 45. I chose the 45. It was my first flasher so I liked the digital depth readout to make it easier for me to see what was bottom or what was a fish, and for going from hole to hole looking for the depth I wanted to target. The thing that I really like though is being able to switch the from 9-20 degree transducer. In the future I still plan to get a Marcum just to try a different brand, but I don’t think I could ever get rid of my Bird.

i have owned an FL-18 since they came out. I have had zero problems with it. that said I have seen the 55 in the fish house at work. I was really impressed. I have not done the research on the “problems” though.

the LX 5 i have not used. but have heard nothing but good things.

In this price range, the FL-18 is not in the ball gameIMO.

I really don’t think you could go wrong with any of these products its just a matter of how “right” which is debatable.

All I have owned is Marcum, starting with an LX2, 2 – LX3’S, AN LX7, and now 2 – LX5’S. When looking this year to add to my arsenal I gave serious thought to the 55 but stayed with Marcum due to fantastic customer service ( always received fast response to my questions ). The only issue I ever had was the power switch on the LX7 and they fixed it and got it back me sooner than expected. Hummin Bird dropped the ball with me several years ago and that was huge in my decision.

I had the opportunity to fish a 55 and a LX-5 at the same time in the same shack last winter. At first glance the 55 was much easier to read, but I could not get rid of the “extra” stuff off of the screen. It has a nice range as far as interference, but none of the settings could get the job done. The Marcum did not have any problems with this in the 3 days of fishing.

The Lx-5 was also picking up more marks at the bottom than the Ice-55. I believe this to be due to the ability of the Marcum to separate individual fish.

Hope this helps.

FDR

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I had the opportunity to fish a 55 and a LX-5 at the same time in the same shack last winter. At first glance the 55 was much easier to read, but I could not get rid of the “extra” stuff off of the screen. It has a nice range as far as interference, but none of the settings could get the job done. The Marcum did not have any problems with this in the 3 days of fishing.

The Lx-5 was also picking up more marks at the bottom than the Ice-55. I believe this to be due to the ability of the Marcum to separate individual fish.

Hope this helps.

FDR

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That is were the target separation of the LX-5 has the advantage. The LX-7 and Showdown 5.6 are even better

I have a 55, and a 597, I have had FL8 and a FL18. Being slightly color blind both birds work for me with their colors. All are good units, some of the first 55’s had a few issues, mine has been great.
I also use my 597 from the boat, sometimes the GPS comes in handy. The ice mode on the 597 works really well.
Good luck in what ever you choose.

All the brands have there good and bad points. It seems alot of people will cling to what the “pro staff” people on this site use, like skeeter boats, tuc rods, marcum, strikemaster, etc…
Which are some nice products, but
sometimes go with what you feel would work for you or what you think you would like, not what all the “followers” use.

LX-5, you won’t regret it.

Had one die with very little use, they replaced it and 2nd unit has worked great but they wont be as nice the 2nd time, trying to get the goahead from the wife to sell it and upgrade to a LX9. If I knew it would live a long and happy life I’d keep it, nice lookin unit, but I always have this uneasy feeling that its going to die on me again.

So who wants to buy it!?!

There is nothing wrong with an ice 55. The only thing I can possibly see that is a “problem” would be the target separation. It wouldn’t be good if you fished bottom hugging fish in deeper water. Other than that, the unit is very nice. If I was going to upgrade I’d have to choose between the lx5 and the ice55, would be a hard decision since I only fish shallower water and don’t really need .75″ target separation… but you never know!

I owned a 55 for a couple of years. I had no problems with the unit. Its very simple to use. Target seperation would be my only concern as I have now upgraded to an lx-7. I seen the lx-9 and that is too much going on and I really don’t like cameras anyway. To find structure is about the only use I get out of them. The lx-7 has really impressed me so far and I’m not partial to marcum, I just want the best unit out there for my style of fishing and so far found it to be the lx-7

Thanks everyone for your replies, nice to get some real world experiences to help base a purchase on. After realizing I am going to be in for $500, it’s only another $100 to go up to a LX-6 so that’s what I will be getting. My wife can only stay mad for so long anyway, wright? (assuming she finds out) Thanks again!

It is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission

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Thanks everyone for your replies, nice to get some real world experiences to help base a purchase on. After realizing I am going to be in for $500, it’s only another $100 to go up to a LX-6 so that’s what I will be getting. My wife can only stay mad for so long anyway, wright? (assuming she finds out) Thanks again!

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Congratulations wise choice I think you will enjoy it!!

Digital is the only way to go. No more listening to that dial spinning all day long