Locator Lowdown – Which one is the best?

I’m currently in the market for a new GPS Depth Finder unit that will primarily be used for open water, but[with recently gathered information] might be used for the hard water season as well.

I’m pretty familiar with the Lowrance Gen 1s that have been out for the last few years, but have almost zero experience with any other brands or models.

Which ones do YOU think are the best bang for your buck, best features, easiest to use, best customer support, durable, or maybe just your favorite?

Every piece of advice, anecdote, and information is appreciated!

Humminbird helix series or the new Garmin line would be the best BFYB in my opinion. Humminbird is very easy to use. I have Lowrance and like it, but will switch to Garmin at “renewal” (when I upgrade)

Do the new Garmin’s have the option to highlight certain depth ranges like the Hummingbirds do? That’s a feature that I wish the Lowrance units had.

Also, What features make you want to go with Garmin in the future?

Lowrance DOES have depth shading. Have had it for several years after a SW update. I forget which release it was, but its been around for a while. I don’t use it however.

Hey CaptainMusky! Thanks for the info. I recently did a software update on my unit and am running a Lowrance 2015 insight pro chip in there. I was going to look for depth shading in the options, but I had an employee at Cabela’s confidently tell me that Lowrance didn’t have that functionality so i never looked for it.

It may only be for the Navionics chips, but it most certainly is capable of doing it. Here is a link to the release notes:
http://www.lowrance.com/Global/Lowrance/Documents/Software/HDS%20Gen2%20%20Touch%202.0-45.135%20Release%20Notes.pdf

older Lowrance Elite 4 or 5 units can be found pretty cheap online and work great as ice fishing units with the Lowrance soft icepack case. The built in GPS gives it an advantage over typical ice flashers. The Lowrance icepack comes with another quick release mount, so you can simply unplug it from your boat and plug it right into the icepack.

I purchased a separate elite power cable for my Quad setup on a quick-release RAM mount, I use the GPS to find my spots on the ice, then take it off and use it as a flasher/ice fish finder inside the Otter.

I really like the looks and functions of the New Garmin Eco series. When I switch it will be to Garmin based on what I have seen so far. I have been a Lawrence guy for quite a few years and I feel there has to be better than Lawrance or HB in my opinion.

I purchased a separate elite power cable for my Quad setup on a quick-release RAM mount, I use the GPS to find my spots on the ice, then take it off and use it as a flasher/ice fish finder inside the Otter.

I was thinking about this too. Do people usually just wire it to your quad battery or do you get a separate battery to run it off of?

Dogfish wrote:

Do the new Garmin’s have the option to highlight certain depth ranges like the Hummingbirds do? That’s a feature that I wish the Lowrance units had.

Also, What features make you want to go with Garmin in the future?

Garmin does have depth(correction) shallow depth shading with their lake vu HD maps. GPS/Map Sonar units come preloaded with lake vu Hd maps. That’s over 17,000 lakes.No need to by map software. Lake vu hd ultra upgrade gives you relief shading as well as 3d view below and above the water line.

Make it easy…whichever one will talk to your trollimg motor