Vexilar vs marcum

I can’t decide on what to do looking on people’s input I have the flx 28 and can’t decide if I want to switch to the marcum lx7 if you guys could give me some input that would be great

This should be good!
I’ll start – Marcum.

This will be good. I have a Marcum LX 7 and a LX 9. They are very nice units but be prepared to have the possibility of something going wrong with the Marcum. My LX 9 has issues of the screen freezing up. Very frustrating after owning a Vexilar for 15 years without any issues. I will give Marcum the credit of being more “up to date” but along with that comes the chances of repairs and if you are out of your 2 year warranty could cost you $100-$150 to get it fixed. So…I am not much help but as of this week I have been thinking about selling my LX 7 to get a Vexilar FL 28. Maybe we could make a trade! LOL. Chad

If you want some input, follow this thread from this here IDO forum. Should give you pretty good insight. Curious though, if you already have an FLX-28 why would you want to switch?

http://www.in-depthoutdoors.com/community/forums/topic/marcum-tech-failed-me-this-weekend/

Vexilar!!

I had a LX9 for 2 years, liked it but I had the same screen freezing issue every now and then.. all you would have to do is unplug the battery and restart the unit and it would work again.

I now use the FLX-28 and love it! The only part I miss about my LX9 is the open water graph function (I never really used the camera, it seems like more work to set up than its worth).

The main thing I like the most about Vexilar units is the simplicity, it always works as it should and had much less potential breakdown opportunities.

quality – vexilar
features and functionality – marcum

marcum’s QC has been kind of dumpy over the past few years. even their mechanical flashers.

vexilar really swung and missed on the proview. but a flx28 with a tri beam is a nice unit. i still prefer my lx5.

I hate to even get in on this conversation, but I’ll bite.

For MY purposes, the FL28 doesn’t do a heck of a lot more than my old FL8 does other than have two bottom zoom ranges. I’m sure plenty will say otherwise as I know it has a ton of features, but for MY uses, most of those other features don’t really do much to improve my fish catching ability or ease of use. The only thing would be the brighter screen as my old FL8 was hard to see in the sun.

The LX7 on the other hand, does so much more for the way I use sonar on ice. Being able to zoom ANYWHERE in the water column is huge for me as a lot of my ice season is spent fishing suspended crappies. Having the bottom 6 or 12 feet zoomed while in 45 feet doesn’t do me any good, but being able to zoom in with a 5 or 10 foot zoom at 32, 25, 17, 23, or whatever target I need is SOOOO nice. I can also change screen brightness and target size, interference has never been an issue, and having a full readout for depth and a full readout for zoom rather than packing it all into a flasher dial is also a great feature. It’s really what sells me on the unit.

Some complain about issues with their Marcum. Maybe I’ve been lucky but never had a single glitch with mine. When I just looked up the Fl28 the first thing I saw was a FAQ answer about the FL28 screen freezing so it appears they may not be glitch free either.

I could probably go on and on trying to compare each feature to feature, but I won’t. I’ll sum it up saying that for how I fish, the FL28 doesn’t offer a lot of amazing features for me, but the LX7 does.

And I’ll end it saying you’ll catch way more fish using either of them than you would using nothing.

Tucker

Buy one, see if you like it. Then sell one later if you choose. If you do your shopping, maybe buy used, finding out which YOU prefer will be $50 after you sell the spare. If you want a true Marcum experience, try a lx5i.

I didn’t like my lx7, primarily due to its size. It also needed two screen replacements due to internal dusting of the lens and had a faulty charger and transducer out of the box. Mine was an early unit and only was assembled with three input pins on the ducer port to boot.

Vexicum!!!!!

I had a FL28 and had nothing but issues with it. Transducer issues, freezing issues, etc… etc… I did my homework and ended up buying a Hummingbird ice45 and a LX7. Never had an ounce of problem with either one. On the other hand my buddy has a FL28 and will never switch and he has never had a problem with it. I will say there isn’t a whole lot of features with vex that the LX7 will provide.
Just keep in mind that most people will only write reviews when they have a problem and not when things are going great! I find that both units have their pluses. Good luck!

I really think it depends on how much you fish.
Occasional ice fisher I always recommend FL-18 for the price.
Functional and easy to use.
Then I choose the LX-5 for someone that’s starting to get a little more serious.
A person who takes things a little more serious / getting older/ introducing kids -I say LX7 hands down.

The FLX-28 is a great unit but for the price compared to the LX7 features, LX7 wins my extra $$.
Durability I say Vexilar does have a one up on marcum.

However, I wouldnt rule out Lowrance or Humminbird, they are starting to make leaps and bounds in the ice arena.

And as far as battery chargers lol… they all suck IMO, but a battery tender jr.

Anonymous wrote:

Vexicum!!!!!

Vexicumbirdance!!!

I have an LX9 that I never use the camera, but as a sonar it’s great until I take it out of the humid fishhouse and the screen frosts (internally). Also when fishing next to my nephew with his Vex in a flip over, by the time I adjust the interference out, I can’t see my lure. I also own a Vex FL22 with a ProView and love it. Nothing matches it in weeds and bottom structure and my lure is always visible, and finally I can fish next to another Vex and see my lure with out static. I also own two Humminbird 788s, one has an internal gps with Lakemaster chip. I use it for locating spots and recon potential new ones. The other 788 has external antenna and is in an ice pack as a backup or we have a group and someone needs a flasher. In the summer one goes on my river boat and the other goes on my deep V walleye boat.

I loved my LX7 until it gave up in the middle of a hot perch bite.

Trust lost.

Not sure if I will keep it after I get it back from repair or not.

I love how it works, and what it can do, but if I can’t rely on my most important part of equipment, I’ll be doing nothing but wondering when the next time it breaks will be.

Vexicumbirdance!!!
[/quote]

OK – Hi Five on that one!

Cabela’s sell those?

I like to follow the IDO site but it never made me want to go out and buy the Marcum product. I have had the Vexialr Fl-20 since it came on the market and I have been happy with it ever since. A wise man once told me, “you can’t catch em if you don’t marcum”, but I have been fishing with a group of guys who use Marcum, Lowrance and Hummingbirds and the Vexilar still performs just fine. I have heard that the Marcum does really good job at calling the fish in but the Vexilar makes em bite!!

Each brand is going to have their issues. It’s the nature of electronics.

You can’t go wrong with either. This “I’ll never use that brand again” is a bunch of nonsense. I’ve been running the same Marcum for years. I’ve dropped it off my tailgate onto cement, it’s been on hundreds of rough trips, etc. I’ve beaten the hell out of the thing, and it hasn’t failed me. Totally confident in the thing. Some guy saying he’ll never use Maecum again because he had an issue with a prototype LX69 that he paid $8,000, 1) doesn’t change me mind, and 2) is ridiculous. Rule 1: don’t invest big money into initial runs of new models. They’ll be working out kinks for a good couple of years.

Don’t waste your money on high-end models of either. More nonsense. They’ll do absolutely nothing more for you. My theory: people just like to impress others. I have the LX3, and id be just fine with the LX1. A good transducer, a legible display, a zoom function, and interference rejection are all nice to have (and the LX3 has them in spades). Pay for all the digital depth meters, extra colors, rod holders, tackle boxes, spinning text displays, hoosker dos and donts, and whisker biscuits you want, but it won’t catch you any more fish (you’ll just be out an extra $500….which can buy a boatload of bait, and beer).

Base Marcum models are what I recommend to everyone. You get zoom, IR, a softcase (which has saved my unit countless times, and adds a little battery insulation…you wouldn’t catch me dead with a junky Genz pack) right out of the box….literally…you can bring the box with you into the ice…crack the seal, join up one battery connection, and you’re fishing.

Nothing wrong with Vexilar, however, just prefer the better value. They all show you where the damn fish are, which is the only thing that matters, unless you and your buddies are parading a flasher fasion show in your ice house. Then, by all means get the LX-9/FL-28 Ultrapack to get the ooos and ahhhs.

I vote FLX28. I had a LX7 and had issues so I bought the FLX28 and it has been great. I did like the screen of the LX7 but the shallow water issues I couldn’t deal with. I do also have a humminbird that has been reliable.

If the FLX 28 works for you, why switch? I always catch myself wanting to upgrade stuff, but I doubt I’ll catch any more fish with a more expensive flasher.

Vexilar FLx28 is my vote.

Likes: Light, easy to see, shows lure well, bottom zoom feature is much better IMO than the LX7 but it does suck you can’t adjust it to any part of the water column, durable, dependable, and I like the pro pack a lot more as it fits in a bucket adding protection.

Dislikes: As mentioned not as many zoom features.

I had the LX7

Likes: Big screen, different display options, and zoom features.

Dislikes: Heavy, hard to see in the sun despite brightness adjustment and different colored background options, couldn’t see my lure until it was 6 ft down below transducer (in shallow water it was worthless, even took it to MarCum and still didn’t see lure), lure mark was always hard to see no matter the depth and especially with a small spoon.

SW Eyes wrote:

Agree with this guy mostly, except i fish Vex. Nothing wrong with any of the brands and the most important thing is that for like 99% of fishing applications any of the units with the basic features will put as much fish on the ice as any other unit out there period. At that point the edge becomes location, presentation, color ect…not your damn flasher. On the ice with my fl12 i have destroyed guys using top line models of all brands and gotten whooped by guys using baseline models of all brands.

I would keep the flx and spend the money burning a hole in your pocket on more fishing trips.

Ok…ok…I’ll weigh in…I have to. Buy either one and you will be happy. There is more parity in today’s electronics than before and they are all good.

I have 2 Vexilar FL18’s. The oldest one is about 15 years old. They travel with me in an ATV cargo box, or sled bouncing behind the snowmobile across the lake at high speeds. I have never had one fail me. Ever.

Chad Luebker wrote:

This will be good. I have a Marcum LX 7 and a LX 9. They are very nice units but be prepared to have the possibility of something going wrong with the Marcum. My LX 9 has issues of the screen freezing up. Very frustrating after owning a Vexilar for 15 years without any issues. I will give Marcum the credit of being more “up to date” but along with that comes the chances of repairs and if you are out of your 2 year warranty could cost you $100-$150 to get it fixed. So…I am not much help but as of this week I have been thinking about selling my LX 7 to get a Vexilar FL 28. Maybe we could make a trade! LOL. Chad

For some reason Marcum doesn’t know the fix to this. I sent it in on their dime the first time. Then I paid shipping there the second time for the same fix that didn’t get fixed the first time and didn’t get fixed the second time but a different battery. Still not fixed the fix I eventually figured out on my own is your battery connectors are loose. Take a needle nose and crimp them down tight. Mine did it again a week ago and sure enough one clip was loose.

I had a Vex 22 worked perfect did everything I wanted. I went to a LX-9 wife has a 6 and I don’t even use the flasher screen I love the chart zoom, vertical zoom, and vertical display (always fishing bottom hugging fish). Can’t do that on a vex. I really like the 28 with a tri-beam but would refuse to use one with the proview ducer. I had my issues with Marcum, they are figured out and I won’t be trading that in. Multiple screen options with camera all in one is everything and all I’ll ever need and going to get I guess(no LX-9 update yes there many things that can be done to improve it).

OK I will jump in.

I used to be a Marcum Fan Boy. I own LX5, Show Down Dual Beam, Show Down Troller 2. So naturally I bought the LX7. Long story short I love the way the LX7 presents data. But I think Marcum has a ways to go on the digital series. And I think they will get there but it will take some time.

I had my LX7 for 4 seasons but I dont think any updates came for the last two years. It was frustrating and I felt abandoned. Keep hearing a new update is coming but nothing. So I sold it. Now Im back to using my LX5 and Showdown DB. I love it. You can fine tune the sensitivity perfectly.

I will be back when the Digital products are better refined and more people are having positive feed back. I will not buy a any new technology from Marcum in the future. I will wait till it gets refined.

Gotta say I was fishing with a buddy and he was using the Hummingbird Ice 35. I was really impressed with this entry level unit. Huge display when next to my LX5. I was with another buddy and that FLX 28 was very impressive.

There are alot of excellent choices out there. Goodluck

Hey Dakota, you’ve got four days and 27 responses to your question. Do you have issues with the Vexilar or were you trying to stir the pot…

I’d rather read about global warming.

I have a vexilar 8.12,18.and Marcum lx3tc and a lx6. I like them all. The lx6 really makes me smile.