Posts: 187
Location: West Metro, MN | I actually looked at both the 788ci and the HDS 5 this spring for quite a while. I didn't add the structure scan to the HDS unit yet, so i figured they were somewhat comparable. After talking to a bunch of people and pricing shopping like crazy, I really don't think you can go wrong with either. That being said, I ended up going with the HDS 5 because I liked the potential for networking and structure scan into the future and the display seemed a little brigher and sharper in sunlight than the HB and I liked the sonar better on the HDS. I actually liked the mapping features better on the HB because of the ability to still use Lakemaster chips moving and being able to do the water level offset and depth shading. If you are primarily looking at this for the mapping features I would strongly consider the HB with the Lakemaster chip. I ended up going with the HDS with the Navionics chip because I do some walleye fishing as well and the Navionics chip seems really good for the lakes that I fish, but think I would have been happy with either one. I do think overall you can probably get the HB on sale for a littler cheaper. |
