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Posts: 78
| I already have my new boat picked out now I need some electronics. I have never had a graph with GPS or down/side imaging. From what I have seen so far you can get a humminbird with similar specs to a lowrance for alot cheaper. Anybody have any thoughts as to what makes the Lowrance that much better then the humminbird |
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Posts: 546
Location: MN | check out the new iLink with Lakemaster Humminbird Minn Kota. It will blow you away
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Posts: 555
Location: Tennessee | hbird! from personal experience they definately get the nod for durability! |
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Posts: 2385
Location: Chisholm, MN | I wouldn't buy another lowrance after getting my new bird this year! |
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Posts: 1184
Location: Iowa Great Lakes | We have both on different boats, hands down I'll take the HDS series over HB everyday, better graphing and ability to upgrade to other features at a later date if I want... For the record we run HDS 5 and 7 and 788CI Birds, I know the owner of the birds would gladly trade his 788's for HDS in a heartbeat if he could.... |
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Posts: 1753
Location: Mt. Zion, IL | Lowrance for sure. The bird is nice, but Lowrance is in a league of its own. Do a search on here and there is a ton of info. I will never own a bird after having a Lowrance unit and comparing to a friends comparable bird. |
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Posts: 13688
Location: minocqua, wi. | i made the switch to h-bird 1158 and 998 and am pleased that i did. i really didn't give the lowrance a chance for 2 reasons 1. my former lowrance units were extremely expensive (like the h-birds) and went blue screen on my in a few short years and 2. the stories of the leaky lowrance cases of a couple years ago.
that said, i think h-bird has driven lowrance to become better and vice-versa the way competition should be and consumers will win in the end regardless of which brand they buy.
the category of products from both are improved and make it almost like cheating if you know how to use them ... |
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Posts: 322
| Another vote for the humminbirds. By the way you don't know me but I did my research and I drive a dodge ram!! |
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Posts: 532
| I like chevy over ford, and 30-06 over .270, coke over pepsi...
Best thing would be to go to a store that has display units and see which you like better. Both companys make good units, and neither would still be in business if they made junk. Every brand has its share of lemons and some people hate one company and love another.
So best thing IMHO is to go and gets them in your hands, i mean your the one opening your wallet. It would seem foolish to make a decision souly based of reviews from people you dont know, its an expensive decision and enjoy the journy of the decision. |
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Posts: 1150
Location: Minnesota. | shaley - 7/22/2012 8:54 AM
We have both on different boats, hands down I'll take the HDS series over HB everyday, better graphing and ability to upgrade to other features at a later date if I want... For the record we run HDS 5 and 7 and 788CI Birds, I know the owner of the birds would gladly trade his 788's for HDS in a heartbeat if he could....
Wow, I REALLY appreciate hearing this.
I just got a new rig this spring and knowing zero about this techy stuff (former Vexilar guy) it's good to hear I made a reasonable choice in the HDS 5 and 7 units.
Shaun, you have a PM -just a couple new user questions if you wouldn't mind. I just spent the summer vac. getting used to my units so a couple queries to ask, mostly about charts/chips.
J. |
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Posts: 2894
Location: Yahara River Chain | anzomcik - 7/22/2012 9:43 AM
I like chevy over ford, and 30-06 over .270, coke over pepsi...
Best thing would be to go to a store that has display units and see which you like better.
Take your sunglasses so that you can see what you are seeing while in the boat. I know I have a hard time reading some units with my shades on.
Also I will add I like GMC over Chevy, .243 over .270 and Dr Pepper over Coke or Pepsi.  :) |
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Posts: 1638
Location: Minnesota | with Johnson outdoors owning bird lakemaster and minnkota and being able to hook them all together bird is the only way to go bought a new boat last spring glad i went with birds bought the 1198si spent more then i wanted to butt know that there paid off glad i went with the big screens my last boat i had abought 4.5 screens and wished i had biger oness this time i did not want to say i "wish i would of" eather way you go i would go to the store and play with them see what you like |
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Posts: 582
| Hbird for me. I have had both and the Hbird stuff just seems more reliable to me. |
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Posts: 358
Location: London, England | I think both brands make great units. They should do for the price of them too! The deciding factor for you may be the map coverage for the waters you fish. Check out the mapping software available for your lakes as some systems cover different lakes better than others.
I have Humminbird, but would be equally happy with a Lowrance unit. |
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Posts: 572
Location: Maplewood, MN | Like stated earlier, both units will get the job done. However, I prefer humminbird. Its also convenient that a ducer for down imaging comes standard with humminbird in the 5" model like I have. The HDS-5 you need to buy your own ducer. |
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Posts: 2323
Location: Stevens Point, WI | Best thing you can do is get out and try them both and let that be your deciding factor as to which unit to buy. Each has some features that make them unique. For me, I like being able to buy the pieces I want a la carte and add as I want/can afford with the Lowrance HDS's.
Both companies have had issues, both companies have improved their products because of one another. Either way you go, you'll be happy. |
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