Need help choosing a Fish Finder: Lowrance vs. Humminbird

[Paul DeLuca]

Hi guys, I have a choice between 2 fish finders and I'm not sure which to chose. I'm hoping someone can give me input on either. It's a Lowrance Elite 4 HDI or a Humminbird Helix 5 DI. These are the only 2 choices so I can't go up to a better one regardless of price.

My boat will be staying on one lake and it's an 18' bow rider that I fish off (not a fishing boat).

Here's the pros and cons I found on both:

Lowrance

Has sonar, down imaging and GPS
Has the over scan combining sonar and down imaging on one screen.
Can split into 3 screens if choose.
Screen size is only 4.3" and is a vertical screen.

Humminbird

Sonar and down imaging
Has a 5" horizontal screen
Higher resolution screen
Down imaging seems to be more detailed than the Lowrance
Split screen
No GPS
No over scan

Any input would be helpful. Thanks!

 

[flowerjohn]

I went through the lowrance vs humminbird debate earlier this year. I researched quite a few reviews and went with the lowrance since it seems more durable from what i read. Also, i see that the hummindird doesnt offer gps. If im out on a larger lake i want gps to mark waypoints and to help me navigate. Both screens are pretty small. Just my two cents. Good luck.

 

[drifter2k]

HB

 

[Tyger]

A friend has the Lowrance. Didn't really go into detail about pros/cons, but he seemed pretty happy with it.

 

[Paul DeLuca]

Thanks for the input guys. Looks like I'm keeping both. Sail has a no return policy on electronics even if they're not opened. Wish they told me that in advance. Oh well. The Lowrance will go on my dash and the Humminbird on my bow.

 

[flowerjohn]

Then you can compare them and let us know which you prefer. Cheers.

 

[NADO]

Im a big humminbird fan but on a boat GPS is a big plus

 

[Brian]

Sail has a no return policy on electronics even if they're not opened.

Really?
I never knew this. Don't see whats the big deal if its not opened.

 

[Paul DeLuca]

Ya I didn't either. It's on the receipt at the bottom in smaller print. Would've been nice to tell me though. Apparently the reasoning is they have products that people use for a weekend and then try to bring back and some products have software that can be ripped. I guess with the fish finders some of the boxes weren't sealed with tape so it was easy to get to the DVD manual in it. Although the finder itself had the plastic covering and the cables were still in plastic bags unopened, so I don't see what the issue would have been.

 

[buckhorn-bassin]

That's a bummer you can't return it.. Did you try yelling? Sometimes that works.. Lol

 

[[email protected]]

Can always sell one for a minor loss

 

[Paul DeLuca]

So I took the Lowrance back and installed the Humminbird. Very happy with it. Clear picture and surprisingly no issues at high speed on the boat. I had written an email to Sail customer service explaining the problem and how pissed I was and they finally got back to me to say they would take the Humminbird back! Just a little too late though. I told the service manager it's already installed and she sent me a $50 gift card for my troubles. So all in all not too bad.