Humminbird vs Lowrance - Yes another one of these posts

[jooleyen]

Hey all. My question today is a very common one. Humminbird or Lowrance?

I've read and searched for hours on this topic and I hope my decision will be clear within this or the next thread I make. I've seen many people who give

their depthfinder of choice a thumbs up, but I really can't make a decision based on their opinion because they don't have a comparable unit from the

other manufacturer. I'm looking for advice from people who have experience with both companies' units with the current technology of 2010-11.

Here are some things for me to consider:

I have no previous sonar experience so I am unbiased.

I might be able to get a better deal on one or the other; probably Lowrance.

I understand Lowrance has crisper image on the screen, but what good would it be if it doesn't scan as well as Humminbird. Is the technology as far as

'finding fish' goes, equal?

I tournament fish a lot and I have NO PROBLEM whatsoever with a complex unit and a large learning curve. I don't need Humminbird's user friendliness

if/when I could be better off learning the ins and outs of a Lowrance with more features.

I've also heard of the 'horror' stories of Lowrance's customer service, but it seems to be common that people say they haven't had any problems with their

service, and that it's been improving greatly over the past months. I'm not sure if this is something to be worried about - if it truly was, I would go

with a Humminbird solely for that reason.

I've also read that Lowrance becomes cheaper when more than one unit is used on a boat. I definitely don't want to ignore this factor as I may end up

getting another one next year or possibly sooner.

How about power and processor speed? I don't want to be shorted on refresh rate going with one brand and have lag of the screen - not even sure if this is

an issue or not.

What other questions should I be asking?



I'm basically looking at the HDS-8 vs 998 and the HDS-10 vs 1198.


If I come to the conclusion that both are more or less equal and it really doesn't matter which I have at the end of the day, the main factor (already a

large one) will become price. I may be able to get a better deal on Lowrance electronics or vice-versa (probably Lowrance).

Thanks in advance for your help,

Julien

[bassboogieman]

I'm looking for advice from people who have experience with both companies' units with the current technology of 2010-11.

That's going to be a tough one. Consider your own situation - would you make a $2000 - $3000 investment in a sonar/GPS then wonder about the other brand, scrap the one you just recently bought to invest another $2K - $3 to do a comparison? I don't know many that could/would.

Most of your "research" will likely involve input from several sources - those that use either brand, manufacturer information, and user reviews on points of sale, like BPS, Cabela's, Gander they all have review sections. I don't know if someone like Consumer Reports, or possible TackleTour has done anything with these units, but they are pretty good in their reviews. You need to digest the information and make you conclusions.

I'm was in the same situation as you are - I've used Lowrance for 8 or 9 years and this season I wanted to upgrade my electronics. It's an expensive proposition, whichever route you take. I spent most of the last 4 months doing MY research and have decided which one will work for me and that choice may not work for you. I can't give you a side by side comparison of the NEW units, nor have I hooked mine up yet and tried the new ones. That will be a few weeks until the weather breaks.

I was lucky, in that I have friends that have one or the other, and I talked to them about thier experiences as users. I can give you my comparison points that helped me make my decision and you can apply them to your situation.

Price - Lowrance is more expensive initially. You will need the head units AND a seperatd module ($600) to have side scan capability. Humminbird the units are ready to go as a stand alone unit. 'bird may also have some "extras" required to optimize the performance of a particular unit or units. Units before '10 (if I remember correctly) will require an "interlink" for multiple unit to share info. New '11 units will use a cable only to share info. 'bird units offer additional transducer options (additonal expense) to enhance the unit's performance also (adding a 2D transducer and Y-cable may improve high speed sonar performance)

Graphics/Image - both are very good, but a slight edge to Lowrance, both utilize Navionics cards.

User friendly - this one is very important to me. Being able to find what you need quickly and easily - familiarity with the unit will grow with use, but I want quick & easy. There are a lot of options available and the units have better memory than I have.

Instruction manual - I've read numerous and you can read them on-line on each manufacturer's website. I give the edge to 'bird for how they are written, pretty clear and relatively easy to understand.

Duribility - I have read many complaints concerning Lowrance (HD units in particular) in the last 2 years, moisture intrusion was a common one, and that's a bad one. I have one unit (X-135) that has a problem with condensation on the inside of the screen. I haven't heard any similiar issues with 'bird. Which brings me to the last major issue.......

Customer Service/support - Humminbird (from what I've read - I have not had to use it yet) is top notch. Lowrance (from personal experience) is terrible, BUT it appears the light bulb has gone on over there and steps are being take to turn that around, hopefully they succeed.

I've seen positive and negative for each of the major brands. More positive/less negative for 'bird. More negative/less positive for Lowrance. Another indicator - and I have no scientific proof to support my personal observation - I see more Lowrance HD units for sale on the secondary market than Humminbird. Finding a used 898, 998 or 1197 unit isn't easy. A used HDS8 or HDS10 is more commonly found offered for sale. I also see many more Lowrance users changing to Humminbird (myself included), than the other.

I made my purchase on the following conclusions based upon their importance to me:

Price - Humminbird
Reliability & user friendlyness - Humminbird
Graphics/image - Lowrance
Customer Service/support - Humminbird

I'm sure not everyone will agree with my impressions. That's to be expected as not everyone's needs, preferences, experience or budget are similiar to mine.

[nofearengineer]

I second everything Boogie has said, but will add a few things.

My personal perception is that the Lowrance technology is slightly more modern. For example, Lowrance Downscan has a dedicated transducer element for that function, while Humminbird uses an algorithm that combines the data from the other transducer elements to create their Down Imaging. Both work, but since Humminbird's was really an afterthought, I will assume Lowrance is marginally better in this department. It is also evident that their display and resolution is slightly better.

However, these technical issues are not the whole story, especially when you consider fishing is a leisure activity for the majority of us. I work hard, and I want my equipment to work when I'm ready to play. And I don't want to have to make a bunch of phone calls, and keep looking out the front door to see if UPS has delivered my replacement part yet, and hope I get to go fishing this weekend. From all I have read and heard, Humminbird will get you back on the water, faster than Lowrance should something go wrong.

Being an engineer, I know that there are inevitable design flaws and manufacturing defects that go into a product line. Too many people buy a product, it goes bad, and they then scream "I'm never buying from them again!" Come on, people...sh*t happens. It is how a company deals with it when it does happen that is most important to me. I hear that Lowrance is working hard on their customer service, and I think that's great. More quality products to choose from is better for all of us. But for now, I will continue to use my Humminbird 1197 with confidence.

[Embrey]

lowrance never would answer the phone or email about a used one i had on a boat. so i sold it and bought a humminbird

[carolina-rig-01]

Originally Posted by Embrey

lowrance never would answer the phone or email about a used one i had on a boat. so i sold it and bought a humminbird

That is a common experience with Lowrance from what I gather. Everybody I know of that had any kind of problem with a unit and called to get it fixed just got the run around, if they were lucky enough to actually talk to someone. I went to a Humminbird Side Imaging unit and was blown away with how good their customer service is. Lowrance can claim to be turning around all their customer service issues if they want, but Linda Colt was the best thing that company had going for them and the way they strong armed her out of the company was all the proof I needed about what kind of company they are. All things that are man made will fail you eventually and if you can't get any customer service to help fix them then you just wasted your money. My personal advice is go Humminbird and have peace of mind that you are using a unit that is a whole lot more reliable and should you have problems, you will get assistance in getting it taken care of.

[mike234]

Thanks, I was about to purchase a Lowrance Elite 5 DSI color with GPS. I had been thinking about a humminbird Unit but have had only two in the 80's. It was called the 4000 and the fish ID 4 which showed the fish in red. Really primitive compared to today's sonar. After reading your reasoning for chosing the Humminbird and that there was not that much difference in the resolution I think I will go with the bird.

[carolina-rig-01]

Mike you won't be disapointed. And the Humminbirds today are not even close to what they were putting out back in the 80's and their customer service is head and shoulders above Lowrance.