Poll

What do you prefer or think is the best sonar out there? Feel free to tell us what you use and why. If other, tell us what you use.

Marcum
217 (38.2%)
Vexilar
191 (33.6%)
hummingbird
97 (17.1%)
Other
63 (11.1%)

Total Members Voted: 565

Author Topic: Marcum vs. Vexilar vs. hummingbird vs. other POLL(Lets settle this finally!)  (Read 68314 times)

Offline bobberbill

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Lowrance.. still likin my x67-c.. Ford and Chevy?? HAHA.. Last rides are in a Cadillac..

Offline Jigginforjumbos

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Where are all the humminbird owners at? Lol vex fl20 for me. No issues at all and battery is at 90 percent when I leave the ice after fishing all day. Can't complain
Hard water, vexilar, aqua vu, and my brother to fish with is my ultimate high.

Offline varmonter

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i have an auger and a jig pole and some tip ups....all this usually finds fish..... ;D

that being said i just bought an marcum lx7 ..havn't got it yet hopefully this week..want to try it on friday for white perch in st albans bay..
marcum seemed to have good reviews from this board and others..

Offline TIBS

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I run a Bird, but I think that Marcum has the best line up right now.  I just can't afford an LX7, so I'll stick with my ICE35.

Offline Geezer_

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I love my Humminbird ice 45. Since it is the only one I've owned I can't shoot holes in the others.

Offline hnd

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i'll commend the team here.  this is how you keep the clicks in the off season. 

Offline eriksat1

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If it shows depth, shows your jig, and shows fish, and can block out interference from other units close by they are all good and all you need. That said I own 2 Marcum LX5's. Why 2? Because I was tired of having my wife or daughter take over my LX5 when ever they came with.

Offline hnd

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owned :
fl8
fl18
vx1
lx5

have used alot :

x67c
flx28
ice35
lx6

The marcums are just the best units i've used.  Teh VX1 was better even than most of the others.  Marcums plastic cases are kind of cheapo though. 

The ice 35 was ok, certainly not as sharp as the vx1.  the x67c was literally useless if there were any other flashers within a 20yd radius of me.  so no thanks. 

the flx28 had a proview ducer which after a week of using, i'll never own (the ducer...the 28 was nice)

my 8 and 18 were also good units that caught alot of fish but the blobbiness and the 18 going bad were what sent me to the dark side. 

Offline Joe in T.C.

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I owned a Vex and now use a Marcum.

Both are great units.

Over the years I have seen quite a few other brands in action

Vex or Marcum are the ONLY two units I would ever buy.

good luck all

Offline Lobes

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I placed a vote for other because there will never be a "best sonar" since the competition will forever be tweaking improvements/features.
The hands down best fish finder ever that will always hold that place for ice fishing will have to be the good old hook, line and bait. That is the only locator that will always actually put the fish on the ice ...

                                                        :tipup:
Lobes

Mecosta County / Lakeview, Michigan

Online Spider1

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I have an ice-45, it works. I've looked over shoulders to check out marcums and vex's and I like the display on the marcums and vex's better. the birds marks are much bigger than the others and that tens to get messy when there's junk in the water or some small fish come in with the larger fish. I like the look of the marcum the best the marks are crisp and you know what you have down there. I also don't like that humminbird makes you buy the soft cover separately. Also, I noticed that the plastic base hums sometimes when it isn't sitting perfectly flat and at times for no reason. I've resorted to having to lean my foot against it to keep it from humming sometimes.

Offline 3whitevanes

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I've owned and tried basically all of them.   That being said, I currently use Vexilar FLX-28's and couldn't be happier.

Offline iowapackfan

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I currently use a fl-12 for pond hopping here in Western Iowa and couldn't be happier. Great little unit.
God,Country, and the Green Bay Packers

Offline Big Ice Hole

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I own both a fl8 and a 5.6 showdown. Haven't had much of a chance to use the showdown this year or the vex for that matter. I liked the Vex, but got a killer deal on the Showdown. Both make good paper weights this year.
Born to fish, Forced to work.

Offline Mittenman

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I've been completely happy with my Marcum VX1-P. I like it better than the Lowrance that I had before but have no firsthand expearince how well the Marcum stacks up against other similarly priced flashers. The impression that I had at the time that I bought my Marcum after reading a lot of reviews was that Vexilar makes a very good sonar but that you pay a premium for name recognition.

Offline HIMO

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What Vexilar has going for it.

1 Great customer service
2 Durability(with care they last forever)
3 Great warranty(2years with the option to buy2 more)
4 Exceptionally fast turn around when serviced
5 When you call you get to talk to a live person who doesn't give you the run around
6 Try to google vexilar problems (you won't find much) then google marcum problems

Not knocking others,just love vexilar.

well, you just stated all the stuff you like when your Vex breaks down. Poll closed Marcum wins. LOL !!!

                                                                                                     HIMO
It's not how deep you fish, but how you wiggle your worm !!!

Chute82

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I fish with a vex, my buddy fishes with a marcum.
 He drives a ford, I drive a Chevy..
I'm a Vet, he is not..
He shoots a Remington , I shoot a Winchester
He likes deer hunting, I rather rabbit hunt
His wife has brown hair, my wife is a blonde
He has a gas auger, I use a hand auger

I'm starting to wonder why I'm friends with this guy?

Offline mono_mono

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I have a Vex FL-8se. My first flasher, arrived last week. All I can say is these things keep you on the ice longer than you would fish without one. A LOT LONGER! They are mezmorizing and fun. Good thing I am already divorced.......
Go to Heaven for the climate, to hell for the company!

Offline Nysportxman

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Vex guys are still trying to log on...dial up is too slow and outdated. But its reliable ;)

Ha, I see what you did there.  Marcum all the way for me!

Offline nd.walleye

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I voted for Vex, I have pined over the flx28 and the lx7 for months and ended up getting a 28 (raffle but would have went vex anyway). What it comes down to for me was the machine is a sonar, i dont need all the fancy extra bits that the lx7 has, not a fan of graph display, and honestly when its -20 the lcd screen would kinda freak me out. Basically i like that vexilar has stuck to a build that works, no need to be innovative with a sonar, it does what its suppose to. :) Ultimately, you really cant go wrong unless you dont buy one... like i did.... for 15+ years, not really sure how i never pulled the trigger in all this time.
 

Offline chumster

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Lowrance for sonar, Vex for flasher.

Offline boatman

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I have a Bird. 385CI and like it a lot. Flasher works great, many different color options. Gps that is awesome for marking good holes from year to year. Card reeder for snap shot and lake maps. Have no problem running beside my buddies vex as it has noise filters. On graph setting it can track many jigs works well tracking fish following jig up. It is nice to see fish being pulled up and then watching them swim back down seeing how they swim down. More info than just a flash line. Here is a pic I took of jig being pulled up and down. It's a little blurry pic from phone.


Offline 1moslab

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vex vex vex need my flasher to always work

Offline haulin bass

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I have a marcum lx-7 and a marcum showdown troller. Love them both. Only complaint is with the lx 7 screen visibility in the sunlight. Showdown troller I use most of the time. Have caught more than my share of lake trout with it. Simple to use and very light. Strap it to my leg ice fishing and mount it to the front rail on my boat for jigging trout in the summer. Of course if you like to stand and ice fish it would have to be rigged a little differently.

Offline Raptortrapper

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I have an LX7.  It is my first and only fish finder.  I've already commented earlier in the thread for my vote.  HOWEVER, this thread has shown me that should I need / want a new fish finder somewhere down the road, I won't be afraid to look into vexilar.  It is very obvious who the two heavy hitters are in the market, and I'm glad to have followed this thread.   

Well done to both Marcum and Vexilar!!
The next time you think you know it all, try telling someone else's dog what to do.

Offline NY_labman

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187 votes in 2 days?  Come on guys, there's more than that signed in in that time!

Offline 1moslab

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Offline Rags777

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don't really like the way this poll is leaning  ;D and I don't think this is gonna settle anything Roy  :roflmao:

Offline WhereDaRainbows

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I love my flx28!! Way better then my previously owned lx7
"I have fished through fishless days that I remember happily without regret." -- Roderick Haig-Brown

Offline yoopermjm

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Marcum, Chevy, Polar Bird, Nils, Milwaukee Fuel, Pflueger, Trilene Micro Ice 2Lb, Frabill Titanium Spring Bobber, Tungsten Jig, Makiplastics, Striker Hardwater, LaCrosse Ice King Plus, Kromer, Busch Light.

 



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