Vex vs Humminbird

[Pool9plumber]

Going to pick up new flasher.  90% of my fishing is on mississippi backwaters in < 5' water,  use camera to locate fish so i usually dont need a flasher.  Maybe a dozen days spent in 15 - 30 fow or 50-70 fow chasing perch. 
Need to see jig at depth, need zoom. 

Humminbird 45 has dual cone for shallow or deep and zoom.
Vex 18 has zoom but only 12° cone.  Both new for less than $400.

Don't need a sales pitch, in any case, just want to know thoughts, pros and cons on both - and in 2022, is the quality roughly the same. Thanks for any help on the decision.

[Winds-of-Thor]

I’m a couple pools upstream and I’m happy with my V18. I picked up the 19 degree transducer because I’m mostly in <10’.

[filetandrelease]

 I had vex for many years , the 18 with a 12* transducer worked  from 6-100’ with no complaints , can’t comment on the 45 bird as I have a helix 5 , but I have friends that have the 45 with no trouble , as said above it has duel degree transducer

[lowaccord66]

Try both and report back?  Ive used both. One I still have, one is a paperweight in a landfill.  Can you guess which one?

[Pool9plumber]

Which do you reccomend?  Looking for advice, Not a guessing game.

[hardwater diehard]

Vexilar are bullet proof ..the FL18 is the workhorse of its line up low power and zoom are nice features Have mine since 2003 ..get one with the 12 deg transducer and that will get you in/out of most depth situation ...the 20 deg is good for mostly shallow water .

Hummingbird has some knob/switch  issues and Customer Service is horrible based on past IS members 

                                                                                                                                         NUFF SAID

[Pool9plumber]

Will the 12° ducer "see" my jig in 70 fow perch fishing?

[bigfoot86]

Absolutely it will see your jig in deeper water, essentially that where the 12* shines.

[SDFlagChaser]

You can’t go wrong with either. I have owned an ice-55 for the past 12 years or so. The marks on a HBird are much bigger and blobby, and there isn’t a true zoom.  Each brand and model will have its pros and cons. It’s just a matter of learning to deal with them. No unit is going to be perfect.

[hardwater diehard]

Will the 12° ducer "see" my jig in 70 fow perch fishing?

https://vexilar.com/blog/2019/12/04/choosing-a-transducer-beam-angle

[Ice_Fly_Guy]

If I had to choose between the two, I'd get a Vexilar. Proven longevity and great resale if you want to upgrade. If you value marking spots on GPS, maybe look to a Helix.

[DR.SPECKLER]

Vexilar.bulletproof and get many years of service out of it.birds are alright but out of those two i would get a vexilar.

[lowaccord66]

Which do you reccomend?  Looking for advice, Not a guessing game.

Vex.

[chaumontriverguy]

i own a bird 55 and a vex fl8 ( so i have no experience with fl18) that being said i like the bird but the vexilars are stone cold reliable if i were you i'd buy a vex and upgrade when you can afford a even better ( forward view type ie; livescope or variant ) and selling it if needed will a dream they'll line up for it 

[wyogator]

I’d get a Helix with the xi-9-1521 ducer.  You still have flasher mode and can use flasher, graph or split screen flasher/ graph.  It has GPS and can be used with Lakemaster.  Plus, later down the road if you want, you can add Mega Live for mega $$$$.  Yes, Vexilars are built like tanks, but all sonars seem to last a long time if you take care of them.  Vexilars supposedly show more “real time” than LCDs.  But I sure as heck can’t tell the difference.  When that colored blip hits my bait on flasher setting, I simultaneously feel the bite.  Even the newer Marcums have gone to LCD.  I am in no way bashing Vexilars.  They are great units.  I may even buy one as a second unit.  But I would get a Helix first.

[ran7ger]

 loved my ice55, put up with 12 years of banging around in my toboggan but finally sold it for $300 and upgraded to the helix 7 all season. 

[bigfoot86]

I’ve posted something like this before but will say it again.  I have a vex flx20, marcum lx5i and a helix 9 that I converted to a flasher with the dedicated ice transducer.  I use the helix on my boat during open water season also.  The vex is a solid unit, seems indestructible.  Love my marcum the best due to performance but not the quality.  The marcum just seems to have the tightest target separation by a thin margin.  Though within the first 4 years I had to replace the transducer on the marcum and had to send it back in to have the motor replaced due to bottom bouncing.  As far as the helix, it’s a great unit and has lake mapping and gps capabilities which are awesome.  Though I will say, even though the helix has many options my eye can see the slightest hesitation compared to a true flasher.  Not much but I can pick up on it after staring at a real time flasher for years.  Not that big of a deal though, it’s only a slight margin.  Overall, I always said if my marcum messes up again, I’ll buy another vex!  Hard to beat them.

[FM67]

I have friends with a Vexilar, some pretty old and I and some others use Marcum. Believe it or not the only complaint I’ve heard has been the Vexilar lights are too bright. Marcum zoom imo is fantastic and even the lower models starting w m3,  have zoom throughout the water column.

[[email protected]]

I love my humming bird

[bigfoot86]

I was out today with the marcum which I love but am starting to see a little bottom bouncing AGAIN and this is with the new motor they replaced.  I don’t know if the new ‘M’ series have this issue but I’m upset.  If it goes I’m replacing it with another vex. 

[Pool9plumber]

Thanks to all.
 Went with an F L 18 with a dd100. Genz pack with the genzs soft cover all for less than 400 from L&M Fleet.

[bigfoot86]

You can’t beat that unit. Tried and proven.  Hope you enjoy it.

[Winds-of-Thor]

Good choice!

[hardwater diehard]

Thanks to all.
 Went with an F L 18 with a dd100. Genz pack with the genzs soft cover all for less than 400 from L&M Fleet.

Good

Yesterday my 20 year old Vexilar FL18 Ultra pack in a 6 gallon bucket took a tumble out of my SUV at 20 plus mph ...it survived...unscathed .

Good luck with your purchase

[filetandrelease]

 My first fl8 fell out of a truck going down the highway, I stopped pick it up and stopped the guy , had a big hole in case , I took it home epoxied it , and it fired up used it for a couple years , then bought a reconditioned 1 , and I gifted the old 1 to another flasherless guy , then moved up to an fl18 deep

[jrjach75]

I know it wasn't on your short list, but if cost isn't too much of a difference, that FLX20 with the flat screen is a lot nicer to look at than the smaller FL18 screen. If it's not worth it to you I'd still go with the FL18 over the HB. The 12deg is what you'd want for those depths.

On the FL18,  you buy a new one, or one made in the last couple years, all the Vexilars have the quiet brushless motors and brighter LEDs now. It's a big difference, no more chattering sound.

[threewack]

I have owned the fl18 since it came out,it is a work horse for sure,I've never had a issue. Just this week I upgraded to lithium just to save weight..Have a safe season.

[Nitz]

Just another testimony here to the durability of the Vexilar units.  I bought my FL-18 the year they came out (2001/2002 ice season, I believe) in an Ultra Pack setup w/ the dual beam (9/19 deg) Ice-Ducer.  I have used it every season since.  It was my first, and is my only flasher today.  The only "work" it has needed in all those years was to replace the battery.  Now, if they could make batteries that lasted as long as they used too...

A buddy of mine still has his functioning FL-8 (not the FL-8SLT nor the FL-8SE).  He acquired it shortly after they stopped labeling them "Hondex".

[ice dawg]

I had a Micronar FL8 for about 20 years and bought an FL 18 when they came out. Gave the Micronar to my son when I got the FL 18 and he got the FL 18 last year when I converted my Helix 7 for the ice. Now I have the Helix 7 and a Marcum LX 5. Haven't had a problem with any of them so far.

[hnd]

buying new today it would probably be a vexilar for a mechanical flasher.  if i could find a pre 2012 marcum, i would buy that all day.  my buddies dad has 2 LX5's manufactured in 2010 and I will make them mine some day.  mine is a 2012.   

The ice45 imo is the better unit, but humminbirds customer service drove me nuts for years.  Vexilars was amazing.  i had an fl18 give me some issues but it was taken care of really well.  When i had a bank of 898c's have some issues it was a nightmare.