Vexilar flx12 or Humminbird ice35

[Flyingmaggot]

Which one do you have?  Or prefer? And why?

[LP Steve]

I don't think the 12 has zoom. The 18 does and it's a must.

[Riddlefiddle]

I personally use a vexilar. I wish it had the zoom option that the hummingbird has.

[mdougla1]

Which one do you have?  Or prefer? And why?

I havent used the 12.  My buddy just picked up the ice35.  Nothing but good things to say about it.  Slick unit.

[alfed]

I have a ICE35 and have absolutely no issues with it after 4 seasons. It has a bigger display, has zoom, duel beam. And reads to 200 foot. I think the vex go 120foot. And user friendly.  I recommend  the ICE 35.

[Buzzbait63]

I bought my tried and true Ice35 last year and I am thrilled with it. Turned fishing into catching.

[62&done]

I had the fl12  was a great unit but as said, no zoom feature. sold it to a young man just starting to ice fish and upgraded to the 18  Never used the bird so I can't say yea or nay  but I do like my FL18 and it will make you better fisherman

[ECobb91]

I have the 12 and my dad has the Ice 35.

Ya the 12 doesn’t have zoom but it’s not a must as others say it is. Atleast for me. I’ve never felt like I’ve missed a fish because I didn’t have that feature even when fishing 80+ ft deep. I’ve used the zoom on my dads ice 35 and didn’t think it made a difference.

The downside of the ice 35 is that it doesn’t have low power mode which cuts through the weeds or muddy water making it harder to see your jig. It also doesn’t have as many rejection settings so you might get more clutter if fishing around people with different units.

Basically if you fish shallow water (20’ or less), go with the FL12. If you feel the need to have zoom, go with the Ice 35. Also, Vexilar doesn’t play well with marcum. Humminbird doesn’t seem to bother vexilar, not sure how it behaves near a marcum. So if you fish in a group, be sure to know what units they have cause that can get messy. Both units are great.

[Pequod1]

I have the fl 18 and an ice 55. Like E Cobb, I use the vex in shallow less than 12’ and the ice 55 over that.  I like the big digital depth read out of the ice. Much easier than trying to figure out the depth. I do nit like the zoom feature on the ice when hole hopping. You have to reset it from hole to hole because it loses the zoom. The vex keeps the zoom feature on and is easier to hole hop.  I much prefer the ice for perch and walleye fishing the deeper water. That big screen even has a light setting to brighten it up. Also, if you ever get out laker fishing in 100’ + leave the vex and marcum for that matter home. They don’t even come close to the ice55 in picking up your lure and lakers.
You can use an ice next to either a marcum or vex with little or no interference.
To sum it up. Vex shallow and hole hopping. Humminbird everything else.

[skinny4]

I'm a humminbird guy. It's whats on all my boats and have 2 helix just for ice. I've had a few problems with them. Warranty sucks. Not sure what warranty comes with a vex. To get more than a few hours of fishing you need to dim your screen way down and it sucks out of the hut. Still need to bring spare batteries. If it's just for ice I'd go vex. Get a zoom. It's a must have. My marcum flasher would run for days and took 10 years of horrible treatment before it broke. They offered me 40% off a new unit on a trade in. Just don't have anything in stock or I'd be running that. If the humminbird didn't control my minn kota Id sell them all and never buy one again. I do love my humminbird but I'd go with something else for reliability purposes.

[IcefisherSteve]

I had the ice 45  for 8 years. It was all the flasher I thought i needed....Then I started fishing deep-water for lakers. Ice45 would start to lose mark on jig around 100'. So I bought the flx28. Works better in deeper water by far. I dont even use most of the features on the fllx28  so its more flasher than I need. If the humminbird worked better in deeper water I wouldn't of bought the vex..

[chessieman]

I've had an ICE 45 for 10 years - love it - have a Marcum M1 as a back-up and prefer the 45 - no problems at all except the damage done when I hit it with my truck - has dual beam and Zoom, I have the Zoom on ALL the time, indispensible when jigging panfish - the BIG display is a huge plus over the Marcum - that's my 2 cents - Oh, just switched to a Li Ion battery - the big display does chew up the battery faster 

[Flyingmaggot]

Thank you all for all the input/feedback. I am just trying to figure out a backup unit for this season. I had the option of the two and ended up going with the ice.  I am planning on a helix next season, but needed something for this year. Didn't need all the bells and whistles on this one.

Anyone have a helix they want to brag about? Or sell me?! 

[FreshwaterPhil]

Can't comment much on the vex, I used one a few times only. I have both the ice 35 and Marcum m1. Each has some benefits and disadvantages when comparing them to each other.

Ice 35:
Bigger display
Gain less sensitive, so more adjustable
Easier to get in and out of carry bag (not included).
Transducer holder is foam, so I'm able to keep in in the sled while fishing, see below.



M1:
Transducer more powerful, I can shoot through thicker ice without drilling as long as it's clear.
Less interference.
Comes ready to go, wired, travel pack, etc. No need to plug / unplug battery terminals when charging, etc.
Easier carrying to hole hop without sled, due to ducer arm with stopper. Also ices up a lot less than ice 35 foam system.