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Purchased a new LX-5 in the off-season and got my first chance to use it this weekend. I have been ice fishing pretty hard for the last 15 years. For all of those 15 years, I always had a Vexilar. My first Vex was an FL-8. I upgraded that to an FL-18 and about 3 years ago, I upgraded to the FL-20. Was always very happy with the Vex and never had any problems with them. I live close to their corporate headquarters and had stopped in there a few times for software upgrades and things like that. Excellent service too. So, why switch? Some of it came down to things I read on this site and how happy guys have been with the Marcum units. There were also some features of the Marcum that I really liked. I also figured that I could sell the Marcum for what I paid for it if I didn't like it. So after using the Marcum for about 12 hours this past weekend, I have some feedback for anyone that is in the market. The first thing I noticed is that the Marcum unit is substantially quieter than the Vex. I fished with a buddy that has an FL-18 and he asked me how they made it so quiet. You can barely hear anything from the Marcum. Not a big deal, but kind of nice to reduce the noise. We had both units right next to each other and it was clear that the Marcum had a sharper readout. I was really nervous about what sort of interference the two units would have as I have only every fished with a Vexilar, with guys that also have Vexilars. I was shocked to see that neither of us had any interference; even though our ducers were only about 6 feet apart. I had more interference last year when both of us were fishing Vexilar units. The main feature of the Marcum that caused me to buy it was the move-able zoom. I was able to use this feature over the weekend and can tell you it did help me catch more fish. I was fishing crappies and was mostly fishing the bottom, however, I did have some suspended fish come through and was able to move the zoom on the fly right up to where the fish were. Really, really nice feature. The other things I noticed was that switching the beam angle on the Marcum (standard dual beam on the LX-5; $100 option on the FL-20) was really easy. The button to switch is right on the front of the unit and there is an indicator light that lets you know when you are in the "narrow beam" mode. With my FL-20, the switch was mounted under the unit (ultra-pack) and there was no indicator on the screen to let you know which beam angle you had on. The only way to tell was to lift up the case and look under the unit to see where the switch was. As far as the case, I really like the Marcum set up. I was also very skeptical of the little swing arm that holds the transducer. I was very pleasantly surprised on how well that worked. I was fishing with my hand auger (6 inch) and not having the big float in the hole was really nice. Made it much easier to get fish on the ice. Also nice to have a soft case and not have to try to stuff the styrofoam float into the case. The case has velcro in all the right places to hold the case open when you are using it. Has easy access to the battery to charge the unit. Also has a clear window in the case that allows you to see the digital battery status display. The way you charge the LX-5 is another reason to buy it. The charger is very easy to use and provides excellent battery maintenance. All you have to do is plug the charger in to the connection on the battery and plug it into the wall. Even if you keep your Vex, look into this battery charging unit (can be purchased as a stand alone product). Fantastic set up. In terms of negative things about the LX-5; not much to say. Based on the battery status indicator, I think it did use slightly more juice than I would have expected. I fished with the unit for about 5 hours and the status indicator said I was at 70%. One other thing I had to get used to was when I turned on the zoom. I turned it on and figured out that the zoom was showing me the top 5 feet of the water column. I had to move the zoom down to the bottom to see where I was fishing. Not a big deal, but it was an extra step I wasn't expecting. Overall, my 1st experience with the LX-5 was very positive. I bought the unit primarily for the moveable zoom and it performed better than I expected. My feeling is that you get more features for your money with the Marcum than you do with the Vex. You can tell this unit was designed by guys that actually fish through the ice. Everything from the features, to the case, to the battery charger are very well thought out and function very well. I can't speak to durability and reliability yet since this is a new unit for me, but my first impression makes me glad I made the switch. I know that the "best flasher" debate will rage until the end of time, but all I can do is provide you my experience as a hardcore Vexilar owner of 15 years.
to purchase one of these, are they all retailing at MSRP, I think $449.99? Or is there someone who deals on them?
$399 at Scheels
(Clipped) I can't speak to durability and reliability yet since this is a new unit for me, but my first impression makes me glad I made the switch. I know that the "best flasher" debate will rage until the end of time, but all I can do is provide you my experience as a hardcore Vexilar owner of 15 years.
Well, HAD TO DO- JUST ORDER A NEW MARCUM 430.00 SHIPPED TO MY DOOR 2-3DAYS...IVE BEEN TRYING TO GET A HOLDOF MARCUM-LEFT 2 MESSAGES AND NOTHING.... NOT SURE WHAT THINK,ITS NOT GOOD THOUGH....ILL TRY THEM AGAIN 2MORROW....
I used my lx-5 for the first time this weekend. I'm a little disapointed.I would have rather had my Fl-8. I was fishing 8'. with the gain just above 2 i could see my split shot but not my lure. I'm thinking about returning it. I don't like it.
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Topic: Marcum LX-5 Review (Read 138020 times)
