Vexilar FL8 Or FL18, which should I get?

[FishDeepCreek]

Ok this is for you Vexilar owners, or users. Uncle Sam is paying me back good this year, on tax return! I plan on buying a gas Auger & a Vexilar. Which Vexilar should I go for the FL-18 or FL8? Gander Mountain in Greensburg PA had the FL8 Propack on sale for $269 (normally $299 there) Also any other accessories I should look into for the Vexilar? What are the Pros & Cons of each? I know this question pops up all the time here, but Id like some new input on this. Thanks ahead of time!

[holeinhide]

fl-18 i just got one this year and i love it the zoom is worth the extra money the soft case is a must as well it puts it all into 1 neat little bag so its easy to move around and it keeps rain and snow off your unit. i have seen bolth the fl-8 and 18 in use if you dont have the ca$h for the 18 than the 8 is the next best thing but if your uncle gives it back then go top of the line wtih the duel beam fl-18

[high_flags]

I own both , the fl-8 I had for 15 years I just got the fl-18 last year.Its a big improvement ,well worth the extra hundred bucks.good luck,HIGH FLAGS

[bussman]

If you fish water deeper then 20 ft I would buy the FL-18. I always have my bottom zoom on unless I am in water under 18-20 feet then it doesn't matter.

[Mr.Seaguar]

FL-18. I have the FL8 and its great but get new technology whenever possible.

[PERCH_INC.]

HOLEINHIDE HIT THE NAIL RIGHT ON THE HEAD.              FL18 IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bigredonice]

go with the fl-18

[kenelz]

FL18, you will love the bottom zoom, and for shallow waters it has the low power switch. And, you wont be putting more money out next year for a FL18 because you bought a FL8.

[big_buddah]

check out the marcum flasher I think you will like it better I had the fl18 I bought the marcum this fall and love it the vexilar has 400 watts peak to peak the marcum has 1500 don't get me wrong the vexilar is an excellent unit if I was going with one of them it would be the fl18 because of the zoom

[DaFish]

I purchased the FL 18 this season  and  wont fish without it
the FL 18  has low power setting which elimitates the need for an S cable,  Brighter display than the 8,  and the auto zoom is great  for  perch and other bottom fish

[CNY_Tim]

I agree with Big Buddah I have tested the FL-18 and the LX-3 .
The fact that the LX-3 Interference Rejection works and the overall crispness of the LX-3's display is enough to render my decision to go with a MarCum...  
The zoom on my MarCum, does not jump up 1' - 3' off the bottom like the FL-18 either.  I like the FL-18's colors better but you can't beat the crisp vibrant thin line technology of the MarCum LX-3 display...  It's truly incredible...I beat on the MarCum I had this season and it delivered time and time again.
The variable adjustable zoom in the LX-3 is amazing technology.   Face it, not all  fish reside in the bottom 6'.  The FL-18's zoom was a hinderence when perch fishing this season.   For example... Fishing Oneida in the morning I would have fish coming in very high up  5' to 6' off the bottom which rendered the zoom on my 18 useless because they were running 2' to 3' up to attack my spoon so I had to put the FL-18 in regular mode until mid morning then I could switch to zoom again as they came in a lot lower and I was fine.  With the LX-3, I  have  a 10' adjustable zoom window fishing 38' that I could have seen these fish attack my bait in zoom mode.
The charging system on the LX-3 supercedes anything on the market... Just plug in and forget about it, it's protected as far as overcharge and has a digital status read out.
The LX-3 is something we have all been waiting for.  I was worried about the customer service with these going in.  But the two cases that I have seen all season, one was bad brushes and the other was dropped during shipment.  Both these units were replaced quickly with new ones expeditiously no questions asked.  

[Fishrmn]

CNY TIM,
If 1500 watts is good my Lowrance X-85 LCD graph has 3,000.  If a 10 foot zoom window is good, my X-85 can zoom in on any 1.25 feet in the water column.
I've had flashers.  I'll go with LCD graphs.
Fishrmn

[asphalt_kid]

I am with Fishrmn. I use and prefer the Lcd Graphs.

[Carp1]

This is the first time I have to disagree with the Kid.  The LCD units are not in "Real Time"  The is a delay to what you are seeing on the screen to what is down your hole.  Also The Cone is a much wider spread on most of the LCD units opposed to the vexlair.  You are not going to be able to see your teardrop jigg with most LCD units, and you certainly can not see the fish coming up to or going away from you bait.  That is the true beauty of the Vexlair.  FL8- or FL18.

As for the 8 vs. 18.  I just got my Vexlair this past year, and money was an issue for me.  I was to tight to spend the extra $100 to get the FL18 and I have not regreted it yet.  If you do not have a Vexlair now The FL8 will be 1000 times better than no Vexlair at all.  If money is not an issue get the FL18 Why not get the latest technology if you can afford it.  Either way, you will not be disappointed I garuntee!

[Fishrmn]

The idea that you can't see your teardrop, or that LCDs aren't real time is a myth,  Period.  I can tell the dfference between a size 10 demon with a perch eye on it and one without at 60 feet!  If you can stop a wrist watch at the exact 100th of a second, every time, you might be able to tell the difference between the "instantaneous" readout of the flasher and the readout of an LCD graph.  Both signals are relayed through the circuitry of the receivers and displayed on the screen.  And now with a zoom feature, the flashers are using a chip.  Just like the graphs.

If you are the type of person who still uses a VCR, (doesn't own a DVD yet), and it blinks 12:00 all of the time.  If you don't program your cell phone to hold the 100 most used phone numbers.  Or if you just can't figure out how to navigate with a GPS unit, then you probably won't like an LCD graph.  But if you can spend the time to learn how to use all of the features of a "good" graph, it will amaze you what you can see.

The flashers are still good, but the graphs are capable of so much more.

On another thread, Hard H2O said that the difference was like a long bow and a compound bow.  I think he was saying that the flasher was like the compund and the graph like the old low tech long bow.  I beleive the opposite is true.  Flashers have been around for about 45 years or so.  And they haven't really changed in all that time.  Graphs have been around since about 1978 or '79. and have gone from paper to LCD.  They have gone from units with 100 vertical pixels to units with as many as 320 or more vertical pixels.

If you get a flasher, you'll have a good fishing tool.  If you get a graph and learn how to use it, you'll have a great fishing tool.

My two cents.

Fishrmn