aqua vu showdown vs. vexilar

[10inches of ice]

 thinking of buying a showdown, or should i just go with a vexilar?

[TravP]

I havent heard much abou the showdown but personally I would go with a vex.

[PIE]

just search this site and you will find a ton of arguments about this subject

[doggbiter]

  Get the Showdown.....and don't look back 8)

 Bought my VPG the first year they made them, there are 7 vpg-showdowns in my ice family. They work great and nobody has had a problem!
 You will get alot of feedback from the flashtards, trying to justify spending 4-5 hundred  on a flasher. Don't buy it, they are stuck with a spendy, noisy, battery-eating piece of.......

 Showdown=  no noise...long battery life...very accurate separation and display=easy easy easy

 Flasher=  NOISE...NOISE.......sh ort battery life....oh and you need an algebra-chart, a calculator, and your owner's manual just to try and figure the depth

 Trust me......get the Showdown

[panfishman13]

get the showdown, an aqua-vu, a gps, and the power tower, you're good to go!

[rtibbs48]

got the showdown this year and so far it works great.no problems, can't comment on the flasher never owned one

[Junior88]

Go with the flasher . They are color. Easier to see in the light. I own a vex . It isnt noisey. The battery is 3 years old and no problems. I will run the unit usually 12 hours at a clip. A common argument is they are hard to understand . BS ! They come with a DVD and manual. Also a web site. Go fishing and look for people using thier electronics and ask them to show you about them. Most will be glad to do so. I listened to a salesman a couple years ago and bought the wrong thing. Sold it on ebay and bought a vex. Good luck .

[TravP]

How is a flasher hard to use? i've seen little kids using them. And as far as battery life, you can get 20 hours on a battery.

[PIE]

 Get the Showdown.....and don't look back 8)

 Bought my VPG the first year they made them, there are 7 vpg-showdowns in my ice family. They work great and nobody has had a problem!
 You will get alot of feedback from the flashtards, trying to justify spending 4-5 hundred  on a flasher. Don't buy it, they are stuck with a spendy, noisy, battery-eating piece of.......

 Showdown=  no noise...long battery life...very accurate separation and display=easy easy easy

 Flasher=  NOISE...NOISE.......sh ort battery life....oh and you need an algebra-chart, a calculator, and your owner's manual just to try and figure the depth

 Trust me......get the Showdown

Obviously this guy has never used a flasher before because nothing about what he said is true. flashers are not that noisy, my lantern makes more noise than my fl-18. Second, I have fished a whole weekend on one charge, which was roughly around 22 hours. And if you need a chart or or calculator to figure out how to read the depth or find fish on a flasher, chances are you cant even tie your own shoes or count to 10 or do very basic math. Please do not listen to this statement this person has made. Vex & marcum make very nice, high quality products that work awesome. I figured out how to use my fl-18 in a whopping 2 minutes. Go to a sport shop and talk to some people there and have them show you the pros and cons of both products. If you want to see how the vex and the showdown work go to both of their websites and watch the videos. But he has one thing right, they are a little spendy, but you get what you pay for. Right now they have some good deals at gander on new vex's. Hope this helps.

[TravP]

Obviously this guy has never used a flasher before because nothing about what he said is true. flashers are not that noisy, my lantern makes more noise than my fl-18. Second, I have fished a whole weekend on one charger, which was roughly around 22 hours. And if you need a chart or or calculator to figure out how to read the depth or find fish on a flasher, chances are you cant even tie your own shoes or count to 10 or do very basic math. Please do not listen to this statement this person has made. Vex & marcum make very nice, high quality products that work awesome. I figured out how to use my fl-18 in a whopping 2 minutes. Go to a sport shop and talk to some people there and have them show you the pros and cons of both products. If you want to see how the vex and the showdown work go to both of their websites and watch the videos. But he has one thing right, they are a little spendy, but you get what you pay for. Right now they have some good deals at gander on new vex's. Hope this helps.

Nicely said. I brought my girlfriend out and she could understand both my FL20 and my Lx-3 in minutes.

[PIE]

I know i think im gunna have to get my girlfriend a vex for next year because she was always stealing mine.

[Gillgrabber]

I have to chuckle everytime this debate comes up.  I have a showdown and a flasher.  Both work.  I think it's like Ford v. Chevy.  Everyone has an opinion and think's whatever they own is the best.  I think you'll be happy with either one once you learn to use it.

[FISHFORPIKE]

No debate - get one flasher and one underwater camera system. 

[DizzyDean]

I have to chuckle everytime this debate comes up.  I have a showdown and a flasher.  Both work.  I think it's like Ford v. Chevy.  Everyone has an opinion and think's whatever they own is the best.  I think you'll be happy with either one once you learn to use it.

             

[ice dawg]

 Get the Showdown.....and don't look back 8)

 Bought my VPG the first year they made them, there are 7 vpg-showdowns in my ice family. They work great and nobody has had a problem!
 You will get alot of feedback from the flashtards, trying to justify spending 4-5 hundred  on a flasher. Don't buy it, they are stuck with a spendy, noisy, battery-eating piece of.......

 Showdown=  no noise...long battery life...very accurate separation and display=easy easy easy

 Flasher=  NOISE...NOISE.......sh ort battery life....oh and you need an algebra-chart, a calculator, and your owner's manual just to try and figure the depth

 Trust me......get the Showdown

   Yup, those Vexilars are pretty complicated for some folks to operate. 

[brokenline]

fl8 VERY ANNOYING to listen to the buzz it makes and the target seperation sucks... batterylife like running a jiffy lectric on a snowmobile battery and they dont give you depth in #s thats my experiences with a vexilar and am not to happy.. with the showdown it will pick put a bull head 1/2 onch off the bottom makes no noise, use it forever, only down side of it is that the cover flips shut in the wind.. jus my .02

[Buck762]

I have fished with both a Showdown and Vexilar.  I own the Vexilar and my uncles friend owns the Showdown.  They guy broke the transducer arm for his showdown the first day when it tipped over onto its screen.  They both work good, and get the job done, but the grey scale on the showdown sucks in comparison to my three color vexilar.   Who doesn't love the soothing sound of a vexilar when your on a hot perch bite??

[doggbiter]

fl8 VERY ANNOYING to listen to the buzz it makes and the target seperation sucks... batterylife like running a jiffy lectric on a snowmobile battery and they dont give you depth in #s thats my experiences with a vexilar and am not to happy.. with the showdown it will pick put a bull head 1/2 onch off the bottom makes no noise, use it forever, only down side of it is that the cover flips shut in the wind.. jus my .02

 Just tuck the cover back through the handle, works good

[Trooper Bri]

10 inches, it's tough to compare the two. You're talking apples and oranges. Do research in the equipment forum and buy what you feel will fit your needs most. Having seen both in action on the ice, it really does come down to personal preference. I feel flashers currently have a slight lead in technology since they've been around longer, but the VPG's are cheaper and will get better quicker. Hopefully you can find a local outfitter that stocks both so you can get a little hands on feel for them.

[rlvb]

i'm with doggbiter on this subject,get the showdown,i won't leave home without mine,but i will leave the marcum lx3 at home,you'll be happy with one,i am.

[rlvb]

fl8 VERY ANNOYING to listen to the buzz it makes and the target seperation sucks... batterylife like running a jiffy lectric on a snowmobile battery and they dont give you depth in #s thats my experiences with a vexilar and am not to happy.. with the showdown it will pick put a bull head 1/2 onch off the bottom makes no noise, use it forever, only down side of it is that the cover flips shut in the wind.. jus my .02

take the cover and push it up through the carring handle.that will take care of that,what i do

[52niner]

Well I owned a Vex FL-20 and it is a great piece of equipement. I think the color scale makes it a little easier to read then the showdown but they essentially do the same thing. I use a Lowrance 522C now and although I don't want to get into the argument of vex and lowrance guys the one thing that I miss without a doubt is the Hum of the vex, that is a true fishing sound.

[COVEJEEPSXJ]

I really like my showdown, but I have never used a different hardwater fish finder. So I really have nothing to compare it too.

+'s
Affordable
Simple No-Brainer Operation
EXCELLENT Battery Life
Upgradable by the factory

-'s
No Color
Transducer Arm is easily broken (easily remedied with some pipe insulation)

[caddy084]

Well I owned a Vex FL-20 and it is a great piece of equipement. I think the color scale makes it a little easier to read then the showdown but they essentially do the same thing. I use a Lowrance 522C now and although I don't want to get into the argument of vex and lowrance guys the one thing that I miss without a doubt is the Hum of the vex, that is a true fishing sound.

Fire mine up a few times a summer just to hear that whirling sound, makes you look at the calender and start counting the days..... 8) 8)

[KTapper]

I would go with a flasher. I have owned a humminbird ice 35, marcum, and now a vexilar fl-20. The other don't even compare to the vexilar, and I love the noise that the vex makes and the night and day setting. Oh and the battery last 24 hours.

[metalfish]

I own a showdown. I love it. The only problem I have is it eats fuses. Both kinds are great.

[dcso3009]

I'd go with the Vexilar.  What am I saying... I did go with the Vexilar.  The biggest seller for me is reliability.  Vexilar has been building these things for many years, and there are models from the beginning still out on the ice today.  Also the features of the Ultrapack put the Vex even further out in front. 

My advice is get something, and learn how to use it.  Whether it is a spinning flasher or a LCD graph, learn it. 

[TravP]

I'd go with the Vexilar.  What am I saying... I did go with the Vexilar.  The biggest seller for me is reliability.  Vexilar has been building these things for many years, and there are models from the beginning still out on the ice today.  Also the features of the Ultrapack put the Vex even further out in front. 

My advice is get something, and learn how to use it.  Whether it is a spinning flasher or a LCD graph, learn it. 

Exactly. Reliability is everything. Thats why I own an FL20. I used to have an FL8, then an LX-3[ unreliable ]. Now another vex, and I havent looked back.

[Polish Chippewa]

sometimes when i have trouble sleeping at night and i am to excited for the morning bite i turn on my fl 12 and let it hummmm me to sleep...... and even after it was running all night it still keeps me fishin for hours and hours.......  no complaints about using a vex.... if u are often confused and find yourself asking why did that giant red mark just cover up my little green mark and what just pulled my rod down the hole, then maybe a vex isnt for you...... fish on fellow loyal vex users.

[KTapper]

I went on a trip to LOTW and ran my Vexilar FL-20 from wed-sat on one charge! Just need to shut it off when not using it and somtimes I used two deadsticks.