Humminbird Ice35 vs marcum vx-1 pro?

[chasepalosaari]

They are both the same price and $300 is all I wanna spend. What was your experience with either unit? I do not know what depth the Vx-1 goes to. The ice35 goes to 200 I believe and I do fish deeper waters for lakers but also panfish and everything in between. Thanks for any opinions or tips.

[UP jigstick]

I have been more than happy with my Marcum LX-2 in the 3 years I have had it. The LX-2 is an earlier version vx-1 pro. I don't fish deep water, nor have I used the Bird, so I am of no help to you there.

[hoghammer]

a buddy I fish with has the ice35 and thats what I am hoping to pick up. I like the big screen and the simplicity. I dont need 3-4 different colors plus I dont usualy fish deeper than 30 fow dont know anything about the marcum but any flasher is better than no flasher.

[Doubles Shooter]

I fish along side a buddy that has an Ice 45. I'll take my VX-1 over it any day. I think the display is much sharper and easier to read.

[chasepalosaari]

Well I did some research and found a killer deal on the Ice45 and with the features the ice-45 has compared to the vx-1pro, it was no question that the ice45 is a better buy.

[s10xr]

reeds has the lowrance x67c for 250 with free shipping.  as good as either of those two models if not better with a ton of options.  for the money you cant go wrong with any of them but i paid 237.50 after discount at reeds online order. 

[ice dawg]

I was on ebay the other day and there were some new in the box Ice 55s for right at $300. Looked like a great deal to me, but I don't need one.

[BigDynamite]

I don't know what I'm missing, but looks like the best prices as of now on e-bay are in the $430+ range.

Just what I found is all.

[perchslappinmy]

I took a look the other day on Ebay  and couldn't find them either.I guess I'm not very good at Ebay.That would be a fantastic price.Makes me wish I needed one

[Layne]

Humminbird, no question about it. Dual beam transducer, large bright screen, good battery life are just some of the pro's. I used my ice 35 up to 50 feet deep with no issues, have fun doing that with a single beam 20 degree transducer. Target seperation was never an issue, not even in deep water.

The only reason I sold my ice 35 after 3 seasons was to upgrade to the ice 55. 

[Kevin23]

I'd take the VX-1P over the 35, 45, or 55 any day.. simply because it is the better unit for what I fish.. I fish only under 10-15' of water for bottom fish. The VX-1P has a better display and is much easier to use, any of the marcums are fantastic and worlds ahead of any of the other ones... features aren't any good when the unit itself is inferior to the lowest end of the competing brand.

Check reeds and other places, you could likely get a LX-3 for about 300-325 on sale since ice season is coming. LX-3 will blow the bird 45 or 55 out of the water.

Duel beam is nice if you fish deep water, but its not needed. The screen is not as bright as the marcum, and the colors are hard to see in bright light. VX-1P will work just fine up to 150 or 180', you will just see more of the bottom. It will pick up a #10 ice jig to 80 feet no problem.

[iwantone2.4]

keep the ice 35 info coming

[perchslappinmy]

A great starting place for info on all these flashers is to click on the first subject (flasher choice) on this electronics page.It gives you all the specs and features and the suggested retail price.A google search will find you the BEST prices and after rebates you may be surprised what you'll be able to get your choice for.Do some research and find the best way to spend those hard earned dollars.

[ice dawg]

I took a look the other day on Ebay  and couldn't find them either.I guess I'm not very good at Ebay.That would be a fantastic price.Makes me wish I needed one

There were only a few of them in that price range so I would imagine they went fast.

[Dog-duster]

I have a 45 and it's been a huge advantage since I got it. I suppose the target separation is a big deal if what your after often has it's belly on the bottom but I've never had that problem. Maybe the lowest model Marcum IS more amazing than any of the birds... I've never fished one so I can't really say. I doubt I'll be selling my 45 or x67c soon to see what I've been missing. I like the LCD readout that sets itself for your depth and at times the narrow beam is handy too. My flasher wheel did have a problem once that I caught before the season and Humminbird fixed it under warranty so it wasn't a big deal to me.

Honestly it doesn't make too much difference what everyone else uses as long as I'm happy with mine and I am. When someone asks a question like this it turns into a Ford vs Chevy debate. Look for features you like and go with it. If it's your first you'll wonder why you fished blind before.

[ice dawg]

Honestly it doesn't make too much difference what everyone else uses as long as I'm happy with mine and I am. When someone asks a question like this it turns into a Ford vs Chevy debate. Look for features you like and go with it. If it's your first you'll wonder why you fished blind before.

Couldn't have said it better. 

[chasepalosaari]

This will be my first flasher and i'm excited about it. Any flasher would have been a good first one but for the money I couldn't go wrong with the ice45. All opinions are welcome.

[perchslappinmy]

This will be my first flasher and i'm excited about it. Any flasher would have been a good first one but for the money I couldn't go wrong with the ice45. All opinions are welcome.

In the Ice Fishing Video section of the forum a guy just put up a video of him jigging gills from his kayak with his Ice 45.Thought you might want to see it...that huge flat screen display looks fantastic by the way.

[Kevin23]

The one thing I hate about the birds is the flat screen LED readout... with a bright sun behind you, you wont be able to read it very well. Not sure if this matters to you or not, but I spend most of my time outside and most of the time the sun ends up at my back.. sometimes its hard to see my marcum, and they are the brightest.

[mattg]

The one thing I hate about the birds is the flat screen LED readout... with a bright sun behind you, you wont be able to read it very well. Not sure if this matters to you or not, but I spend most of my time outside and most of the time the sun ends up at my back.. sometimes its hard to see my marcum, and they are the brightest.

I have an ice55 and ice troll 90% of the time.  Viewing the screen in full sunlight is not an issue at all

[Layne]

I'd take the VX-1P over the 35, 45, or 55 any day.. simply because it is the better unit for what I fish.. I fish only under 10-15' of water for bottom fish. The VX-1P has a better display and is much easier to use, any of the marcums are fantastic and worlds ahead of any of the other ones... features aren't any good when the unit itself is inferior to the lowest end of the competing brand.

Check reeds and other places, you could likely get a LX-3 for about 300-325 on sale since ice season is coming. LX-3 will blow the bird 45 or 55 out of the water.

Duel beam is nice if you fish deep water, but its not needed. The screen is not as bright as the marcum, and the colors are hard to see in bright light. VX-1P will work just fine up to 150 or 180', you will just see more of the bottom. It will pick up a #10 ice jig to 80 feet no problem.

 

-90% of people are going to fish more than 15 FOW at some point(and 99% of us are fishing for "bottom fish")
-in less than 15 FOW target seperation is not an issue(I can see when my minnowhead falls off in 40 FOW, how much better do you need?)
-bigger and brighter screen, reads very easy.. even in sunlight(not to mention they dont collect water like the marcums do)

Not sure how you came to these conclusions or determined that the humminbird is "inferior to the lowest end of the competing brand" but the numbers dont lie, the only thing marcum claims to do better is target seperation and like I said.. with a good dual beam unit this is not even an issue.

[Snakehunter]

I bought the Ice35 last March and a friend got his Ice55 a week later. I really like mine except for the cheap plastic base and lack of a case (comes included with the 55). I have learned to live with the base.
These things are super easy to set up and use. I highly reccomend them. I am not famliar with the entry level Marcums as all the guys I fish with have higher models. If I could have afforded one I may have gone that way but I am thrilled with my 35.

[Kevin23]

-90% of people are going to fish more than 15 FOW at some point(and 99% of us are fishing for "bottom fish")
-in less than 15 FOW target seperation is not an issue(I can see when my minnowhead falls off in 40 FOW, how much better do you need?)
-bigger and brighter screen, reads very easy.. even in sunlight(not to mention they dont collect water like the marcums do)

Not sure how you came to these conclusions or determined that the humminbird is "inferior to the lowest end of the competing brand" but the numbers dont lie, the only thing marcum claims to do better is target seperation and like I said.. with a good dual beam unit this is not even an issue.

Minnowhead? that's a big target for a sonar.. I normally work with size 12-14 ratso's and finesse plastics... less than 1/8th the size of a minnow head. I have fished with my marcum in 28 FOW and had the sensitivity at 1.5, using my little plastics... cant get any better than that.

[ice dawg]

When I'm not using a bobber I get to watch the tiny bead for the bobberstop slide all the way down to my jig in 35' of water. Pretty impressive in my opinion. I think most sonars are sensitive enough to do this.

[perchslappinmy]

When I'm not using a bobber I get to watch the tiny bead for the bobberstop slide all the way down to my jig in 35' of water. Pretty impressive in my opinion. I think mmost sonars are sensitive enough to do this.

You sir are correct

[Layne]

Minnowhead? that's a big target for a sonar.. I normally work with size 12-14 ratso's and finesse plastics... less than 1/8th the size of a minnow head. I have fished with my marcum in 28 FOW and had the sensitivity at 1.5, using my little plastics... cant get any better than that.

I have had no problems using micro plastics up to 50 feet deep with my humminbird ice 35 or my ice 55.. I have great success using micro plastics in deep water for perch when its a tough bite on standard tackle.

[chasepalosaari]

Well I got my ICE45 in today and it's all assembled and ready to go. First impressions were great. Very simple to use with no directions. Love the big LCD screen!

[Layne]

Congrats, your going to love the ice 45. Please post up after getting out a few times and let us know what you think.

[iwantone2.4]

TTT

[CHICKENFOOT]

I have owned them the LX-1 Lx3 and Lx5 also the Bird 55 I have to say the Marcum is far superior,the reason is the Bird signal jumps in the auto bottom mode, the line of bait would get larger then smaller you would never know where your lure was also the 2 birds will not work together the interference was impossible to overcome.The set up for the transducer with second wire also throws the bottom signal off I had to overcome this by removing the float and using the single wire under the machine witch froze to the bottom of the case  the Marcum works great out of the box easy to set up and comes with a case, the 35 does not. The Bird was sold on ebay and the Marcums are all still working just my 2 cents from owning both machines.