looking for a new flasher

[Dogwalker]

If they ever get the bugs worked out I like the lx7 the best

[Mike47]

rethink the Ice 55, great unit and you can get one new for around $ 400 or less.

[frigidaire]

I njust bought a Humminbird ICE 55 for$395 (+$20 shipping) from poorfish.com!!!  Can't wait to use it.  I was using a Humminbird PiranhaMAX 170  which worked fine every time in my laundry tub, but was absolutely DEAD on a cold day on the ice.

[Mr.J5625]

rethink the Ice 55, great unit and you can get one new for around $ 400 or less.

+1

[bpiatt]

Just remember that no mechanical flasher can touch the lx-5 in target separation and features. I definitely agree it would be better to have the flat screen display, but wouldn't you rather see the most detail and know if you have 3 small fish near one another and not one big fish? Or see the perch that are hugging tight to the bottom that other flashers might miss?

[mattg]

Just remember that no mechanical flasher can touch the lx-5 in target separation and features. I definitely agree it would be better to have the flat screen display, but wouldn't you rather see the most detail and know if you have 3 small fish near one another and not one big fish? Or see the perch that are hugging tight to the bottom that other flashers might miss?

I own both the ice 55 and the lx5.  The lx5 by is by no means superior to the 55.  The only feature the lx5 has that the 55 doesn't is SFL, and quite frankly this feature is overrated.  I love the SFL in shallow water, but once you are past 20ft (as I am for the majority of my fishing) the lines on the 55 are just as fine.  The 55 can detect bottom hugging fish just as well as the lx5.  The separation is slightly better on the lx5, but it is actually easier to tell the size of the fish on the 55.  I have used them in the same hole at the same time for side by side comparison and the lx5 does not show anything that the 55 doesn't, and vice versa.

They are both great units and you can't go wrong either way, but the massive screen of the ice55 is a major selling feature

[esox_magnum]

I own both the ice 55 and the lx5.  The lx5 by is by no means superior to the 55.  The only feature the lx5 has that the 55 doesn't is SFL, and quite frankly this feature is overrated.  I love the SFL in shallow water, but once you are past 20ft (as I am for the majority of my fishing) the lines on the 55 are just as fine.  The 55 can detect bottom hugging fish just as well as the lx5.  The separation is slightly better on the lx5, but it is actually easier to tell the size of the fish on the 55.  I have used them in the same hole at the same time for side by side comparison and the lx5 does not show anything that the 55 doesn't, and vice versa.

They are both great units and you can't go wrong either way, but the massive screen of the ice55 is a major selling feature

 At 3/4" seperation vers 2.5" seperation there is a difference... I have also fished with all the brands top units and agree nothing beats the LX-5, the new LX-7 with the new update will blow the LX-5 away....

[Purple Floyd]

Well heck, my showdown has 1/2 inch separation and you get the benefit of not having the scale wrapped around a circle.And with my graph you can watch the fish rise off the bottom and right up to the jig. Both IMHO are improvements over the circular display and apparently Marcum engineers agree considering they are the signature features of the LX7.

[perchslappinmy]

I would go to a store and run them all in demo mode and see which one catches your eye.The huge flat screen display of the Birds  with the six color option really sets them apart.It's kinda like shopping for a TV and trying to decide between the old 20" and the flat screen 47"

[esox_magnum]

Well heck, my showdown has 1/2 inch separation and you get the benefit of not having the scale wrapped around a circle.And with my graph you can watch the fish rise off the bottom and right up to the jig. Both IMHO are improvements over the circular display and apparently Marcum engineers agree considering they are the signature features of the LX7.

 Never cared for the showdown in grey scale but warming up to it in color.....LX-7 is also 1/2" seperation....

[mattg]

At 3/4" seperation vers 2.5" seperation there is a difference... I have also fished with all the brands top units and agree nothing beats the LX-5, the new LX-7 with the new update will blow the LX-5 away....

On paper this looks nice, but in reality its not that big of a deal.  Considering that the average spoon I use is 2-4" long and the majority of fish I target have a body depth of 4-6" there is going to be significant overlap in vertical positioning between the two if the fish is anywhere in the vicinity of the lure.  Having logged considerable hours with both units I have noticed that the difference in separation is not a great as it looks on paper.  I'll agree that the Marcum does have slightly finer separation but when you are actually on the ice the minute difference is not a deal breaker.  Although maybe if a person was targeting small fish with small lures in shallow water this would be a bigger deal.  As a person who fishes depths from 5-40ft exclusively for walleye there is no clear winner, but I would give the edge the 55 given that its display is twice the size

[mattg]

Never cared for the showdown in grey scale but warming up to it in color.....LX-7 is also 1/2" seperation....

I too would never give up a colour screen for the showdown grey scale.  I like the look of the lx7, but a sonar thats screen is barely visible in the sunlight is not an option for me as I am hole hopping 90% of the time

[esox_magnum]

No issues seeing the screen on my 7 outside....No worse than my open water units....

[mattg]

No issues seeing the screen on my 7 outside....No worse than my open water units....

Interesting to hear, I hope you are right 
I haven't actually used an lx7 yet, but a friend of mine has and said he could barely see the display when fishing outside.  Hope to try one out so I can make that call for myself

[Dogwalker]

Interesting to hear, I hope you are right 
I haven't actually used an lx7 yet, but a friend of mine has and said he could barely see the display when fishing outside.  Hope to try one out so I can make that call for myself

it has adjustable brightness. maybe he hadnt had it all the way up?

[PFUNK]

I have a fish finder for my boat already. Just looking for an ice unit.

after looking at reviews
I am not sure I will jump into the hummingbird band wagon. they look nice but they seem to be lacking quality and customer support.


I think I narrowed it down to the showdown or the lx-3

out of the two. which one is better?

Can I ask what reasons or evidence you are basing this viewpoint on?  I am a Humminbird owner (have used Vexilar, Lowrance, Zercom, etc. in the past) and I don't think the birds lack quality and CERTAINLY do not lack customer support.  Every issue that I have had, whether it be a general question or a faulty battery charger, has been handled promptly and in the exact way I would have hoped for.  If I e-mail them I almost always have a response the next day, and if I call I usually don't wait much longer than 10 minutes to get through to a person.  They have always made me feel like I am truly cared about as a customer of theirs.  I would purchase another Humminbird in a heartbeat given the opportunity.

[Layne]

At 3/4" seperation vers 2.5" seperation there is a difference... I have also fished with all the brands top units and agree nothing beats the LX-5, the new LX-7 with the new update will blow the LX-5 away....

Hardly. When you only have a 3" diameter screen I guess you need all the target seperation you can get.

And yes, the LX7 is hard to see outside... Unless you like standing in your own shadow all day.

I like marcum products, have nothing against them at all. But they are far from the be all/end all of flashers as some on here would lead you to believe.

[Dogwalker]

Can I ask what reasons or evidence you are basing this viewpoint on?  I am a Humminbird owner (have used Vexilar, Lowrance, Zercom, etc. in the past) and I don't think the birds lack quality and CERTAINLY do not lack customer support.  Every issue that I have had, whether it be a general question or a faulty battery charger, has been handled promptly and in the exact way I would have hoped for.  If I e-mail them I almost always have a response the next day, and if I call I usually don't wait much longer than 10 minutes to get through to a person.  They have always made me feel like I am truly cared about as a customer of theirs.  I would purchase another Humminbird in a heartbeat given the opportunity.

I spent hours reading on here about the humming bird and others. there were numerous posts on poor customer service. I also got a chance to play with one at gander mountain. It didn't seem as beefy as the marcum or vex. They have nice features but I don't think I am willing to shell the money out for one.

[PFUNK]

Dogwalker...

I, like you, prefer to do my homework before buying an expensive new toy.  I think it is great that you are seeking as much info as you can to make sure you are happy with your purchase, but at the same time you have to remember that everyone has difference expectations for what "customer service" is.   You have to be careful because you will run across people who abuse their units and then expect companies to replace it free, even when it is out of warranty.  Anything less than a brand new shiny unit for free will be considered "bad customer service" to some people.  I am sure there are some who have taken good care of their units and have still had problems which were not solved how they would have liked.  Every company will have those.  As a whole, I think that most would agree that Humminbird has some of the best customer service among all marine electronics companies.  Like I said, the issues I have had were addressed exactly how I would have hoped.  Had a bad battery charger and was told a new one would be sent to me right away.  I guess none of this matters if you didn't like the unit you saw in the store anyway!  Hope you enjoy whatever one you end up purchasing.  If I was looking to get STRICTLY a flasher (though I never would because graph combos are so much more versatile) I would probably lean towards the Marcum LX5.  If you are gonna fork out that much money though I would wait to see how everyone likes the LX7 after the updates are out, which should be soon.

[DU4LIFE]

Gander mountain has the FL18 pro pack with tri beam transducer on sale for 399.00 and then add in coupon code G11671 at checkout and save a extra 20.00 . $379.00 I think thats about the cheapest i've seen it. I have looked at a lot of reviews and people seem to like this unit. It was the fl18 pro pack or the  Fl18 genz pack(349@glens army navy). I opted for the one pro pack for a few dollars more with the tri beam transducer.

[IM-POUNDING- R -U]

Fish Usa has there flashers on sale right now.  you choose

http://www.fishusa.com/Newsletters/2012-01-24_FishUSAflyer.htm

[Dogwalker]

right now I am down to 3 or 4 units.

ice 55, lx-5, lx-7 and if I can get any info on the elite 5 it might make the list.

I am having a hard time dropping the money on something that either doesnt work right or that I am only going to use a few months out of the year. I appreciate all the info you guys are giving me. its helped me narrow things down

I want the lx-7 as it has all the features I want, bigger screen, flasher, gragh, zoom, carrying case ect. I might just pull the trigger.

[Gillfisher]

DW- You can get the LX-7 shipped to your door for under $600 right now, that's a darn good deal on this new piece of equipment. It is a good unit right now, and within a week or so will be a GREAT unit when they put the update out.

[s10xr]

right now I am down to 3 or 4 units.

ice 55, lx-5, lx-7 and if I can get any info on the elite 5 it might make the list.

I am having a hard time dropping the money on something that either doesnt work right or that I am only going to use a few months out of the year. I appreciate all the info you guys are giving me. its helped me narrow things down

I want the lx-7 as it has all the features I want, bigger screen, flasher, gragh, zoom, carrying case ect. I might just pull the trigger.

there is a guy on here that has posted on other threads like the lx7 vs the elite 5.  has used both any questions on the elite 5 that would be the guy to get in touch with.  I beleive he returned his lx7 to use the elite 5 saying the lowrance blows it out of the water.  I think his name on here is evobass.  as far as the lx7 goes i just saw it online on glens i think for 549 or some stupid low price like that. 

[sniksder]

Why have it shipped when you can drive over to G.M. in Cicero and pick it up yourself.  JMO

[carcus1]

I have owned a Fl20 , showdown dualbeam and a marcum lx3tc, the vex fl20 is IMO the best of the bunch, but the best value is the humminbird 35, I fish beside one most days and its as good as a fl20, and way better than the lx3tc and its only 300 bucks. If my fl20 was suddenly gone it would get replaced with a bird 35

Well going to add humminbird 35 to the collection, I fish with the family everyother weekend and the kids like to use the flashers, and I can't stand fishing without, so working some overtime tomorrow to pay for it, and on my way home I will pick up a 35 for the kids or wife to use on Saturday.

[Hesperus]

I have an older fl8 vexilar that has treated me good and still does. but its an older model so the colors are so bright.

I was considering marcum models
showdown dual beam
lx-3

vexilar fl-12

or

the hummingbird  ice-55 which I dont know much about but has a decent price.

I am not sure which one is the best bang for the buck

I do alot of panfish jigging in 0-50 ft

I'd say that if what you have works stick with it and wait for the technology action to level off.