best flasher for the money?

[thatoneguy]

OK, after fishing last winter with a buddy who showed me the benefits of using a flasher, I'm FINALLY sold on the concept.

What's the best bang-for-my-buck flasher, what features should I look for (I do most of my fishing in 20-45 FOW, if that matters), and what should I absolutely avoid? I can spend $400-$700 or so, more if I buy my wife something really nice for Christmas.

Thanks in advance!

[CJH]

Just look in the ice Forum and do a search. Its a Chevy/Ford/Dodge debate. There is not arguable "best" one.

[EBass]

You're going to get a TON of opinions and mine would be a Vexilar FL20. Currently I have a FL18 and love it. All the new products are pretty good so take your pick.

[FISHINGURU]

i own a vex FL18 and its a nice unit but one big feature its missing along with the whole vexilar line is adjustable zoom...the fl-18 only zooms the bottom 6ft and the fl-20 only does the bottom 12...i fish in places where there are alot of suspended crappies and eyes so its nice to be able to adjust your zoom anywhere in the water column.

for that reason my new flasher this year will either be a lx5 or a bird 55.

[McGurk]

The name of this post should be "Why I bought my Flasher, and why everyone else should, too."

Easy to use, Rock solid, non-flasher gadgets: Vexilar FL-20

Tweaky, Techy, Better Zoom, and a sponsor: Marcum LX-5

New, Colorful, Best of both worlds, but untested: Hummimgbird Ice 55

All about the same price, and less than your $700 max.

[CatchPhotoFilet]

i own a marcum lx5 and have not had any problems with it. Brighter display and a vex, can zoom in farther with better detail. You can cancel out the the interference you get from a vex. ive had mine for a few yrs without any problems.

[harvey lee]

LX5.

[kosterguide]

the lx 5 on shallow lakes sometimes has lots of interferance due to the strong power it puts out. I love it and still use mine but i have the new hummingbird and use that 2, problem with the humming bird is that sometimes the colors fade togher. however the vexlairs are nice aswell but if your fishing with a marcum too it will tend to have tons of interferance. each is going to have little things you dont like but all are good. if you have never used one before i would start out with just a fl8 by vexlair. very user friendly. just my 2 cents

[wplatehunter]

I like my vexlair, and have never had a problem with it. I would buy another one.

[Northlander]

I would lean towards the Marcum LX-5. Great unit. Otherwise I would look into a Ice 55. I see Marine General in Duluth has a early ice show deal on them at $429. Great price. Thats $70 less than I have seen them any place else.

I also see a few nice units for sale in the for sale forums here on FM.

[Fredd]

LX-5, though I wish they weren't so hard on the battery.

[mn_bowhunter]

What do you fish for? If you fish walleyes exclusively get an FL18 or FL20. Vex has a longer run time per charge. The higher wattage of a marcum is not needed unless you are fishing extremely deep. If you fish a lot of suspended fish the LX5 with adjustable zoom would be nice. I use my FL18 and just turn the zoom off when fishing crappies. I would not get an FL8 after using the zoom on my 18.

[Esox_Magnum]

LX-5 gets my vote to. I havent noticed problems in shallow water or and problems using it near any of the Vex's, fact I sold a Vex 18 (wifes) since my LX did so much better in shallow weedy water. She now has my old LX-5 I got a new one

[Northlander]

I havent noticed the LX-5's as being hard on batteries or hard in shallow weeds. The LX-5 semed to go as long as my LX-3 anyways and it was as good if not better than the LX-3 in shallow weeds. The zoom feature is awesome for them deep crappies.

[zepman]

Sounds like you're relatively new to ice-fishing or at least fishing with a flasher. In my opinion, I'd get a Marcum VX-1, great bang for the buck and a really easy unit to learn how to use. It's really all you need. With the $$$ you'd save on the flasher unit, you could stock up on lot's of other gear/equipment that would make your time on the ice more enjoyable.

[Ed Carlson]

Bang for the Buck? Hummmm?

I would say..the Vexilar Fl-8 or Fl-18 Genz box package and the MC VX-1 are good dollar for dollar bargains in there respective flasher class's.

[deadeye]

The name of this post should be "Why I bought my Flasher, and why everyone else should, too."

Easy to use, Rock solid, non-flasher gadgets: Vexilar FL-20

Tweaky, Techy, Better Zoom, and a sponsor: Marcum LX-5

New, Colorful, Best of both worlds, but untested: Hummimgbird Ice 55

All about the same price, and less than your $700 max.

Pretty much sums it up right there.

They all see fish and all have their followers. Even the cheapest one in each brand works great.

For the 700 bucks you could get a mid price range flasher and a gps or camera. Or you could get a entry level flasher, gps and a camera. That way your completely set up for ice fishing and have 3 sweet new toys instead of just one.

Just my 2 cents....

[fiskyknut]

Bang for the buck?? Thats easy, no doubt the Marcum VX1, hands down plain and simple more bang for less bucks.

Sorry guys I don't own any Marcum products at this time either!