Interesting info on Vexilar

[labguy]

92%? I've only been ice fishing since I moved to MN in 2003 after leaving the Army- but in that short time it's been almost all Vex's. I've only ever seen 2 Lowrance units, and 2 broken Showdowns. I'm certain that there are Marcums out there, plenty, as well as the hummingbirds, etc-

The real deal here is whether you have an FL8, an ICE55, an LX5, an X67 or a dark ice house in clear, shallow water- the guy who catches the most fish this winter is the guy with the most days on the ice!

[Swill]

Originally Posted By: MNfan

Not very scientfic but since anyone I have been fishing with have used flashers (maybe 10-15 years)only remember 2 guys not using Vexilar. And I can remember when most depth finds was a string with a weigth tied on it.

Totally agree. In the last 5 years I can think of one guy and he had a Lowrance Ice Machine. So that 92% actually sounds a little low to me

...HATERS

It all comes down to distributors for vex. Think of flashers like beer. most beer sold in the us are for miller, bud, but light, and in MN you get more mich golden draft, high life, bush light. Does that mean other beers are bad, or not as good because they don't have a large market share? No, just not as available, and widely distributed.

Marcum= craft beer! Vex = bud light

[Ed Carlson]

I would be preaty surprised if any marine electronic we use on the ice or open water does not have the largest share of it's working key components made in Japan (Far better than in China if you ask me). Most high end processors and components only come from a select few manufacturers in the electronics world.

I for one am happy they use the best they can buy, Japan makes very good electronics. Not to say I didn't wish it was the deal here in the USA, but the facts are they are the Go-2 Guys for electronics today. Japanese components tend to cost more as the performance its there, and the quality.

[wormdunker]

92% seems like a good estimate to me. Remember Vexilar has been in business A LOT longer than Marcum. Take into account the fact that Hondex/Vexilar was selling flashers for about 15-20 years prior to Marcum and it is not hard to believe at all.

For the record I am a big fan of both companies and actually was involved with Marcum/Zercom at their inception.

Both good companies with good products and good people with Minnesota ties. No need to bash either one in my opinion. Their employees, including the rep you talked to, all live right here in Minnesota. You can thank Vexilar for creating the category and technology as well.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I would believe they have a historical market share of 92%, considering that they have been around for quite some time. I've talked to guys that work in electronics at 2 large retailers. According to them, they sell Humminbird and Marcums 4 or 5:1 over Vexilars.

[New2TheFly]

I'm on the same page as a few others, only knowing one buddy who doesn't use a Vex. Maybe Swill is right and Vex is like Bud Light, but if that is true its the best darn beer in the case.

For what its worth...I picked up an FL-20 off C-List but noticed the battery indicator did not work and the rod holder was missing. Brought it to the guys in Bloomington who replaced the indicator and gave me a rod holder. On top of that, they took the unit apart and gave it a thorough cleaning and then calibrated the frequency (or whatever they do) to exactly 200 KHZ. Walked out of there with a like new unit and it didn't cost me a dime.

Now maybe Marcum will do the same for their customers, but I have been given no reason to switch over.

[cementhead21]

me too...now if only my marcum would have lasted more than 2 seasons we would have a winner

Well Mine lasted since the first year that the marcums came out till this past fall and i use mine year round,I brought it in and the service was fantastic for me.

[augernaut]

Every year you see more Marcums and Birds on the ice. Brand loyalty if nothing else will keep the vex guys buying their vexes. I sold my FL-18 to buy an LX-3 3 or 4 years ago and it was the best switch I could have made. Have not had one issue with that LX-3 - it's awesome, and every bit as bombproof and reliable as the vexes are. I would LOVE to see a statistic of first time ice electronics buyers and what brand they buy. I'd bet they are favoring the Marcum, Bird, and even Lowrance, over the Vex. Painfully obvious that Vex is still operating with the same internals that they bought from Sitex/Hondex in the beginning - hooked up a rodholder and a switch or two in 20+ years?? Meanwhile, Marcum, Bird, Lowrance truly creating and improving high quality ice sonars that do truly outperform the old vex standby. That's the truth. Deal with it.

[cementhead21]

92% seems like a good estimate to me. Remember Vexilar has been in business A LOT longer than Marcum. Take into account the fact that Hondex/Vexilar was selling flashers for about 15-20 years prior to Marcum and it is not hard to believe at all.

For the record I am a big fan of both companies and actually was involved with Marcum/Zercom at their inception.

Both good companies with good products and good people with Minnesota ties. No need to bash either one in my opinion. Their employees, including the rep you talked to, all live right here in Minnesota. You can thank Vexilar for creating the category and technology as well.

Not trying to do any bashing here ,, But The two companies you listed above did not start the 3 color flasher craze.Thank Sitex for this one .They are the ones who started it before it was sold to Micronar Then On to Hondex And Vexilar. the Fl8 From Its begining has not realy changed that much to boot.

[takeakidfishing]

Only time will tell. The vexilar has been around for 50 years and is a time tested machine. There are many happy vexilar owners. They will stand up to the abuse that the ice-fishermen can dish out!

[DTro]

In terms of the retail market, flashers are a small drop in the bucket. You have the total population of ice anglers (which is pretty small to begin with) then you have to whittle it down to those that actually use a flasher and then whittle it down to a name brand from there.

What it should really come down to (you the buyer) is that you feel you are getting the best value for your money. I think that all three do a great job of doing that. With Humminbird now in the game, it might force the companies to provide some added value.

I’m not afraid to say I’ve had my butt whooped by someone next to me using an FL8, but I’ve also been the whooper with my LX5.

BTW, I read elsewhere that Marcum is on their second run of units this year, so business must be pretty good for them too

[harvey lee]

Many companies are on their second and third runs as sales has been very good for all.

[MarkAlm]

I think it comes down to what each person can afford! By the way I have a Hondex FL-8 that is aprox 22 years old and replaced the light diode once in all that time and use to run in my boat also.

[Duffman]

If I was a bettin' man, I'd bet 78% of the Vex loyalty guys are Chevy guys.

I use my LX5 year round, on the ice, in the canoe, and on the front of the boat. It's been as bulletproof as my FL8.

[Bottle Fish]

This is the thread that never ends, yes it goes on and on my friend. Some people started bashing it, not knowing what it was, and they'll continue bashing it forever just because...

Sorry this really gets old after a while. I had a vex and now have a Marcum. I personally have not seen or used a Bird but I'm sure that one is good too.

Any one of the three is a step up from not having one at all.

[tsande00]

I don't see how people can get so worked up about it. Both are high quality. Both work extremely well. I too find it really hard to believe that Vex has over 90% of the market. As mentioned previously, this has to be a historical figure since Marcum and some of the rest haven't been in the flasher market as long.

I would avoid the Ice Machine though - My buddy has one and it's got no IR button. If I have my unit running his is not even usable. He says it works great when he is alone though.

[Fred_Bear]

It's funny how these threads always start out with people saying how it's been beat to death already, and do a search on it. Yet somehow these topics still make it to 2, 3, or 4 pages every time.

[ozzie]

I have used and have fished next to all the units mentioned and I will stick with Vexilar. I have seen people have more problems with Marcums compared to the very few problems I have seen with the Vexilars and for the few Hummingbirds I have used or fished near some love them.....When working all units have there positives but I want a unit that when I have done all the work to get to the spot I know will turn on and work no matter what abuse I put it through to get to the fishing spot and that is Vexilar!!!

[Brad B]

I don't see how people can get so worked up about it. Both are high quality. Both work extremely well. I too find it really hard to believe that Vex has over 90% of the market. As mentioned previously, this has to be a historical figure since Marcum and some of the rest haven't been in the flasher market as long.

I would avoid the Ice Machine though - My buddy has one and it's got no IR button. If I have my unit running his is not even usable. He says it works great when he is alone though.

the ice machine does not have a button for IR but if you go to the menu section there is a thing for ping speed. change the ping speed and it should work like IR.

[Ferny]

[Note from admin: Edited. Pease read forum policy before posting again. Thank you.]

I talked to one Vex rep (the old timer right?) He made his points without coming out and bashing any other company while we were talking. I respect him for that. Nothing turns me off more than one company bad mouthing another. Lets face it Vex/Hondex/Si-Tex/Micronar...etc. invented 3 color flashers period! Doing so they created an entire market segment. Without them we wouldn't have several brand choices now.

For me it all boils down to this: if you can see a single larvae fall all the way down to the bottom in 30' you surely not going to miss a fish no matter which brand you use.

Ferny.

[Wicked_1]

New2theFly

II talked to one Vex rep (the old timer right?) He made his points without coming out and bashing any other company while we were talking. I respect him for that. Nothing turns me off more than one company bad mouthing another. Ferny.

Ya that was him. He didn't have a bad word about about the others. He was just stating the facts and that should be good enough...seems to be working in order to have 92% of the market.

[stumper]

Had a Vex rep hand me a "fact" sheet the other day that said marcum didnt have a movable zoom.....Not sure I would buy into every stat a rep tells you. Every brand will have its followers for one reason or another. For some its brand loyaly, whether the company has a better product or not is irrelevant. Some have different needs/expectations from their flasher. For me, I have used Vex, Birds,showdown and Marcum. I will be testing out an HDs5 this winter.After using them all I will stick with the Marcum unless the Hds blows me away..Why? Various faults with the other units include, poor target seperation,poor performance in shallow water,fuzzy marks as well as noisy units. I get none of these problems with my Marcum.You may have none of these problems with your unit and may not consider them problems.., thats great if it works for you.

[zamboni]

I am not gonna say one or the other is better than the other (got that?) but 92% is impossible. 92 out of every 100 flashers sold is a Vex?? No way, Jose'. Showdowns, MarCums, Lowrances and now Humminbirds out there. I would be willing to bet it is more like 50%, but with 5 total companies, getting 50% of the market share is impressive.

[Fred_Bear]

Lots of rules guys but they sure seem to work so lets all try to make sure we are aware of them and continue to follow them. I follow a couple other outdoor forums and Fishing Minnesota is leaps and bounds above them. I get so sick of all the arguing, bashing, and personal attacks on the other sites. Awesome job Rick and all you moderators and thank you!!

[bassislife]

I had a Vex 20 years ago when there wasn't another flasher around.

Hmmm............ Means something!!