New fish finder input

[macminn]

I have an older Lowrance 16xci sonar/gps that I need to replace. It's too flaky, they don't support it or repair it anymore, yada, yada...

Coworker just bought a humminbird and they love it. Looking for recommendations to spend somewhere in the $900 range.

Lowrance or Huminbird? What models?

[jwmiller33]

Both make great products, but if Customer Service means anything to you, go with the Bird.

[harvey lee]

I switched to a 798csi and a 998csi from Lowrance.

I would like to believe that Lowrance's CS is better but if one wants to be sure, I have heard nothing but good about the Bird CS. I am sure there are a few somewhere that are not happy with the Bird CS but I guess that would be with any electronic item.

I believe one can purchase a 798csi for your price range. The screen will be a tad smaller when one has 2 views showing but they do work.

The larger the screen, the better for viewing for sure.

Spend what you can and if you can bump up one more level, I am sure you will be happy you did.

[TravP]

If you don't need side imaging, the 858c all the way.

[Esox_Magnum]

I'm a Lowrance guy, love my HDS units and having the option to upgrade to other things at a later date if I choose. As far as CS only used them once in 20 years of owing Eagle/Lowrance and was quickly taken care of.

[jwmiller33]

Esox brings up a good point, there is a great chance you will never ever need to contact customer service if you go with a Lowrance (or Bird for that matter)... However, doing a quick search on various different forums on this site (ice fishing, equipment, open water, etc) and you will find more horror stories than you care to read about bad experiences with customer service with lowrance. On the other hand, I have had to deal with CS a few times with Humminbird (both with my ice 35 as well as my sonar in the boat with small pieces breaking) and I have had the new parts shipped to my door within 3-5 days. Humminbird has excellent customer service. When you spend almost a grand on a fish finder, you better be guaranteed good CS... With that said, we have a Lowrance 522 in our Champion as well as a HD 10 in our Sno-Bear. In my Lund, I have a Bird as well as my ice fishing flasher is a Bird. You really can't go wrong with either.

[Northlander]

Go BIRD!

[solbes]

Love my HDS 7. That's maybe $50 higher than your 900 ceiling, so I would consider it. You get the latest and greatest from Lowrance. Plus you could add structure scan later on if deisred, have the ability to network with other HDS units, network to your outboard for engine info (if it's a late model of specific brand), and easily create Dr Depth maps. A lot of bang for your buck. And I have had zero issues with it since buying it 2 years ago.

Also although I've never called customer service (3 Lowrance products currently), I've heard they've made big strides in that area within the past 6-12 months. It was a big knock against them, but I think they are improving.

[PerchJerker]

Both HB and Lowrance make really good units. Both HB and Lowrance make units that don't always work like they should and need to be taken care of.

HB definately supports their older, legacy units longer than Lowrance does. If that is an important consideration for you then that definately gives HB an edge.

Regarding other Customer Service issues, I talk to HB and Lowrance CS quite a bit through my job. For more than a year, it is usually quicker and easier to get ahold of someone at Lowrance CS. If you have a technical question, you are more likely to get more help and better answers from Lowrance. Not always, but usually. The bottom line is that both customer service departments are good ---- Lowrance had been terrible but that has changed. There are always a lot of recommendations on-line to "read the forums and see for yourself". If you do that, pay attention to the units the guys are complaining about, and how old they are ---- lots of people still like to slam Lowrance for the issues with their LMS and LCX units, units that were discontinued 3 years ago (valid complaints for guys who had problems with those units, but not too applicable to the HDS units that are out there now).

In terms of performance, I think HB and Lowrance units are both really good. I've got one of them in my boat and I use the other frequently as well. I like them both. I think you should pick the one that has the display and/or layout or color scheme you like the best.

For $900 you could go with either the HB 858c or the Lowrance HDS-7.

Hope that helps.