Handheld

[BassFisherman]

So I was over at gander the Other day and saw that Lowrance came out with a new handheld gps. The guy workin said it was ALOT better then the one they came out with last year or the year before (out and back or whatever). Was just wondering if any of y'all have bought it and how good of a gps it is. I know Lowrance makes great products.... Usually ha. Any info greatly appreciated.

[bigbad401]

What was the name? On the Lowrance HSOforum they only have the Endura series which has been out for a couple years and a new Elite chart plotter. To me the Elite looks like a boat depth finder without the sonar hook-up. I would be skeptical of Lowrance products given the issues people have had with the H2O and the Endura series.

[fishwater]

I've heard they have an H20 2 in the works, but as far as I knew the only handhelds currently being produced by Lowrance is the 3 Endura models - Out&back, Safari and Sierra.

I have one, the only truly good thing about them is they play some of the newer lakemaster chips that can be used in the HDS units too. Otherwise they are just OK IMO, certainly not as bad as some of the early reviews.

If you're not vested in Lowrance for your boat and don't need backup map chips, I'd lean towards a garmin personally.

[BassFisherman]

Yeah they guy at gander said they just had gotten em in in the past few weeks. I was just wondering if anybody's had the chance to mess around with it yet. Sorry I don't know what the name is, forgot what it was called.

[bkerschner70]

I bought an out and back last summer and the touch screen didn't work unless you hit it pretty hard and there was a crack in the plastic from the factory tightening the screws a little too much. So I returned it and got another one and that too had it's issues and it was the last one Gander Mountain had in stock and then they were done carrying them. I found them online at gander mountain's HSOforum so I returned it and got the one online. When it arrived it was clear to me that this latest one is much better. Even the display looks a little different and it loads way faster, the other one's might have needed an update or something but this one seems pretty good. I know the endura has gotten a lot of bad reviews and I think it is an ok unit but I sure had to go through a lot to get one that worked right... Wish I would have waited until this new one came out.

[bbfenatic]

Everyone needs to be aware that Lakemaster/WayPoint Technologies was recently purchased by Johnson. Going exclusively to Humminbird GPS units so they will not support Lowrance/Garmin going forward; big mistake IMHO but I called Lakemaster recently for a support question and they flat out told me that in 30 days they will not support Lowrance. I wonder why the retailers selling the new Lowrance Endura units are not discussing this??? Humminbird does not even make a handheld GPS unit do they?

Here is press release http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/news.html?d=226222

[Red Miller]

I was doing some checking on Lakemaster maps with the idea of buying one for my iFinder H2OC and came to the same conclusion. It appears that since Johnson Outdoors bought LakeMaster, that from now on, the chip will only work in Hummingbird units. I guess thats one way to snuff the competition. I used to have a lot of respect for the Johnson Outdoors companies but I will have to rethink that. Whats next...Navionics??

[fishwater]

I've heard that Navionics is fully committed to working on mobile apps as their primary focus now, so I wouldn't look at them going to being a valid option with either Lowrance or Garmin handhelds.

[shizzy]

I've heard that Navionics is fully committed to working on mobile apps as their primary focus now, so I wouldn't look at them going to being a valid option with either Lowrance or Garmin handhelds.

with smart phones going as far as they have I see this as a common thing. If I don't have to carry another device with me out on the ice I wont.