HB

[dewey1980]

thinking of buying HB 597di,looking for advise on the unit,thinking i can use it in the winter time in the truck,does anybody do this?also where is the best place to buy?

[jac714]

I have one and love it. I think the only thing i would do different is get the lakemaster chip rather than navionics.

I don't use it during the winter but the manual deals with doing that and it has a mode dedicated to ice fishing.

As to where to buy I have no idea as I got mine as a Christmas gift.

[Brad B]

I have that unit and it could be used in the winter but you won't be have the down imaging part of it. the ice transducer is only 200khz and DI runs on 455kzh and you need to be moving for it to work. If you like the 597 just get the non DI model and that one will not have any issues. What I use mine for in the winter is the GPS side of it. I turn the sonar off in the menu and just use the GPS to see the contours. I run the lake master chip in mine.

[amateurfishing]

i have the 597 ci HD and love it!! got it late last fall sale at a c related store. use it on the boat and bought the portable pack immediately for the ice. i only use the gps for ice, the fish finder part i use as backup after showdown troller. i recommend it and at the time did not feel like spending the extra $300 for the di

[Jarrod32]

I have the 597ciDI and the Lakemaster chip. Great unit...I love it. And I also got the portable carrying pack and the ice transducer and use it for ice fishing. It has a flasher mode that works very well. You have a fairly wide choice of color schemes with the flasher mode as well.

While my unit does have the down imaging, like a previous post mentioned that doesn't work with the ice transducer. Not a big deal...just turn it off.

On a side note, if you ever want to add things like the i-Pilot link or Humminbird's 360 transducer, this unit won't work. You would need to step up to the 788 (or higher) to get that compatability.

[BrdHunter01]

I bought the 587ci HD DI combo. The big C had an amazing deal on it that I couldn't pass up. After it was all said an done I paid 430+tax and that included shipping and a soft cover for it. Only problem was that my old lakemaster chip would not work in the Humminbird so I had to buy a new humminbird lakemaster chip.

I know a couple people that use there summer units in the winter. But as far as I know they only use them for the gps. I don't think they use the sonar part although I'm sure you could with no problem...

[amateurfishing]

thats a very nice price, same as what i paid just for the ci HD last fall with no di or cover

[PFUNK]

I don't see the reasoning for using this unit in the winter as solely a GPS and not utilizing the sonar capabilities. It's pretty big to be lugging around as your GPS unit, but I suppose if you don't have a GPS as a standalone unit I'd be carrying it around too. But I would definitely be using it as my sonar as well. I suppose everyone has their preferences, but I sure like it as a standalone unit. I have the 385ci and love it, but the larger screen on the 597ci would be nice. I posted a little review on the 385ci for ice fishing a while back that I will link here in case you are curious to see how they perform on the ice.

HSO Oudoors Humminbird 385ci Review

Hope it is of some help.

[SpecialK]

Completely usable as a flasher for ice fishing