Just curious... Vex vs. Bird vs. Marcum

[Mick Jigger]

Been a Vex guy from the beginning, but curious to hear your favorite and why. Gimmicks aside, who has the best technology on the ice today?

Happy holidays!

[slurpie]

No real answer. It's all opinion based. The new LCD are nice because you can plug in to your computer and up date the unit. That would be most tech but an opinion if it is the best.

[otterman91105]

Vexilar, cause i have had a couple for about ten years and no matter how much you beat them up they always work. Never had any problems with them.

[Vitreus]

They all pretty much do the same thing. One thing to take into account is who you fish with. I don't know if this is true of the most current models, but as of two years back when I bought mine, marcum ran at a higher wattage. I think they were around 1000w while the vex's were around 400w (correct me if i'm wrong). This seems to cause some interference issues for the vex guys, even w/ interference rejection.

[bigblue]

Vex for me cold stone reliable .

[Rick G]

Vexilar, because they have the reputation for being the most reliable. Oh and they are a Minnesota based company too

[Pallansch]

Just got a marcum LX-9 hands down best machine I have ever owned. I owned a FL-8 SE for 10 years before that and never had a problem. You can't go wrong for $275

[bbfenatic]

Been a Vex guy from the beginning, but curious to hear your favorite and why. Gimmicks aside, who has the best technology on the ice today?

Happy holidays!

From a Technology standpoint Marcum is out front by a long shot, from a usability, reliability standpoint.....they all work well and for the most part are very reliable. GL.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

I wish I had $1.00 for every one of these posts.....

[WinterHaven]

Quote:

From a Technology standpoint Marcum is out front by a long shot, from a usability, reliability standpoint.....they all work well and for the most part are very reliable. GL.

I have to totally agree on this statement that Vex has been behind in technology over Marcum. Marcum has always had more features than Vex and they keep pushing the envelope even farther with the new LX-6, LX-7 and LX-9 technology. But both are really good companies and all boils down to personal prefrence on which one to choose. Can't go wrong with either company but good luck with your choice and happy fishing.

[bigbad401]

My favorite is Humminbird, because I own one. They all do the same. Pick one and enjoy.

[fshhntfootball]

Bought my new FL12 w/tri beam last year and have had no problems. Love it! Few buddies have Birds, and they are a darn nice unit as well! Haven't had any hands-on time with the new Marcums, but likewise, heard good things. Personal preference. They are all good units.

[brian6715]

You won't hear many Marcum guys saying that it's a "personal preference" because we know that is just a way for people who don't have the best flasher on the market to feel better, IMO

[clm]

Went from an fl-8 to a lx6. couldn't be happier! Display is nice and clear. easy to use. many different display options. different color selections. and the best part is NO NOISE! i couldn't stand that sound of my vexilar, it would put me into a trance. so marcum gets my vote on this one.

[Walleye Guy]

I have owned an original FL-8, an FL-18 and now own a Marcum LX-7. The bottom line is that all winter "fish finders" do the same thing, and that is put marks on a screen that show your bait, the fish and the bottom. They will all help you catch more fish. Decide if you want a true flasher or and LCD screen. Once you do that, determine how much you want to spend on the various bells and whistles that are available. Zoom, different color palates, fancier transducers, upgraded packs and packaging etc.

Marcum owners say their technology is better. Vex guys talk about tried and true designs and reliability. HB guys talk about how well designed their new units are. These are just all opinions. None are wrong or right. All the companies' products do the exact same thing. They just do it in different ways. Its a Chevy-Ford, Mercury-Yamaha, Lund-Alumacraft, St. Croix-Fenwick, Bud Light-Miller Lite argument..

If you determine what you really need and want, you won't make a bad decision.

[eyedr]

+1 The guys that swear theirs are the best are the ones who need to justify spending 500 bucks more for a unit that does what every other one one does. It's like Jim Gaffigan says, you can buy this fridge that will keep your food cold for $400, or you can buy this one that keeps your food cold for $1200. There are certain features that are nice but for me all i need is to see fish, depth, and my bait. I own a vex fl-18 and a bird ice-55.

[bbfenatic]

Eyedr

Bird ice-55, eh?

So you do own that $1200 fridge that keeps your food cold, water and ice cubes in the door, etc. The HB Ice-55 is top end for sure and a very nice unit but for that money if you are buying new go Digital with Marcum cause that will keep your food cold, have ice cubes and water in the door, plus allow you to upgrade the software so it can upgrade to also be able to push a button to change from water to cold beer from the door in an instance! And who knows what else in the future without having to buy a diff unit.

[BrdHunter01]

Went from an fl-8 to a lx6. couldn't be happier! Display is nice and clear. easy to use. many different display options. different color selections. and the best part is NO NOISE! i couldn't stand that sound of my vexilar, it would put me into a trance. so marcum gets my vote on this one.

Yes the Vex's can be noisy! Out of my group of 10 or so ice-fishermen buddies; we have some with Vex's, some with marcums, and some with birds. We each use eachothers to test them out to see which we like better.

I would say the winner is the Marcum, I would say the bird is second (some people hate the blue color but there is an option to not use it), and the noisy vex's come in last.

[brian6715]

It's like Jim Gaffigan says, you can buy this fridge that will keep your food cold for $400, or you can buy this one that keeps your food cold for $1200. I own a vex fl-18 and a bird ice-55.

I see your logic, but how do you explain people paying $400-500 on an FL-18 or FL-22, when even the Marcum VX-1 is just as capable at a fraction of the price?

That's like paying $500 for a fridge that has a basic ice-maker when you could pay $300 for a fridge that has a better ice-maker.

[CaptainMusky]

I see your logic, but how do you explain people paying $400-500 on an FL-18 or FL-22, when even the Marcum VX-1 is just as capable at a fraction of the price?

That's like paying $500 for a fridge that has a basic ice-maker when you could pay $300 for a fridge that has a better ice-maker.

His logic is flawed since he owns two units toward the top end of the price point.

[tsande00]

Lets be honest here. None of the flashers hold a candle to the LX6, 7, and 9...and no I don't own one of those but have been around them enough to know.

Yes they all help catch fish, yes they are all reliable, yes they are all tried and true. I always get a chuckle when the Vex guys talk about how reliable their units are. It's like they're almost admitting they're loyal brand has taken a back seat to all the rest of the machines on the market today. The only thing they can stand behind is they have been around the longest. Doesn't make a vex any better than a bird or Marcum and certainly no more reliable.

[jvm1]

At the risk of being redundant I didn't see an answer for my question here, I have an older Lowrance 522c, it has a flasher built in it, how do those compare to the other flashers?

[fishnowworknever]

I've used all 3 brands and I still own a Marcum. If I were to change brands, Humminbird would be next in line.

[Lawrence Luoma]

Kinda funny. This last weekend at the NAIFC Championship on Mille Lacs I know a lot of sponsored Marcum and Bird guys that went and got their backup Vexilar so they can read their electronics through the weeds. Vexilar hasn't come up with something new, because the new technology still can not beat Vexilar proven technology. What's really funny is that these guys have a Vexilar for backup when they can have all the others units they want. This new technology is only a marketing scheme to get you guys to make the switch.

[bbfenatic]

Kinda funny. This last weekend at the NAIFC Championship on Mille Lacs I know a lot of sponsored Marcum and Bird guys that went and got their backup Vexilar so they can read their electronics through the weeds. Vexilar hasn't come up with something new, because the new technology still can not beat Vexilar proven technology. What's really funny is that these guys have a Vexilar for backup when they can have all the others units they want. This new technology is only a marketing scheme to get you guys to make the switch.

hahahahahahahahahhahaha, now that is funny...you here all week?