Vexilar Sets the Bar Higher with the Launch of the FLX-28 Sonar Systems

[gwiff100]

the real question is whats better... a mandarin orange or a regular orange..

[fisherman-andy]

So, if we are comparing the LX5 and the FLX28 (two mechanical flashers) then vex is the hands down winner...

[fisherman-andy]

I have never been they guy to jump on something brand new to the market. I usually wait a year or two before i buy. This year i did buy a new flx-28 and i must say that i could have never been happier. I was able to get it out on the ice yesterday for the first time and it worked amazing. I had no problems at all with the bottom lock on it even when a school of fish would swim by. I debated a lot on either this flasher or an lx-7. Remember this is my opinion and mine alone. I was fishing with a buddy who had his lx-7 there. Mine picked up on more fish than what he saw and we did switch holes with the flashers for comparison. It performed flawlessly. I am much happier with the new flasher and have no doubt in my mind that i made the right choice.

[HardwaterHero]

True, but the LX5 is an "old" model. It would be different if marcum still focused on mechanical flashers but they are steering in the direction of digital. Yes vex raised the bar on mechanical flashers, but i was really hoping for something mind blowing. They could have gone with the traditional Vex look but had a digital screen or anything to stay in the tech race. I personally wouldn't buy a unit yet because I feel they will have a new unit in the next year or 2. That is a big reason why i went with Marcum. I like the ability to upgrade on the same unit. By the way, when is the new upgrade for the 7 suppose to be hitting the market?

[fishwater]

Yes vex raised the bar on mechanical flashers, but i was really hoping for something mind blowing.

When I first heard Vex was attempting innovation again, I immediately thought Edge 3 on steroids oriented towards the ice. Simultaneous dual beam readout with a nice pixel count. Oh well, it's a flasher!

[brian6715]

Vexilar may have the best mechanical flasher on the market, maybe (slightly more features than an LX-5 and ICE-55, but I still would only be convinced it's the best if it matched the LX-5's fine line display). The fact is the FLX-28 is not innovative and I would struggle to even call it cutting edge, being others already have pure digital units. As DTro stated it's not that far away from an FL-8. I bet Marcum feels they don't have to innovate for a few years and they still have the best flasher on the market, although I doubt they stay idle.

My one buddy and I always go back and forth with the Vex/Marcum debate, especially after a few soda pops... and the other day he said his next flasher will be a Marcum, as he was disappointed the 28 was not digital. Now we will have to find something else to banter about! He has a Clam and I have an Otter, maybe we can go that route.

[ice_medic]

To be honest i do not know how my buddies lx-7 was set up and i am still learning mine. I am not the guy to ask questions about technology. As far as i know it is the voodoo box that shows how deep i am and if there is fish down there and mine showed fish when his did not. All that i know is i am happy with my purchase and if i was not i would have sold it and went with something different.

[Vitreus]

What's the difference between low power mode and weed mode?

[GSP4ME]

I pulled the trigger yesterday on the FLX28. Now of course we get some of the coldest weather in how dam long. Oh well. I have it now and will try to get it out this weekend at some point. Now to sit down and watch the two dvds that came with it and go over the manual

[Corey Bechtold]

Here is the difference from Weed Mode/Low Power...

Low power actually drops the power of the unit. Listen to the transducer and you'll notice a big difference.

Weed Mode actually changes the "pulse width".

Great options on the FLX!!!

Good fishing,

Corey Bechtold

[Lawrence Luoma]

Can someone knowledgeable explain how the proview transducer works in relating to the gain settings? This is interesting because my guess is if the gain is minimal on a proview ducer then I assume its outputting a weaker or smaller signal strength of area coverage; thus smaller cone angle of coverage. And if the LX7 was on wide beam I fail to see how the FLX28 can catch more fish on screen unless that person who has the LX7 has it on the narrow 9 degree cone instead at the time. Of course there are other varying factors too. For example if the LX7 had 6 color display palette turned on or not it could allow it to be picking up the smallest of detail that the 3 color palette may not.

Here you go Andy!!

[Agronomist_at_IA]

Man that was nice explained a lot of questions.

[DTro]

One thing I discovered is that I prefer the classic color theme. Was sitting on a pile of fish tonight and using the 3 colors really showed much better separation of each individual fish.

Really, really liking this unit!

[Lusid]

Few comments to add to this.

Pros:

1. Target separation is nuts when compared to the FL-18

2. Holy cow... silent fishing where the brushes aren't screaming at you is nice..

3. Zero interference issues with the FL18.

4. Love the 5 color settings, I noticed certain colors worked better when the sun was out and when in the hub.

Minor Con:

1. When running in the house - I noticed the LCD was very responsive and quick to read fish/jig, but I exited the ice house for 30mins and did some hole hopping in 10degree + 10mph winds and when I re-entered the house, I noticed the LCD crystals or whatever the dial is made of was slightly slower at reacting. My guess is the change in temperature but it still worked fine. Just something I saw and noticed.. will test more once I hit the ice again.

2. Did not land me anymore fish than the FL18 Just another toy to add to my arsenal.

[DTro]

As far as I know there is not any LCD anything in the unit.  All the lights are LED and I don’t think temp should affect responsiveness at all unless the motor itself slows down or something.  Interesting observation though, I will have to see if I can get the same thing to happen in the cold

[Lusid]

Hard to explain but the flasher responded slightly less quickly. It could be my brain from standing out in the cold where my brain was slower but who knows.

[DTro]

[fishgutz77]

Corey, I can't wait to do I side by side with the FL-12

not a lot of guys bought this unit but it is awesome, dual beam, great power and I fish lakers a lot so it works for me.

need to check out the weed mode and see how this performs.

my 12 has really been a gem taking a beating everytime out. hope this one has the same durability. See you out there somewhere.

[DTro]

Well, I’m starting to get a little more comfortable with the 28 after having it out several times now.    So far there isn’t 1 bad thing I have to say about it, which when it comes to me reviewing something is really good.  The couple of small things that concerned me at first (no separate battery check mode and no depth markings on ticks ) turned out to really be a non factor during real world use.      Personally, I don’t care for the soft case, so I’ve just been using it naked (the flasher not me    )  But I understand that is a personal preference thing, so not really a negative.

 

One thing I’ve really been impressed with is the ability to separate fish in tightly packed schools and also that the digital depth never gets confused.   I’ve had solid fish from 15 down to 30ft and the depth display has been rock solid.   In comparison when I had the ICE55 in the same scenario it was constantly recalibrating due to confusion.  It didn’t affect the flasher at all and not a big deal at all, just distracting mostly.  I mention it because I totally expected the 28 to do the same thing but it hasn’t yet.  Not even once.

 

The crazy thing is that I’ve been fishing on 30-35ft of water and I have yet to move my gain up at all.   It always marks my jig  and the display is super sharp and steady, very little flickering going on.

 

At this point the ONLY thing I can find that bugs me a bit (and I also had the same issue with the ICE55) is that when taking video or pictures of the flasher the LEDS really mess with the camera sensor and its tough to take a quality video of the display.  Not only that, but the camera sees it different than our eyes, so you will get weird feedback and sometimes if you take a picture, the screen will be completely blank, which I think is due to the framerate.  Keep that in mind when watching videos or seeing pictures of the flasher.  It is nowhere near the experience you will see in person….in fact its not even close.

 

Here’s a video I took from Sat night.  We really got into the fish and quit at #100 after only a few hours. 

[Lusid]

Dtro - Agree with how the FLX28 records ... not well at all LOL! It's all messed up and shows high interference. I'm wondering if they use a sunlight setting or some type of UV filter to record.

I've noticed in darker settings it records better then out in the open. If you've seen my ice fishing vids. Currently working on Episode 2 (Ice fishing with GF) So i'll have more footage of the FLX-28 on that.

[BartmanMN]

Cool video Darren. Those cats look fun to catch.

[DTro]

One little quirk I discovered tonight. I was fishing in 9.8fow and when left in auto mode, it would randomly switch back and forth between the 10 ft scale and 15ft which is understandable when you are right at one of the extremes.

Problem was solved by switching it from auto to 10ft.

Just thought I would mention it as it took me by surprise when it started flipping back and forth in auto mode.

[CaptSpike]

I had a couple things happen this weekend when using mine. I was fishing right next to my buddy with his flx-28, 23 ft of water and his auto range was set at 25 where mine was 30. I had to get to 22 ft of water before mine would set at 25. What's up with that? I thought as long as you were under 25' the AR would set it at that. When fishing outside (very cold out) and moving from hole to hole occasionally it wouldn't lock bottom right away. I used the bottom zoom6 mode and know you need to switch back to normal mode to get it to lock onto the new hole but that was delayed a few times. I also had trouble seeing my jig when dropping down a few times after moving to a new hole. I would have to reel up until the unit picked up the jig and then re-drop in order for it to see it. I thought it was because the jig tailed out but experimented by letting the jig remain straight down and looking for it but it wasn't found until I raised it almost up out of the hole before the unit picked it up. Then on re-drop there were no issues. Not a huge complaint but a couple observations I had using mine so far.

Spike

[Corey Bechtold]

Spike, easy solution for you. When it's this cold out and you pull your transducer out of the hole a layer freezes on the bottom. When you drop it back in it takes a little while for the ice to thaw. Try wiping the transducer on your pant leg. Easy fix!

Good fishing,

Corey Bechtold

[jmillsp]

Several have said the 28 isn't that much different from the 22. I need a new motor for my 22 and thinking about a 28 some. Would it be worth going to the 28 from a 22?