Vexilar or Marcum or other??

[jay83196]

I'm looking to get a new ice fishing locator/sounder. I have an older Vexilar fl-18 and wondering if I should get new vexi flx28 or equivalent Marcum or other. I've looked at them and we'll not sure I'd l9ve some advice from guys who used both etc. I know probably a lot like Chevy vs ford type deal but I'd still appreciate some suggestions.

Thanks

[Fowlmouth]

Whats wrong with your fl18?

[jay83196]

Little noisy but nothing just want something newer, better.

[StCroixMMAHouse]

I just upgraded from a fl-18 this weekend. I bought a marcum lx=9 at the ice show for $980 and just tried it out today for the 1st time. I really liked being able to adjust my zoom level as well as throw a camera down.

[Bryan P]

MarCum all the way!

[zppeterson]

I have the LX-7 and really like it. A lot of changeable features on it to customize the view to the style of fishing you are doing.

My cousin, who I fish with most of the time, has the FLX28. Through watching him use it while we have been fishing, it looks like a really nice piece of equipment. Although I would give a slight edge to the LX-7 (maybe I'm biased).

Bottom line, go to a place that has both. Spend some time studying them over in the store and check out all of their features and decide which is best for you. If you can find someone that already has one or both of the units that you are interested in that you could fish with for a half day and see how they work on the ice would be a definite bonus as well.

[leechlake]

I'd go to Reeds or call Reeds and talk to one of the guys. I'm sure they will give you the straight scoop on the features they have and they will ask you how you fish and then it's up to you. You may even find you want to keep what you've got.

Make it fun, which I'm sure you are.

[walleye44]

I'm looking to get a new ice fishing locator/sounder. I have an older Vexilar fl-18 and wondering if I should get new vexi flx28 or equivalent Marcum or other. I've looked at them and we'll not sure I'd l9ve some advice from guys who used both etc. I know probably a lot like Chevy vs ford type deal but I'd still appreciate some suggestions.

Thanks

Chevy to Ford issue for sure. I really have liked vexilar for years. They both make great products. When Marcum came out with the LX-3 with the adjustable zoom that is what switched me over. With the LX7 now you just get so much more I think. The graph mode you can really see the bottom with a true time lapse too. You can customize your screen & have feature updates. I have not used the FLX-28 to be fair.

[jay83196]

I spoke to couple people at retail outfits both claim vexi better and Marcum causes a lot of interference with other units due to higher power levels ? Anybody verify this? Also heard in shallow water fl28 works better in weeds etc?

Thanks

[DRH1175]

If you want newer technology and better go Marcum. If you want old reliable go vexi. Me I jumped ship to Marcum a few years back and havn't looked back. As far as interference. I fish all the time with vexilar and Marcum in the same house with no issues. You just have to adjust IR on both units until they clear up.

[Fowlmouth]

Can never go wrong with a Vexilar. They made the flasher game what it is today, plus if you ever needed work done to the unit they are local. Vexilar hands down.

[PurpleFloyd]

Lots of people in the ice fishing community are switching to graphs and going away from the circular flashers.

Marcum is trying to tap this market but Lowrance has the most stable and reliable platform in the graph market

I have an x67c, an elite 5 ice machine and just picked up an elite5 HDI unit this weekend at the ice show because Marine General had them for $299.

[hamms-scooter]

Wow that was a good deal! As far as the interference thing goes... They fed you a line of talk! They try to sell units by bashing not by improving. They are good units but fish with a marcum once and you will under stand when people talk about blob lines on the vex. I watched a buddy drop a spike down the hole and it was the size of a fish mark and yes his gain was right. With marcum it is clearly a small mark dropping down. Watch In depth outdoors episode this year on fishing in weeds for gills . The lx7 worked perfectly and James explained exactly what you were looking at. No issue. Also no need for low power mode cause marcums gain control is set perfect to the unit. I have fished with both a lot try them for yourself for best opinion your the one buying it.

[hamms-scooter]

Purple I also rigged my hds5 for ice it is fun to use. Nice to have gps on big screen too.

[maxpower117]

I own a FL20, two FL12's and a FL8 (Micronar). This season I decided to sell the 2 FL12's and replace it with a higher end unit. I had the FL12's because I plan to fish the entire water column in deep water for lake trout.

I ended up test driving a Marcum LX7 a while before defaulting to a Vexilar. I was suprised to see almost no lag on the screen and that the LX7 was surprisingly mobile contrary to what o heard. The graph mode was a great improvement over only the round dial that I was used to. Obviously it was totally silent compared to the Vex.

- I was also suprised to find some feedback near the bottom that I couldn't get rid of. I was the only person on the entire lake so it wasn't interference.

- The auto range simply didn't work.

- The verticle scale was intriguing with very small returns for my lure, but I didn't like it because of the tight seperation.

- I have also heard that the LX7 is unusable in over 200 fow. This comes directly from an Ice Team member. Apparently a software issue that they choose not to fix. So much for the "always updatable".

- I've seen numerous issues with water inside the screen.

- I've also been told that they aren't very durable. Not a big deal if you choose to take good care of your equipment.

Needless to say I chose to buy a FLX28 and have no regrets. I'm am also going to convert my HDS7 gen2 to an ice unit to capitalize on all the cool features that the Marcum has, only better.

[CaptainMusky]

"Directly from an ice team member"? Lmao. And who do the ice team support? Yep vexilar. You talk about using over 200' well that's probably very few of us that would but there are vexular units that aren't effective over 40' which is a much larger percentage.

The interference you likely saw on the bottom is probably "dead zone". The transducer cone picking up a shallower object like a huge boulder or the edge of a steep drop. Using the 8 degree cone would reduce this.

IMO graph mode is far more useful than the typical dial many of the guys are used to.

The graph mode you can see the attitude of the fish where the dial only what's happening at that moment. You can tell if the fish hated that extra jiggle or if they were aggressive and will keep chasing.

[maxpower117]

"Directly from an ice team member"? Lmao. And who do the ice team support? Yep vexilar. You talk about using over 200' well that's probably very few of us that would but there are vexular units that aren't effective over 40' which is a much larger percentage.

The interference you likely saw on the bottom is probably "dead zone". The transducer cone picking up a shallower object like a huge boulder or the edge of a steep drop. Using the 8 degree cone would reduce this.

IMO graph mode is far more useful than the typical dial many of the guys are used to.

The graph mode you can see the attitude of the fish where the dial only what's happening at that moment. You can tell if the fish hated that extra jiggle or if they were aggressive and will keep chasing.

Sorry, I meant Ice Force. Who does Ice Force support?

The interference I saw was not a boulder, steep drop, weeds or anything like that. 18 fow and present in every hole I checked. I'm a hole hopper. I turned the sensitivity down and I could hardly pick up my lure, but the interference was gone. I never tried the 8 deg cone.

Any thoughts on the auto range not working? Water in the screen? 200 fow, why offer the range if it won't work?

3 of the 4 different models of Vex that I owned worked over 200'. With emphasis on worked.

[CaptainMusky]

The initial lx7 units had an issue with the auto range when in between ranges like 10 and 20. A software update should have fixed that. I use my hds on the ice and turn off the auto range even though it works. Better for zoom windows etc.

Interference wouldn't present itself as a solid line or create a dead zone. It would be flickering across the dial unless in graph mode then you could see a solid line.

[tsande00]

I own a Marcum LX3tc and just sold my Vex FL18. I used them both in the same house and never had an issue with interference after hitting the IR button a couple times on each unit. I'm sure results will vary on this depending mostly on depth and hardness of the lake bottom.

Both worked well, both are quality units. My preference is far and away the Marcum unit (hence my reason for selling the FL18 and picking up an Elite 5 HDI.) As repeatedly mentioned, you will see much tighter lines on a Marcum and avoid the "blobs" that the Vex will show. Because of the fine lines on the Marcum the target separation is easier to identify. Regardless of that, I can't see one helping you catch any noticeable amount of fish over the other. The biggest driving factor for me on ditching the Vex was that it is so much louder than the Marcum, despite being a couple years newer and much less use.

I can't understand how anybody could, with good conscious, say "Vexilar, hands down". They are comparable, at best. I'm interested in playing around with the Lowrance unit this weekend on Red. Bought it mostly for summer use but I'm excited to play around with it on the ice.

[PurpleCatMan]

Quote:

I own a Marcum LX3tc and just sold my Vex FL18. I used them both in the same house and never had an issue with interference after hitting the IR button a couple times on each unit. I'm sure results will vary on this depending mostly on depth and hardness of the lake bottom.

Both worked well, both are quality units. My preference is far and away the Marcum unit (hence my reason for selling the FL18 and picking up an Elite 5 HDI.) As repeatedly mentioned, you will see much tighter lines on a Marcum and avoid the "blobs" that the Vex will show. Because of the fine lines on the Marcum the target separation is easier to identify. Regardless of that, I can't see one helping you catch any noticeable amount of fish over the other. The biggest driving factor for me on ditching the Vex was that it is so much louder than the Marcum, despite being a couple years newer and much less use.

I can't understand how anybody could, with good conscious, say "Vexilar, hands down". They are comparable, at best. I'm interested in playing around with the Lowrance unit this weekend on Red. Bought it mostly for summer use but I'm excited to play around with it on the ice.

I just switched from a vex to an HDS-5 and so far i'm really impressed. I added a PTI-WBL, a 9a Vexilar battery and charger and a vexilar float and stop. I started playing with the unit in ice fishing mode, and I was not impressed at all. Then I switched it to shallow water mode (like I run in the summer) and love it. Also use pallet 13, manually adjusted range, sensitivity, and colorline, set ping to 2x and noise rejections on low. It's dialed in now and images look great.

Good luck! Be sure to try shallow water mode!

[bbfenatic]

Can never go wrong with a Vexilar. They made the flasher game what it is today,

LOL...they have made it what is was 5 yrs ago but since then Marcum has left them in the dust!

[CaptainMusky]

I just switched from a vex to an HDS-5 and so far i'm really impressed. I added a PTI-WBL, a 9a Vexilar battery and charger and a vexilar float and stop. I started playing with the unit in ice fishing mode, and I was not impressed at all. Then I switched it to shallow water mode (like I run in the summer) and love it. Also use pallet 13, manually adjusted range, sensitivity, and colorline, set ping to 2x and noise rejections on low. It's dialed in now and images look great.

Pretty much exactly how I run mine. I have a 12 amp battery though which makes it really clunky, but it will last more than a day without a charge almost 2 full days actually.

I just wish I could turn the GPS off. That takes some serious juice to keep that running while I am not even using it.

[Blackhawkxp]

Bottom line is that any flasher is better than no flasher. They all have features that appeal to some more than others. It all comes down to what your budget is and what features matter most to you. Here are the reasons i purchased an LX7:

1: It displays the depth in a number. Quick and easy especially for the younger fishing partners or spouses. Also nice when hole hoping and trying find a specific depth without any math.

2: I drop my ducer in the hole and i pretty much don't have to worry about depth changes in auto/dynamic modes when they work correctly.

3: It allows me to customize the display

4: I can setup the dial so that i have the full scale to show the water table in varying depths.

Do any of the above option help me catch more fish than other flashers? Not really. Hope this helps as an honest viewpoint from my first hand experience with a Marcum unit and what features sold me.

[uninc4709]

Look into the Humminbird ICE series. I own the ICE 55 and it does more than enough. digital depth, digital scaling, auto zoom, manual zoom, allows you to set a target line at a target depth, 9 degree/20 degree ducer, and I don't get interference when fishing around any of the other units (in my experience)

[tsande00]

I just switched from a vex to an HDS-5 and so far i'm really impressed. I added a PTI-WBL, a 9a Vexilar battery and charger and a vexilar float and stop. I started playing with the unit in ice fishing mode, and I was not impressed at all. Then I switched it to shallow water mode (like I run in the summer) and love it. Also use pallet 13, manually adjusted range, sensitivity, and colorline, set ping to 2x and noise rejections on low. It's dialed in now and images look great.

Good luck! Be sure to try shallow water mode!

Hey, thanks for the tips! I'll be sure to play around with those settings and try shallow water mode. I'm a little worried about picking up interference. My buddy had a X67 and would get interference pretty badly next to a flasher. He would tweak the settings to improve it, but it still wasn't anything like Marcum or Vexilar's IR.