marcum lx-1 hand held

[icecold]

Has anyone used one of these hand held depth finders?, If so what are your opinions about this unit, Thanks for any info

[MinnesotaMuskie]

Bought one last year...I use it strictly as a quick reference. It is a handy little tool...not sure if I woudl spring for one again, 94 bucks that could have went somewhere else.

[Matt Johnson]

The LX-i comes in handy when its cold out and you want to keep your gloves on and get a fast accurate depth reading without punching a hole. You can drive up to a spot and shoot right through the ice. A great tool for early ice when there is no snow cover when you're out scouting out new spots.

Good Fishin,

Matt Johnson

[Paul Waldowski]

It is also a handy tool for finding structure. Many times we will run around a hump with the LX-i marking where it drops off into deep water and then come back and drill holes. Sure is alot easier to haul when carrying the auger. Should be alot easier this year though, I'm gonna give one of those Stone Legacy auger straps a whirl.

http://stonelegacy.com/icefish.html#Auger%20Strap

[Pete Riola]

I used the LXi on a canoe trip, it reads right thru the aluminum canoe. Pretty cool to have a depth finder in the bush. It even beeps when an object passes under the sonar then reads the depth the fish was at. So cool. I've never had a depth reading in a lot of the lakes I fish in canoe country before. Definitely helps a guy learn. You drill less holes if you use this unit ice fishing. Of course I love to drill holes in the ice!

[augernaut]

In my opinion, save yourself the money and just use your flasher to shoot through the ice. It's not really any more cumbersome, in exchange for more accurate info. My FL-18 shows me weeds, bottom content, etc, when shooting through thick ice (as with all sounders, the ice has to be reasonably clear in order to get a good reading). Last year I was shooting through 30" of ice with no problems. The nice thing about using my Vex is I can check depths while standing up - squirt some water down, plop the transducer onto it and take your reading. Doesn't sound like a big deal, but you save alot of squatting and kneeling time! I think the handheld depthfinders are neat, but basically a thing to get if you have $120 bucks and nothing else to spend it on :-)

[Ray Esboldt]

I kind of thought along the same lines as augernaut prior to having a hand held. But, now that I have it, I don't want to be without it. The LX-i is made to be banged around on the ice. Your depthfinder's transducer is not.

It's really nice for long lay-of-the-land hikes before you drill holes. It weighs, what, maybe a pound. My depthfinder probably weighs 10. Nice to carry something compact.

Is it a neccessity? No. Is it really nice to have? Yup. If you have the money, buy one.

[Tahoe2349]

Without a doubt the hand held LX-i (or others) is a productive convenient tool. For all the reasons mentioned in above posts there is no curcumstance where I would label it a poor investment.

Cant even imagine dragging around my LX-3 or a Vex to spot areas. I have a adjustable (retractable) key chain hooked up to mine lol I open my door, turn it on and drop it to the ice. (shoot some water down if needed) I dont even get out of the truck 50% of the time until I hit a area I want to cover better..