LOWRANCE FISH FINDER

[GRAND DAD]

Am in the market for a new flasher this year and I was reading that this lowrance has GPS and mapping all bulit in it seeing that I wanted to get a GPS also this year It's like killing to birds with one stone and the mapping is iceing on the cake.can anyone tell me if these are good units and fairly easy to use. I was going to go with a new fl-18

[Northlander]

Sorry but I misread earlier. I think you are looking at the M68c ice machine. Also has a flasher unit on it you can use along with its sonar and GPS. Around $450.

Myself I would opt for a good flasher and a hand held GPS unit. That way the GPS can be taken anywhere you dont want to take your unit and over all I think flashers are a better icefishing tool than the TFT technology in the Lowrance ice unit.

Dont get me wrong I love all my Lowrance units that I use on soft water but I use a flasher in the winter. My unit of choice happens to be the LX-3. You can find them for $300 or less used. You can probably find a used Vex FL-8 cheaper. Then just find a GPS that works for what ya need and your set. Look on HSOList or even the for sale forum here on Fm and you should find some nice deals. Just my 2 cents worth.

[GRAND DAD]

I was going to go with a fl-18 until I read this article on the lowrance x67 ice michine I think that's the one anyway it has gps and that mapping thing I think you can download lake maps in it I don't much about this stuff

[Borch]

Slick has a post in the great debate thread regarding the lowrance icemachine he has. Here's the link. Great Debate

[coldmark]

I think I'm going to go with the Lowrance x67. I've read a lot of good thinks about it. And for under $300, it seems like good value. It looks simpler to use too.

[CrappieJohn]

Northlander has a pretty good handle on this with his post.

Are you going to prop your locatator up on the sled's windshield to find that honeyhole you were on a week ago and marked on the unit's gps?

[slick814]

I've got the Lowrance M68C Ice Machine. Have absolutely no complaints on the unit. You get GPS, Flasher, Sonar, and a few other bells & whistles that you won't have on the x67. Personally, unless you want your GPS to be a handheld unit, I'd go with the Ice Machine. I put the unit on the passenger's seat of the truck when I get to a lake, fire it up, and it tracks where I go, sounds alarms when I'm off track to the destination, sounds an alarm when I hit the spot I want. I guess since I don't need a GPS when I'm hunting (family-owned land, can't get lost on it), I don't see a lot of need for 2 separate units for ice fishing.

The color displays are bright & easy to read, the options of colors that are shown on the flasher page is awesome. Night vision colors, split screens, GPS/Sonar screens, alarms, it's got a lot for what you pay.

Another nice function/feature is that you can get a high-speed 'ducer for your boat in summer and use the unit in the boat, too.

Check out Thorne Bros. that's where I got mine, and they gave me a really good deal on it.

Good luck, and either way, I think that you'll be happy with the Lowrance units if you decide to get one!

OH... I always forget this... Lowrance has a place on their HSOforum for tutorial/demo of the units. You can get a quick feel for features, how they look, how they work, etc...

http://www.lowrance.com/Marine/default.asp

that gives you all of their Marine product tutorials.

Good Luck!!