Ifinder HUNT or IFINDER H2O?????

[rattlem'up]

which one would you choose? looking to use it for all types of hunting and also fishing. what type of chips are available for them and how much would they cost?

[poutpro]

I have an iFinder Hunt and am extremely disappointed in it. It takes a LONG time for it to aquire my position, and the lake maps chip I got is not even remotley accurate. I was up to URL this weekend and according to my chip, I was on top of and island that should have been 8 feet, instead I was 14 ft. I thought maybe the water was just changed that much, but I went to where it said I should be on a 10 ft part of the island and it was still 14 ft.

[RoadRunner20]

i will say this much... i was in the same situation as you are now when i bought mine, what it all boils down to is with the hunt you get some 10 icons for marking and another 100 points to store.. i bought the h20 because its still waterproof, cheaper and works great for both hunting and fishing when i am hunting i know where the limits are and i just mark where my truck is and thats all that i need. i have been nothing but pleased with my h20 and would highly recomend it to anyone. keep in mind neither of them will do a whole heck of a lot until you get a map and know how to use it right. i have the lakemaster promap and have really been impressed with all of the functions of the map and the H20. i hope this helps, i am just really impressed with my H20, i think that its the best for the money

[iffwalleyes]

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I have an iFinder Hunt and am extremely disappointed in it. It takes a LONG time for it to aquire my position, and the lake maps chip I got is not even remotley accurate. I was up to URL this weekend and according to my chip, I was on top of and island that should have been 8 feet, instead I was 14 ft. I thought maybe the water was just changed that much, but I went to where it said I should be on a 10 ft part of the island and it was still 14 ft.

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Well you are the same as me. I thought I was the only one with this problem. Mine will sometime take upwards of two hours or more to accuire. I am on my 4 th unit and all of them have been like this. But I have never heard of this with a H2O. I am about ready to call lowarance and tell them to get me a H2O and take the hit in the cost. The nice thing is the digital compass. I do like that feature.

Also you get a 1000 more Waypoints with the hunt not 100 but the difference between 1000 on the H20 and 2000 on the hunt make no difference.

I will say this too the map errors are a problem of the mapping company rather than Lowrance. But I have noticed that often the maps are off as well.

[xedge2002]

I have the H2O and I really like it. It's fairly easy to use and finds itself pretty quickly. If you do get the H2O I would go with the color screen though. I have the B/W and wish I had went with the color.

[ddp]

I have the h2O as well. Absolutly love it. used it in the big woods for deer hunting. marked all the stands, base camp, etc. I feel 100% comfortable wandering off the beaten path and find my way home. As for fishing, haven't used it yet. I will be testing it out on the big pond(milacs) first weekend in Feb. I am pumped. As for the lakemaster chip, the H2O is a different machine without it. The chip is a must. I do not mind the B/W but then haven't seen the color version.

[poutpro]

Do you find your Lakemaster very accurate?

[xedge2002]

The lakemaster chip I have is accurate. The depth will vary with lake height but if the lake is say 1 foot low from normal level where my GPS says it is 11,15, 30 feet it will be 10,14,29 actual. Hope that make sense. Point is I have found it to be very accurate even on some of the little out of the way lakes I have fished on with it. The landmarks - points, islands, vegatation etc are also very good.

[Walleye Guy]

I have a Hunt model it it usually takes less than a minute to lock in. I have a friend with an H20C that just started having problems locking in. I don't think this is a model specific problem. I think it is more of a unit specific issue.

I have the B&W version and it works well. The color version of either model are very nice. Beware however that the color units chew through batteries at a much faster clip than the B&W.

I wouldn't have one of these devices without a Lakemaster chip. I was on Winnie this weekend and that map is extremely accurate. Most of the other lakes I have been on are very accurate as well. Keep in mind the accuracy varies by the type of map: 1 ft or 3 ft increment or DNR version.

[poutpro]

I understand that the depth maps cannot show rising or falling water conditions, but mine does not even have the breaks even close to the right spot.

[iffwalleyes]

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I have a Hunt model it it usually takes less than a minute to lock in. I have a friend with an H20C that just started having problems locking in. I don't think this is a model specific problem. I think it is more of a unit specific issue.

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Well then I have to have the worst luck in the world because I have had 4 of them and none of them are any better than the next. Never had any problems with any of my other lowrance stuff but the hunt to me is just plain a lemon.

[Northland Sportsman]

I have used the lakemaster chip with the hunt unit. It seems to be fairly accurate on Mille Lacs and Winnie, but I have had some issues with it on URL. I was looking at some structure on the GPS and must have drilled 10 holes spread out all over it and couldbdn't find a change in depth. It locks in within a minute or so though.

[Cootz]

The only real reason I went with the Hunt C is that it says it can read a gig instead of a 500 mb chip. For me that's nice because of downloading Montana, N & S Dakaot, MN, WI, Iowa and Wyoming on the 1 gig chip without having to reload each section of the country on it every time I went someplace different.

I too am on my second unit with the threat of a third shortly. Sometimes it takes DAYS to lock in, other times seconds. Really frustrating. My first unit wouldn't lock in at all for five days out in Montana. Called Lowrance and got a new one without a fight though so that counts for something.

[Mongro02]

My IFINDER Hunt takes forever to connect to satellites also...I called Lowrance last week and the guy said that it shouldn't be doing that...

So he gave me a RA#...I just sent it back to Lowrance so hopefully they can figure it out.

[poutpro]

Northland, were you looking for that island out somewhat close to the res. line?

[jlm]

Hmmm, very interesting. Thanks for the reports all, I have been thinking of upgrading my unit and these were my two choices. Maybe I better wait until the bugs are worked out. Great thread all!

[Northland Sportsman]

poutpro, we were not out that far west. We were out of Rogers a couple of miles and there was a peice of structure that showed going up to 10' deep from 13-14'. I couldn't find any change in depth with all the holes I drilled.

[iffwalleyes]

I talked to them yesterday and they told me too that it shouldn't be doing that. Well I told her I have had 4 of them that have all done this. I downgraded to the H20 because I have not heard of the problems with these. It torques me thought because I spend more money in the first place for something that doesn't work. But I am tired of constantly sending units so if it takes care of it maybe it will be worth it. Oh and of course there is no way for lowrance to refund me any of the difference in price either. I told her on the phone it was a good think I had other Lowrance products that were trouble free because it I was basing my experience off just the hunt c it would not be a very good opinion.

Remember one other thing about the Chips several of the smaller lakes Lake Master has used DNR maps. Well the DNR maps are usually less that accurate. But anyone that feels their chips are misleading should contact lakemaster or navionics. The lake that they have re mapped I know are pretty darn good though.

[MNpurple]

I bought the H2O this summer for an elk hunt in Colorado. It is my first GPS and I couldnt be happier. I have no maps on it, just used it to get to and from camp and it worked great. The other 2 guys had Garmin Legend and an Etrex and the H2O always locked on faster than theirs. Very very happy with it. I have started using it for geocaching and it rountinely gets me within 7-10 feet of the spot I am looking for.

[bigbucks]

I have the H2O with the LakeMaster chip. It seems like some places the breaks aren't quite right. I have tried it on lakes with a lot of structure while on the ice & driven around until I figured I should be right on top of a small bar. I got out, checked the depth through the ice with the Vex & that's how deep it was. I'm very happy & very impressed.

I've noticed sometimes when I'm driving on roads it shows my trail off to one side & sometimes it shows me right on the road, even on the same stretch of road. I'm not sure if that's a difference in the day & number of satellites hit or what.

[iffwalleyes]

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I've noticed sometimes when I'm driving on roads it shows my trail off to one side & sometimes it shows me right on the road, even on the same stretch of road. I'm not sure if that's a difference in the day & number of satellites hit or what.

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It would be the difference of the satellites and the amount of error in the unit.

[iffwalleyes]

I got me new H2OC today in the mail. What a improvement over the huntC. It aquired for the first time with in a minute that is what I was hoping for but that never happended with the huntC for me. Then the EPE was around 26' or so that is by far the best I have ever had on these units. I was typically between 50-70' on the hunt when ever it would aquire position. So what the difference is between these units I have no idea. But I am much happier now as I depend on my GPS alot so it is nice to have one that works.

[poutpro]

How did you go about getting a switch? Did you have to have proof of purchase? How long had you had your Hunt?

[iffwalleyes]

I have been in lowrances computer since about the month after I bought my Hunt I was on my 4th unit that wasn't working properly. My first one I broke and had to buy a replacement unit through lowrance and I have had 3 since. I have had many phone calls with lowrance. I didn't get any credit on the switch. But I did get a unit that works. I more or less told them I was tired of them not admitting there was problem with the hunts and I just wanted a unit that works. I guess I didn't have to prove the purchase because I had problems with the first unit only about 2 months after the came onto the market.

[crazyice]

I have had my H2Oc for about a year now, and I have not had any problems with mine. I use the lakemaster maps and have found them to be accurate on most lakes. I was on Minnetonka last winter and we were trying to find a sunken island, we went somewhat close to it with the truck and got out and I walked until it showed that I should have been standing on about 10 feet of water, we drilled a hole and checked it with the vex, and walla, 10 feet of water. Put a line down and before I could even get it set up, had a nice 3 lb pike on. I would say that it did and excellent job. I would think that maybe the problem with url could be that maybe the mapping isn't as extensive as with other lakes. My buddy also has one, the only problem he had with his, is he had it out on his boat in a torrential rain all day and it did allow some moisture to get in under the glass, which obviously fried it, Lowrance replaced it at no cost. I have had mine submerged, just to make sure it is waterproof like they claim and no problems with mine, so I would have to belive that he had a defective unit.