Purchasing a GPS with Lake Maps

[Bothun]

I'm going to be purchasing a GPS this year with the lake maps.

I know nothing about GPS's nor the lake maps, so im going to be relying mainly off the input I get from this thread.

I want a quality GPS. Along with that I want a supportive company and a good warranty.

Bring on the info!

[Kyle Sandberg]

I'm gonna assume your looking at a handheld GPS?

A lot of people on this site use the Lowarnce hand helds, either the H2O or the expedition. Both of these units can take the Lakemaster chip. They have good customer service (from what I've heard) and the products hold up real well. You'll also want color (not a neccesity)

[IcePro]

I just went through what you are trying to do.

Currently I have a Garmin 76C and wanted to go with a unit that had mapping capabilities.

After researching I went with the I-Finder Expedition C, went with the unit that had all the bells and whistles. As long as you go with a Lowrance unit that will accept the sd card (chip) for the lake maps; you can’t go wrong.

In regards to the lake maps chips, I highly recommend going to a dealer that handles both the Navionics and Lake Master chips. Have them put the two different chips into two units and look what map gives you the more detailed maps that you fish side by side.

The Navionics will cover the Midwest (5 states) as were as the Lake Master is state specific. The Lake Master chip will also show you more detailed roads for traveling and allow you to zoom in closer on your GPS. The Navionics had more detailed maps (Chisago area) where I fish where Lake Master did not.

This was a tough decision for me to make so I bought both, Navionics $150 plus a $50.00 rebate and the Lake Master for $99 ($200 for both chips). I have seen older versions of the Lake Master for $49 (Thorne Brothers), so you can get both maps for $150.

If you have a list of favorite lakes, list them and I will let you know which map has more detailed maps of your favorite lakes.

[mhjohns]

I started with the H2Oc until it broke on me. I had a really bad experiance with the Lowrance customer service. Finally after over a month the unit was replaced with an Expidition C.

The Expidition is nice, but I really don't think it is worth the extra money. All you gain of the H2O is the barometer, compass and mp3 player.

The mp3 player is really a joke expecially when hardly anyone carries the the cords/adapters you need to use it, not to mention you need a memory card and reader to load the music.

The barometer is ok, but a lot of people have found it to not be very accurate. Mine has been ok so far.

The electronic compass is nice if you are trying to find your way out of think woods or are not traveling fast enough to get a good directional reading. You have to constantly calibrate the compass though so most of the time it is useless.

I purchased my unit with the Map Create 7 which has maps for the US you can load on a card. Many of these areas have the lake depths on them. Some of the lakes are right on the money. Two in the area I fish have some major issues though. One is off by about 20 feet which shows State HWY 10 running over the lake. Another has a road going right through the lake.

Even with the issues I would still choose the Lowrance Ifinders over the Garmin. I have a Garmin, but use it as my backup unit.

After using the H2O, H2Oc and the Expitions I would get the H20C. Its a great unit and has a lot of maps that can be purchased or loaded. If you get around an L and M Fleet Supply they have the best regular price I've seen of $219 on the unit, $209 on sale.

Good Luck

[minndonn]

look for good prices at the St Paul Ice show. You can negotiate at the shows and get better prices. Last year Marine General was setting the price on the units and others usually matched.

[hanson]

Lowrance H20c with a Lakemaster or Navionics chip is going to be the most bang for the buck IMO.

I might have been one of the first guys around here to get an H20c when they came out a few years back. I had pre-ordered a good month before delivery so it was in my hands the day they hit the streets. I have never had a single problem with it and mine gets used a lot, in the boat, on my snowmobile, in the truck, etc.

The Lowrance units are very intuitive, function exactly like my big Lowrance GPS in my boat, and the chips are interchangeable between the two.

[rockman]

I purchased my H2Oc last winter after reading the recommendations of the folks here at this forum.I have not regretted the buy since I got it.Makes fishing easier on the ice and water.I already had a Garmin Map76 handheld ,which is a fine unit by itself, but the added bonus of using the chips in the Lowrance unit was the way to go.I do use the Garmin for hunting and as a secondary fishing GPS, but the Lowrance H2Oc is the main GPS I use.