Any ifinder h2o comments = pros/cons??

[Hoffer]

Hey experts - I am considering a Lowrance i finder H20 or h20c.

For those of you who have had one for awhile - do you use it alot?? Do you like them? or are they another toy that gets used a little and then gets put back on the shelf? Any comments - pros or cons would be greatly appreciated - may be shopping for one on Monday...

[Northlander]

Do some searches on here. The H2O and H2Oc have been talked about a billion times.

I have the color and love it.Had the mono and went back and traded it for color. Way easier to read in my opinion. I use it in my boat and on the ice all the time. I think they are great units. Get good batteries or rechargables for the color unit. It does go through batteries pretty quick. The new lithiums seem to work very well. When in a car, boat or wheeler use the cig lighter cord and you will save a lot on batteries.

[Boedigheimer]

I use it every time I fish, the maps are so accurate its mind boggling. The only negative is maybe becoming dependent on the unit, I feel naked without it. I have both color and non-color and I would recommend the color unit, it is easier to distinguish or visualize structure without having to zoom way in on a map. You will love this new toy.

[Hoffer]

Thanks for the great feedback so far...any other comments would be greatly appreciated! I am probably going with the color unit - so I dont need any pros and cons between the color or non color - just any feedback in general. Also, what do I need to buy with this as far as the "chip". I am going to generally be fishing the minnesota lakes - maybe some Southern Ontario too. I am totally new to these - so any information is great - as to the name of the chip or whatever it is that I need to also purchase to get going...

[caseymcq]

Considering the areas you mentioned you would be fishing the chips you would want to look at would be LakeMaster Minnesota or Navionics Premium North. LakeMaster is cheaper and offers more than just lake maps (roads, state parks, etc.). Navionics has more lakes and also offers a trade-in program where they will give you a voucher towards the purchase of the newest version of the Navionics chip. I have both. I like the ease of use of the LakeMaster chip and the other mapped features. The Navionics has a lot more lakes including lakes in ND, SD, WI, IA and MI.

For Canada you could go with the Navionics Canada chip.

[ice-man/vexilar-king]

Expedition C. worth the extra $30 for the electronic compass and the pressure reading.

[Hoffer]

I just went to both sights - and briefly looked for some lakes I fish - one very popular metro lake - and one relatively unknown lake I fish where I grew up. Both lakes were on the Navionics chip - and both were NOT on the Lakemaster chip. The one popular metro lake I was looking for (unless I missed it) that i was suprised wasnt on the Lakemaster was lake Independance.This surprised me a bit - and I may lean toward purchasing the navionics - although I havent priced it out yet compared to the lakemaster

[Hookmaster]

Lake Independence Hennepin MN is on Lakemaster's chip. It is a DNR map not a high definition map.