vexilar fl-20 vs. hummingbird 55 vs. lx-5

[okstate]

I know there has been slot of discussion on this subject. But those that own them what are the positives. No negatives please.

I have a fl-18. Thinking of either upgrading or just having two. I like the zoom on the lx-5 and the 55, where you can auto zoom any part of the water but how much does anyone use it?

And what are the big differences between the fl-18 and the fl-20?

[leech~~]

okstate, the FL-18 & FL-20 are the same but the FL-20 has the flat screen face. They both have the same watt's of power and zoom.

[STEVENS1920]

I have an ICE-35, and it has the same zoom as the 55. I do use the zoom alot, even up in the water column for suspended crappies, and do find it to be quite useful.

[harvey lee]

At the Tetonka get together next Saturday, we will have on display many of the flashers offered today for sale. We will have them on the ice set up by a hole for attendees to try out to see how they like each one.

Check it out in the South Central forum under Tetonka Event.

[Drewski]

The fl-20 is an excellent unit. The flat screen is a great new feature and so is the low power mode. If you are fishing at night, it is much easier on the eyes! Plus, my buddy recently bought a fl-20 ultra pack from Fish House Supply for only $425! That is a killer deal!

[DTro]

Yes

Yes

and Yes

Cannot make a bad choice

[Jordyn Kaufer]

dtro,

check your emails

[jd524]

okstate, the FL-18 & FL-20 are the same but the FL-20 has the flat screen face. They both have the same watt's of power and zoom.

The Fl-20 allows you to zoom the bottom 6' or 12', and I believe the Fl-18 only allows the bottom 6'.

[Esox_Magnum]

Having a LX-5 and fishing with a FL-20 my vote is for the LX. Flat screens nice but not nice enough to over ride my crisp sharp image and the super fine line feature.

[soma]

Here's my experiance. Last year bought an FL-18, did some research after the fact and returned it and bought a Marcum LX-5. Sharp lines and love the dual beam transducer. A friend just bought a LX-3. Got mine at Fleet farm. I suggest do the research and history on all makes and models.

[MNWALLEYE]

Marcum flashers are awesome but at the same time they can ruin alot of friendships that fish in the same perm or portable. Way too much power and iterference for other units near by. How much power does a person need sitting stationary on the ice?

[WalleyesWest]

I would use what most of your fishing partners use. Why?? different brands just don't get along together. I personally use a vex and will not up grade to anything but one because 95% of the people I fish with use them. All of the modern flasher are about the same just think about your buddies or the lack of them because you got the wrong one.

[CJH]

I fished with my buddies yesterday in an 8 foot perm with three different kinds and didn't have any problems.......

Buy what's right for you and your needs.

[jrpohlman39]

I have an FL-20 and fished with a Marcum LX-5 in the same house and it made the FL-20 almost unusable. Tried the interference rejection and nothing I did seem to matter.

My 2 cents.

[Scott K]

I have fished with friends with Marcums and Humminbirds I have only ran into the problem one time that I couldnt get my Vex to clear up and it was with a LX-5, I told him he needed to shut his off. I have fished with other friends with LX-5's with not much problems. So I dont think you need to stay with the same brands.

[marine_man]

I would use what most of your fishing partners use. Why?? different brands just don't get along together.

I can't speak for how the vex and marcum work with the humminbird... but, I can tell you that 3 of us fish in a 10X10 shack on lake of the woods once a year, one lx-5, one lx-3 and one fl-8, and we can tune each other out. Don't get me wrong, it takes a bit of tweaking, but it is possible.

Also, I believe the Humminbird operates on a different frequency, which means if you get the humminbird marcum or vex's should affect you much.

marine_man

[ozzie]

I have a fl-12 and 8 and have fished with marcum and humminbird right next to me and I hate when I fish next to a marcum.....the hummingbird the only problem I had with that is it definatly humms...sounded like my fl-8.....my fl-12 doesn't make a noise......I would stay with Vexilar but that is my opinion.

[CaptainJack]

Haven't used the Hummingbird, so can't speak for myself but I spoke with a guy at Gander last weekend and he said that they've gotten a bunch of the Hummingbirds returned to the store. Because people wanted something else.

[eyehead]

My buddy that I fish with 75% of the time uses an FL-20. I got an LX-5 and i'm able to tune him out completely....His FL-20 has a little garbage left on the screen, but its not bad at all. Go with the unit you like though. If it were me. I'd go with a Marcum or Vex as they have been around a while and are proven products. Give hummingbird a couple years to tweak there machines... Just my opinion

[CJH]

I have an HB 55 and my buddies had a Marcum LX5 and Lowrance x67. The other two guys had a little interference, but not much, and it was easily tuned out.

Overall, all three of us have been happy with our different sonars. The guy with the Lowrance isn't a big flasher guy and likes the graph mode better. We all catch fish. To each his own.

As far as the HB's getting returned, wanting "something else" doesn't mean they didn't work as advertised. There could be any number of reasons as to why merch is returned. (including the "boss" told them to take it back)

[Net_Man]

If you fish outside and hole hop I would suggest the Vexilar. I however have not used the Hummingbird.

With a fixed arm for the transducer you are more restricted to the placement of the flasher. This requires cleaning up around the hole more which takes extra time that could be devoted to fishing. The floating iceducer allows more flexibility of plunking your flasher down and get right to fishing, catch a few fish or not and quickly on to the next hole.

Brightness - when fishing outside the brightness of the screen is most important. You are constantly looking between the screen to show fish reaction to your lure and the tip of your rod for the bite. A washed out screen or too fine of lines requires more concentration on the screen taking away your effectiveness of reading the bite at your rod tip. I find the Vexilar to be superior in this area.

[PerchJerker]

CJH gave the best advice IMO ...... buy what's right for you and your needs.

I think all of the flashers you can buy these days are good units and will serve you well. I have my own preference, as do many other people, but in reality all the flashers will do what they're supposed to do.

You should be able to clean up interference between Vex and Marcums. Only adjust one unit at a time until it is cleaned up, then move on to the next unit, and so on. You should be able to use multiple units in close proximity. I frequently fish with multiple LX-5s, an LX-3, and an FL-18 in very close proximity. It only takes a few minutes to get them all cleaned up and usable. The newer the units are the better their IR capabilities will be.

If intereference is a concern, the HB Ice Flashers operate on different frequencies than Marcums or Vexs so interference across brands with the HBs should not be an issue.

You can check them all out at Ice Flashers At Pro Fishing Supply if you want. Shipping is free.

[Andy Loos1432404924]

They are all nice units, but personally I prefer Marcum's LX-5, adjustable zoom, superfine line, dual beam cone. Having these feature are so nice and allows you to tune in on any type of fishing situation.