Lowrance vs hummingbird

[GNSfishing]

I personally use Lowrance now but I have used Hummingbird flashers and Lowrance & Hummingbird paper graphs in fact I built my first flasher from a Heath kit which worked great as any flasher I have used.  I feel that the Lowrance do what I want in a depth finder/fish finder. In this day in time any electronic device you purchase today will be outdated in 6 months. So with that being said as long as your units are doing what they need to do with its technological they'll be fine. It is when they quit is where the problem arises. So service is the main topic and I've had 3 Lowrance units to either quit working due to water leakage, screen dimming, and just not turning on. I have had  great service on all 3 units and the turn around time was great. All 3 units 2 HDS5 Gen1's and an HDS10 Gen2 are working great today along with a HDS7 Gen1. The one important thing to do is to register the unit with the manufacturer so you have proof of purchase date and vendor. Don't expect to go on Ebay and purchase a unit from who knows who and expect the manufacture to honor their warranty. Also there will be a drop dead date when they just won't want to fix an old unit and if they do their technology hasn't changed much with the times. Guess bottom line is if it is working for you now fine but when a old unit finally quits it's time to move up to the latest thing going because it will be outdated soon.    

[Eagle Eye]

I think that each of these companys have their strengths and minimal weak points. Being in this industry for over 30 yrs you see most and hear all the bad and some of the good. 

Each one of your units (899c si and HDS Gen 2) is what they call "End of Life" units that are being replaced by "New" technology. For example,  the Humminbird 899 si (7" screen)  was at $999 at the beginning of the year and you can soon get a Helix 9si (9" screen) for $999. Newer Technology and bigger screen for about the same money. The best deal I have seen on the 899 is at Bass Pro. They have the 899c si Nav combo for $829.99. This is the Humminbird 899 with a Navionics Plus card ($150 value). But for a few more $$ you can have the Helix 9si. 

The HDS Gen 2's are also end of life units. Which means that the Gen 3's with a faster processor will and have come down in price to the level of where the Gen 2's were at in the beginning of the year. So look for the Gen 2's to be promoted for 4th Qtr of 2015 and first Qtr of 2016. Also the Gen 3's will support the new Structure Scan 3D which is pretty amasing.

I think that each manufacturer builds and services a quility product. It just comes down to personal preference and the all mighty $$$. Buy the best technology for what you can afford. Good luck my friend--this is not an easy task.

[LarryC]

At today's prices and if you plan on keeping whatever you purchase for a few years, I'd pay close attention to Matt's #2.  Lowrance has this Corporate Policy of declaring their units "obsolete" after a while   Won't support them and won't repair them and you are then forced to buy another unit.  Of course, it's up to you. Good luck !

That's exactly what happened to me a couple of years ago.  Until the Lowrance went belly up it did just as good as the latest thing on the market.  Got mad enough at Lowrance the replacement was a 898si.  I think the 899 replaced it but with the same features.  I do like it and have had zero problems.

[Sore Thumbs]

I heard Garmin makes a killer unit but they are very expensive.

[sjcorpst]

more specifically the hummingbird 899ci had si versus the lowrance hds 7 gen 2.  I'm looking at one or the other for my triton.  Was playing around with them side by side at gander today. Jmo, but the hummingbird seem to have a better graphic, more clear definition.  Kind of seemed like the only thing the lowrance had over the hummingbird was the touch screen

would love to hear others opinion, experiences, and/or reviews of either unit.  Thanks in advance for the info.

I would suggest getting on this message board and asking the same questions, lots of great help there.

www.bbcboards.net/lowrance-sonar-gps/