Home › Forums › Fishing › Ice Fishing › What do you guys prefer Vexilar,Marcum or Hummingbird Ice fish finders
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Have used all three. Nothing wrong with it,but didn’t like the Bird. Have a friend that loves his. Find Vex more bullet proof and easier to use. Marcum has more fine tuning ability, with that a longer learning curve. Also has needed service more in my case. If you search. This has been hashed over dozens of times with similar results. Like mentioned Ford, Chevy. What ever you choose will probably be your favorite.
Does anybody know if there is any difference with battery life with these units? I also fish in less than 25 ft. of water most of the time if this makes a difference in which model I get. I have asked at a few different stores but, it seems like each store pushes one certain brand and usually the more expensive newer models. Does anyone know if there are any certain models they have heard about that I may want to stay away from. Was looking at the Hummingbird Ice 55 and the Vexilar FL18. Again thanks for the feedback.
I’ve used both Marcum and Vexilar units, and both work well. I currently run an lx-5. I’ve used the FL8, FL18, LX-1, and LX-5.
I prefer the Marcum units because:
1. more features at given pricepoint (zoom, movable zoom, dual cone angle) * depends on unit
2. better target separation in my experience
3. better interference rejection (this is important to me as I fish with a large group)I have not tried the fully digital units because of some quirks reported by many. All the mechanical flashers I’ve owned have never had any issues. I did buy a flasher with no tranducer in the box once, and Marcum shipped out a new one to the bait shop waiting for me at my destination for free. I think the only Vexilar unit I wouldn’t consider would be the old Fl8 models simply because they don’t have zoom and I don’t think they are priced right compared to the entry Marcum and Humminbird models. I think they still need the extra low power cable too, but I could be wrong on that. All the other Vexilars are nice and work great unless you get into a situation with lots of other flashers nearby. I have no experience with humminbird units and actually have not seen one in operation.
I liked my vex fl12 but for the same price you could probably find a Marcum that is better. That being said I now have a flx28 and it is awesome. The target separation is incredible and the battery will last multiple days without a charge. I have heard good things about Marcum but never had a problem with my vex so pretty tough for me to switch.
I have had a hummingbird ICE 45 for a few years now, it does the job and I liked the price point and options it had. I like the duel cone transducer, the depth display is nice, I have fished multiple days without recharging the battery. I have used my friends Vex 28, that is a nice unit also but it comes at a higher price, I did notice his vex had a crisper display, but again he paid a few hundred dollars more for his. Like most have said you will be with what ever model you get and won’t want to go fishing without it.
Over the last 20 years I have graduated from the Vex Fl8 to 18 to 20 and now have a flx28. Have enjoyed each one but the 28 is my favorite. I pulled out my fl20 the other day cause was taking a kid fishing that never gone before and had no equipment. After not looking at that machine for 2 years I pulled it out, dusted it off, charged the battery overnight and it worked flawlessly for him for 7 hours. I watched as he monkeyed with it for a while and I coached him along and within 10 minutes he was a master, he is 12 years old.
I fish with some guys that have Vexilars and some that have Hummingbird Ice 55’s. I like the Ice 55’s but are not as crisp as the Vexilars.
I am fishing with a guy tomorrow who is a Marcum man. I hope to learn about that machine also cause I will be due for another upgrade soon and want to make sure I have all the knowledge possible when that time comes.
As far as the graph goes, I fished with a guy at Devils lake just before Christmas that used a Lowrance graph. it was kool to watch the fish come in and I can see why people like them, just not for me though.Thanks for all the feedback, I always hate trying to decide which new products to buy. Nothing but a pain in the butt as there are always so many choices with these things.
It sounds like they all work well so I guess I may just look at the prices now and see what gives me the most bang for my buck. Again thanks for the feedback and Good Luck to everyone on the ice, be safe.Quote by: slayer247
Thanks for all the feedback, I always hate trying to decide which new products to buy. Nothing but a pain in the butt as there are always so many choices with these things.
It sounds like they all work well so I guess I may just look at the prices now and see what gives me the most bang for my buck. Again thanks for the feedback and Good Luck to everyone on the ice, be safe.I say go with whatever you can find the best deal on, I found a used lx5 for less than what people are selling lx3s at and so far so good.
Quote by: slayer247
Going to buy one regardless. Just looking for some advice on them. I have heard good and bad on all of them. Any and all help is appreciated.
here is my take i posted on a similar question on another site.
my flasher progression = fl8 4 years, fl18 2 years, vx1, 2 years, lx5 3-4 years. the last 4 years a good fishing buddy has had the ice 35. so I have tremendous experience with the lowend flasher market so here is my 2 cents.
fl8 – it is a tank that will catch fish for years. that’s the only advantage it has over the other 2 flashers. durability. it requires an extra cable that you have to put on and off (cumbersome) in order to fish shallow water and not have your 12mm jig show up as a thick 1/4″ red mark. so its not as good as the other 2 in shallow water. in deeper water than 25-30′, it has no zoom so if you need to deal with bottom hugging fish or perhaps trying to separate out the gob of marks, you are at a disadvantage. mind you it will still catch lots of fish in both shallow and deep water situations but its just not as ideal.
ice 35 – the advantage this unit has over the other 2 is the dual beam. when you are fishing on a shelf or around big boulders, at times you get a dead zone where fish hide but you can’t see. narrowing that zoom helps tremendously. There was a time where we used my buddies bird to find fish because we had to use a smaller cone angle to find them. the issue I have with this flasher is that its not sharp enough for its enormous screen. I liken it to watching a small sized video clip on your computer and accidentally hitting the full screen button. you can still see whats going on its just not clear.
VX1p – the big advantage this unit has for me was its shallow water performance and the crispness of lines. its just seemed like its resolution was so much better than any of the other 2 units. in shallow water, you are capable of completely clearing the screen so having too much like the vexilar was completely negated. the thinness of the lines gives you so much more of an advantage. the other real benefit is the zoom. the ice35 does have a zoom but it just takes and already large image and just make it even larger which just pixelated it more for me. the vx1 zoom doesn’t just magnify the image, it actually increases your target separation as well. the only issue I have with the vx1 p is the base it comes with is super cheap feeling.
i saw a lx3 side by side with my fl18 and it was so night and day, my fl18 went bad and I jumped on a vx1. I’ve caught thousands of fish with vexilar but I can say for certain the vx1 outperformed both thos vexilar units.
as someone else on here already mentioned, cant go wrong with any of them. I have a hummingbird 597 ice, got it mainly for the gps feature and the ability to use a lakemaster chip, but I like the dual cone feature as it seems to pick up fish better than my Marcum in shallow water(4-8ft) for some reason. The Marcum(lx6) has more features and is a higher quality unit in my opinion. have owned a couple vexilars over the years and they are very good units also. one nice thing about vexilars and humminbirds vs the marcums(LX6, 7, and 9) is that they fit in a five gallon pail.
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