Garmin vs. Lowrance

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fasttoys7619

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Sep 25, 2011
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so I am in the market for a new gps/chartplotter , I have the 440 garmin ,its slow redrawing and updateing,, but looking at the Lowrance HDS-5 ,I like it because it is radar compatable and i can ad a fuel flow sensor oh and the price is right ! , any thoughts on this unit ? thanks ,
 
You can add a fuel flow sensor to your 440. The Lowrance units are very popular among fisherman but not as popular among cruisers. They do have some great deals going right now. I think we have the best pricing you'll find on HDS units right now www.boemarine.com
 
I have the HDS 5. In fact, today I downloaded and intalled the latest update, which was very easy to do. I recommend it. It is fast at redrawing and updating. Although I don't have radar it would intergrate very well, enabling radar overlay. And as you mentioned, the price is right.
 
In my last boat I had a Garmin, think it was the 550S, this one came with a Lowrance LXC17M. I prefer the lowrance
 
I really like my Lowrance HDS units. Networking the two units for depth, temp, GPS info, radios with AIS and fuel flow sensors is great.
 
Jim M,
I'm considering a Garmin 536 for my new boat but I have previously had a Lowrance 5200 on my first two boats. What would be your pick between the Lowrance HDS-5 and the Garmin 536? I will not have radar and I am not concerned about price if one is more expensive than the other. Ease of use is important but functionality is more important.
 
I have the older Lowrance 7200C which I guess is the predecessor to the HDS unit. It has been fantastic - great screen which is bright enough to read in direct sunlight and dims nicely for nighttime. Added the gold mapping card for my area and am very happy with the detail and the accuracy. It updates nicely finds the location quickly. I was looking for a larger screen and at the time this was about $300 cheaper than a comparable Garmin unit with the 7" screen.
 
I used to have a lowrance 502c that I fished with and it did everything I needed it to do but it was not very user friendly. At the same time my wife had a garmin gpd in the car that has been one of the most user friendly pieces of electronics I have ever used. These units were in about 2007 and I know that companies can improve.

I am at a point where I value ease of use over functionality to a large degree.
 
I've been a Garmin person for awhile with units in my car and boat. I recently upgraded from a Garmin 525S to a Garmin 740S as I wasn't very impressed with the 525S. It was very slow to redraw and the data from the transducer seemed to overwhelm the processor at anything above idle speeds. The 740S is awesome.
 
Thanks for the replys , it is so overwhelming looking at these units , I must say my Garmin is very user friendly but is very slow updateing and redrawing , especially navigating intercoastal ways on plane , by the time it updates im on top of the next marker , at night this sucks !! I have been told Lowrance HDS-5 is much faster , but not as user friendly , but I do think I am leaning towards the Lowrance , great features and I do eventually want to get the 3G radar and fuel flow for it by summer , with there rebates , how can you go wrong ?
 
I switched from Raymarine to a Garmin 4208 , i have never had any slow data problems at all , and i put the vision card in and wow aerial photo overlays, auto guidance, you can add fuel sensors, camera, etc, and its nmea 2000 compatible i love it .
 
LOVE the Garmin I have. I only wish the 740 Series was out when I added my Garmin 545s.
 
fasttoys7619 said:
Thanks for the replys , it is so overwhelming looking at these units , I must say my Garmin is very user friendly but is very slow updateing and redrawing , especially navigating intercoastal ways on plane , by the time it updates im on top of the next marker , at night this sucks !! I have been told Lowrance HDS-5 is much faster , but not as user friendly , but I do think I am leaning towards the Lowrance , great features and I do eventually want to get the 3G radar and fuel flow for it by summer , with there rebates , how can you go wrong ?
Click to expand...

I recently went with the HDS-7, love it and the fact that it has all the maps pre-loaded, you can't beat the price!
 
I'M A GARMAN MAN, 545s easy to use and fast update on river or out front.
 
320Bob said:
Jim M,
I'm considering a Garmin 536 for my new boat but I have previously had a Lowrance 5200 on my first two boats. What would be your pick between the Lowrance HDS-5 and the Garmin 536? I will not have radar and I am not concerned about price if one is more expensive than the other. Ease of use is important but functionality is more important.
Click to expand...

I have not seen a statement in this thread I disagree with. I think the one thing Garmin has which makes it popular on cruising boats is the autoguidance. And of course their simple user interface makes them a great tool to stay on top of your situational awareness. I have never been a huge fan of the 500 series Garmin because it won't do radar, and is not terribly fast. But if you want easy then it hits that bullet point. The Garmin 740 addresses all of these concerns and is a phenominal unit. If money is not a concern I'd pick the 740S. But then you have a whole new argument....740S, NSS7 or E7..
 
CSR_Admin said:
I have not seen a statement in this thread I disagree with. I think the one thing Garmin has which makes it popular on cruising boats is the autoguidance. And of course their simple user interface makes them a great tool to stay on top of your situational awareness. I have never been a huge fan of the 500 series Garmin because it won't do radar, and is not terribly fast. But if you want easy then it hits that bullet point. The Garmin 740 addresses all of these concerns and is a phenominal unit. If money is not a concern I'd pick the 740S. But then you have a whole new argument....740S, NSS7 or E7..
Click to expand...

Thanks Jim,
The 740 would be nice but I don't have the helm space to put a unit that large which is the main reason I was looking at the 536. The HDS-5 is wider and I am not sure that it would fit either. The slower response of the 536 is somewhat of a concern since now I have a boat that will go in excess of 55 mph instead of 34 mph WOT for my 320.
 
Thanks , after researching and desearching , overwhelmed with chartplotter choices , I think I am going with the HDS-5 , it is fast , and I can add the options I want , plus it is priced right
 
CSR_Admin said:
You can add a fuel flow sensor to your 440. The Lowrance units are very popular among fisherman but not as popular among cruisers. They do have some great deals going right now. I think we have the best pricing you'll find on HDS units right now www.boemarine.com
Click to expand...
what can you get me into a Lowrance HDS-8 Gen2 Insight LSS-1 Bundle with 83/200 Transom Mount Transducer - 000-10635-001 for?
clear1x1.gif
 
We went with the HDS-8 with the Navionics Platinum card. Beautiful. I had purchased a garmin 740 with the LakeMaster card and found many errors in bouy placement on the Mississippi. Returned it.
 
Steve.Lynette said:
We went with the HDS-8 with the Navionics Platinum card. Beautiful. I had purchased a garmin 740 with the LakeMaster card and found many errors in bouy placement on the Mississippi. Returned it.
Click to expand...
I would like to know the difference between the insight and the Navionics?
 
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