Help me pick a new fishfinder/gps combo

[sslopok]

The Trophy I just bought has an old humminbird ns 25 on it. It shuts off or locks up everytime out. I need to get a new one quick. The last 2 boats I had I put humminbird units on and both of them had issues. They had great customer service though. The three units I am looking at are the Lowrance elite 7, Raymarine Dragonfly, and Garmin echomap 50s.

I fish lake huron mostly. I want to be able to flush mount it. My boat budget will allow up to $700. What do you guys think?

[Hockey390]

I can't speak on behalf of the other two, but I got the elite 7 this year and love it. Very easy navigation, great setup with selecting what pages are displayed on the screen and I haven't said "I wish I would have gotten ____", like I usually do after most electronic purchases. You can't beat the screen size for the money in my opinion.

[sjk984]

Ive akways had hBIRDS but after being on a boat for a few trips with the lowrance elite 7. Thatwill be on my next rig. way better than my 797 and easier to use.

My Hbirds have never let me down I just think they have fallen off the pace with new tech

[Paulywood]

I put a Garmin 740s on this year and really like it. It might be a little out of your budget, though. I have been running Garmin's for about 6-7 years now and really like them and they have good customer service. Probably just preference as I think all are good units. The new Dragonfly sonar does look sweet though!

[sslopok]

Looks like I am going to order a Lowrance elite 7. Do I need the HDI version or is the broadband version sufficient for great lakes? Have no issues with ponying up more cash if the hdi ready unit is worth it. Thanks!

[Hockey390]

I like using the HDI and am glad I got the option. It's nice for structure identification and also if you run the DI and sonar on split screen it's nice to have two things saying there's a fish down there. Also will show more detail versus the sonar just showing a big blob sometimes.

[sslopok]

That's all i needed to know. Gonna order it in the next few days

[sslopok]

I ended up buying a humminbird 858c new from ebay for $660. Cannot wait to get rid of the old 1999 bird that came on boat!

Thanks for help!

[Yankee Troller]

We've used birds for about 5 seasons now. You can't go wrong with them! If you have any questions feel free to ask away! I am very familiar with them. We have three networked with each other and their Radar.

[silver one]

I went with Humminbird. Got the 598 ci si hd. I love it and Humminbird customer service is great. Had an issue with my Ice 35 last year right after I bought it. contacte them. they paid for shipping to send it back and then sent me a brand new one to replace it. No questions asked. I had Garmin on the old silver one and I liked it very much but Birds side immaging and down immaging are second to none. I have had lowrances and have not been happy with them. Not sure about the new ones.

[SUPERTRAMP]

I have the 858Cdi and its is awesome. Both in ease of use, GPS function, and sonar . the display is clear, the set up is really easy and the ease of updating the GPS SD card is topnotch.