Hummingbird VS Lowrance

[Jay-MadWags]

I have a SD card that has GPS waypoints from a Lowrance unit.  My first question is. . .
Can I transfer those GPS waypoints to a Hummingbird unit?  My second question is. . .
Who makes the better GPS, Side imaging unit??

Thanks

[GPaquette]

Yes, you can transfer them. If you have a map chip the GPS is the same basically, if not I'd give the advantage to Lowrance. Humminbird has better side scan IMO. The bigger screen the better when it comes to sidescan.

[Waterfoul]

You should be able to transfer your waypoints to a Humminbird.

As for which is best... Humminbird all the way.  Much better customer service, free updates as they occur (Lowrance does not offer updates to their units unless you pay for it), and the Lakemaster chips (Lakemaster is owned by Humminbird) are excellent.

[bob o]

I have a SD card that has GPS waypoints from a Lowrance unit.  My first question is. . .
Can I transfer those GPS waypoints to a Hummingbird unit?  My second question is. . .
Who makes the better GPS, Side imaging unit??

Thanks

the future is near
http://www.raymarine.com/default.aspx?site=1&section=2&page=2016
the ipad will soon take over the world, ha

[Eric]

I was able to use both extensively during the Sandusky Open last summer.  My buddy from Georgia wanted to practice together, so some days we took my boat and some days we took his.  One boat had one and one had the other.  The Lowrance is cooler looking.  I think the sonar was a littel better on the Lowrance.  The side imaging was probably a little better on the Lowrance, but the difference in negligible.  The colors are better on teh Lowrance.  The Humminbird is WAY easier to use and more user friendly overall.  The Lowrance repsonded quite slowly each time you would hit a button.  That is my biggest complaint.  Humminbird's instant and Lowrance takes too long.  No difference in GPS quality or accuracy.  These are just my opinions from a user perspective.  I don't think you could go wrong with either one if you had a personal preference.

[Big dreams]

I was able to use both extensively during the Sandusky Open last summer.  My buddy from Georgia wanted to practice together, so some days we took my boat and some days we took his.  One boat had one and one had the other.  The Lowrance is cooler looking.  I think the sonar was a littel better on the Lowrance.  The side imaging was probably a little better on the Lowrance, but the difference in negligible.  The colors are better on teh Lowrance.  The Humminbird is WAY easier to use and more user friendly overall.  The Lowrance repsonded quite slowly each time you would hit a button.  That is my biggest complaint.  Humminbird's instant and Lowrance takes too long.  No difference in GPS quality or accuracy.  These are just my opinions from a user perspective.  I don't think you could go wrong with either one if you had a personal preference.

I had/have the Lowrance HDS-5 and the part about taking a long time after you hit a button is 100% accurate.  The new Lowrance Gen2 HDS series is totally different though.  I just purchased the HDS-8 bundle from Cabelas and you would be amazed on how responsive the Gen2 series is compaired to the Gen1.  Night and day difference.  Hummingbird might have better customer service but Lowrance does not need customer service   so you be the judge.  Take that all you HB lovers! lol

[Big dreams]

geez guys, don't take it personal.  I know there are a ton of HB guys out there.  Relax and take a deep breath!

[t-bone]

You don't pay for Lowrance updates either. I'm not sure what that was referring to. If updated my software for free multiple times and it has given me more features and color options. Some of the upgraded features were pretty sophisticated.

[djkimmel]

I do believe companies love the kind of loyalty that gets anglers butting heads. And you're paying THEM! I'm making the switch to Humminbird myself... slowly. I still have a Lowrance flasher in the dash and a old Lowrance next to the console but I have a much newer Humminbird 767 on the bow - that's what my budget allowed at the time - and it is very accurate and easy to use. I haven't had much need for customer service but I do like that I can get through and ask questions.

I thought it was pretty cool that one of their high ranking officers came on here a while back and posted his email address saying people could contact him directly with questions. That's service! I appreciate that they sometimes take the time to read comments on here. That shows they want to know what customers think. Much appreciated.

[Redbone]

I thought it was pretty cool that one of their high ranking officers came on here a while back and posted his email address saying people could contact him directly with questions. That's service! I appreciate that they sometimes take the time to read comments on here. That shows they want to know what customers think. Much appreciated.

Between that and BrianP's posts!  One of the many reasons that my next purchase will be a HB.

[djkimmel]

That's great to hear. BryanP gives a lot of time up to help on Humminbird technical questions and I always hope that some people show that appreciation in return. Thank you!