I am currently in the market for a new GPS handheld. anyone out there have any information about which is the best for ice fishing purposes. i mainly fish mille lacs, a few lakes east of there, and multiple metro lakes. is there any that have better programs or am i just looking too far into this. any feedback is appreciated.
Lowrance all the way. I have the Expedition Color with the Map chip and it is AWESOME. No need to drill a hole to stick the vex down to find depth. I have the depth and fingers right on the Expedition! Plus the safety factor. Heading out in the morning FINDING a sport to cross the ridge and then FINDING that same spot in the DARK, not to mention the resort/landing!
If you don't have one it's like fishing with out a flasher.
I have a H20c that works well and I just ordered a new Lowrance XOG that also takes map chips.I want the XOG to use in the truck and on the wheeler or sled as it has a little bigger screen.Cabelas also has them on sale right now.If you google Lowrance H20c you can probably find a better price but this is the cheapest I have seen the XOG and most places dont even have them in stock yet as they are still pretty new.
thanks for the info. i have been looking around and the lowrance was one of the ones that i was looking at. how much does the additional hardware cost, i will be using it primarily for fishing. i appreciate all of the help.
just got my lowrance h20c with the lakemaster chip. this thing is awesome. i cant wait to get out and put this thing to use. thanks for all of your help.
I started with a garmin 12xl about 12 years ago. Then moved up to the magellen about 5 years ago. I just bought the Lowrance Expedition c with the lakemaster mn chip and WOW! Though some of the GPS features were better on the Magellan. The screen and Lakemaster chip kick some Arse! I used it on some smaller lakes this weekend and you can go right to the spot it is so accurate! You know instantly where each nook and cranny, point, corner etc is without even drilling a hole! What used to take me hours now takes seconds it is that good!
I tried my buddies h2o, I was impressed with the display compared to my old Garmin XL12. Then I did some research, the h2o could not pass the "overboard test". I also want you to consider that the Lowrance has the screen at the top, these means two hands to operate out of the cradle. I drag mine around the boat and out of the boat. I chose the Garmin 76CXS for many reasons besides the ones mentioned. I subscribe to a publication called Practical Sailor, as I am a sailor. They are an unbiased magazine that has no advertising so they do testing and tell the facts. They tested many gps units and anyone interested in purchasing one should do research as you will own it for many years. If you would like me to find and copy this info for you, I would be glad to.  Dale                btw, My fishing boat has a Lowrance finder -I love it- so you know I am not brand biased, just quality driven.
-- Edited by McGyver at 16:19, 2009-02-13
__________________
The brain is merely a knot that keeps the spine from unraveling
I did get my Lowrance, but I went with the HuntC with the Lakemaster Chip. near as I can tell, I would say its about 15-20 feet off, when I go down the road with it. Is there a way to zero them ? Like 20 feet off is so bad....
try running it w/o the lake chip when on the road. My Garmin uses Mapsource, I thought it was about 15-20 feet off going into cove bay, then I watched my finder, the bouys were not on the channel, thats fine for a fishing boat w/ a 18-20" draft, but caused my sailboat keel to bounce hard.  Using your Lowrance in conjuction w/ a depth finder is optimal.  this link will take you to a cool new toy for all boaters, and you will find yourself in this catalog til spring. http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/producte/10001/-1/10001/151348/377%20710/0/handheld%20depth/Secondary%20Search/mode%20matchallpartial/0/0?N=377%20710&Ne=0&Ntt=handheld%20depth&Ntk=Secondary%20Search&Ntx=mode%20matchallpartial&Nao=0&Ns=0&keyword=handheld%20depth&isLTokenURL=true&storeNum
-- Edited by McGyver at 09:39, 2009-02-15
__________________
The brain is merely a knot that keeps the spine from unraveling