Fishfinder opinions wanted

[reel-em-in]

So I accidentally messed up my old ff so it's time for a new one. I think I'd like a Humminbird. So my question is should I get the 581i HD DI combo or the 386ci? The first has a 5" screen and DI, the second is 3.5", no DI, and color. Both are ~$299. Thoughts?

[reel-em-in]

Maybe it does? They both have built in GPS.

[ronaultmtd]

I recently went with the 5 inch screen Lowrance Elite 5 DSI Gold for my Outback- comes with the Gold Navionics Lakes and Coastal chart 2 GB chip- Only had it on in my kitchen, but the screen is very nice, bright, good contrast, GPS locked on in a few seconds- much faster than the Cuda 350 combo I replaced- weather has not cooperated to allow me to try it out on the water yet, plus I had to wait for the Mad Frog Liberator Mini and the Scotty electronics mount to come in to install the transducer- so I can't say how well it works yet...I replaced the smaller 3 inch screen and went with color-I would opt for the larger screen Hummingbird unit-

[deleonjo]

I've been looking at these two as well. I believe the 'c' is for color, and the 'i' is for the combo (i.e. both sonar and GPS). I was leaning towards the 581i for the bigger screen (vision not as good as it used to be). The screen resolution for the 581i is 640Vx320H. Resolution for the 386ci is only 320Vx240H, but you do get color. The other thing that I've discovered about the Humminbird Down Imaging (DI) units is that they can be switched to standard sonar mode if desired. I don't believe that the Lowrance DSI units can do that. (Maybe someone can chime in and verify this). Note: I'm a complete newbie to sonar, so just stating info that I've gathered from researching the HBird and Lowrance websites. Anyway, I'm interested to see which way you go. Need to make a decision soon for myself. Good Luck! Go Ravens.

[MetroMan]

I just got the 386ci DI. You're right, the down imaging can be turned off. The unit comes with the "unimaps" maps. It is pretty useless for hydro information, making the $200 navionic map purchase a necessity.

[reel-em-in]

Deleonjo,

You are correct. As MetroMan said, the humminbird units have both DI and sonar whereas the Lowrance DI units only have DI.

My next question for anyone with DI, I plan to shoot thru hull, does it still work ok?

[DOGFISH]

The small screen gets very small when you go to split screen on the 386. I use a 597, which has a 5" screen. That makes seeing things much better in split screen. A navionics chip helps with the bottom contours and depth lines.

[Yak Fish]

Deleonjo,

You are correct. As MetroMan said, the humminbird units have both DI and sonar whereas the Lowrance DI units only have DI.

My next question for anyone with DI, I plan to shoot thru hull, does it still work ok?

The DI will probably not work through hull. At least that is what I'd found in doing research, which is why I came up with a wet mounting system for mine. The DI beam is very wide, so you'd be shooting through a lot of plastic. You may find that it works just fine though.

[reel-em-in]

The DI will probably not work through hull. At least that is what I'd found in doing research, which is why I came up with a wet mounting system for mine. The DI beam is very wide, so you'd be shooting through a lot of plastic. You may find that it works just fine though.

I've done some more research and I'm thinking the DI will be fine thru hull. I found this on humminbird's website: http://store.humminbird.com/products/488353/MHX_XMK_DI . Obviously I'm not going to pay that when I can use duct seal but I'm thinking I'll be ok.