Simrad or Garmin

[FNQCairns]

I have very little brand allegiance...I am modern strange that way, a low themed individual.

Last year I spent literally many 10s of hours reading around for a new combo then I needed to wait a year for the actual user results to come in...so I did, not the first time I have done this either...have had GPS on 8 boats for around 22 years (so different then than it is today) and sounders for 35+ years so I forget how many I have/family has munched through already, would buy me a pretty trick s/h 14.?-17 foot tinny I suspect by now that total cost...this gear was hugely expensive once, still overly expensive for what one actually gets today ..but anyway.

I found the garmin has had poor sounder abilities all said and done, this comes from users and me-not sellers, I know from 20 years of Garmin it has good very GPS (always has, chipsets where always quality), use one as a chart plotter on the reef boat as a to date result...still damn good!!!

Lowrance does most things just fine but transducer problems wore me out over time...they also geocach (sp) now....my character is higher than that, I buy here but not Lowrance any more because of the previouse and their product to me doesn't stand out anywhere really, but it's ok, a good choice.....I own a lowrance fuel meter..these are quite good BTW.

So lately and lastly to date I chose a Raymarine chirp/combo, I DONT like the Navionics charts after owning the Garmin blue chart but the sounder side seems so far a pretty trick/fair/good/not ripped off piece of kit..used to just 50m depth to date.

I still have a long way to get all very fine with the sounder unit side of this unit being chirp also...the GPS side I will leave as a backup only...for as long as the Garmin chart plotter keeps plotting that is.

Actually I will buy another Garmin to run the blue charts along side the Raymarine sounder if ever this one dies, the garmin GPS/Chart is just THAT much better up here.

Good luck it's a load of bull and bull dust out there...in the end only the actual users are ever correct, sometimes the marketers around the net get it correct first but at best it's only about 1 out of 5 times...that's not good odds.

good luck

[Prowl n Wolf]

Can't comment on Garmin although I'm strongly considering their products for my next upgrade. As for Simrad I would not purchase another. I had spent over $25k on a electronics package from Simrad on my previous boat only to be disappointed. 3 NSS8'S over 18 months had to be returned due to failure. Had Furuno before that and had no dramas. Current boat has a no frills lowrance hds7 gen2 which has been faultless.

[chocolatemoose]

nice one FNQ. let us know how you find your unit

i would like garmin to boost their mapping just a tad. the navionics does show a bit more coastal detail. and the cmap 4D is a great option for furuno and h-bird users.. the G2 vision and its 3d/auto guidance is whats keeping garmin mapping ahead.. a little
garmin needs to boost its coastal AUS maps, and bring in a DIY mapping system asap
word is a new updated G2 vision is on its way in 2015..... but more than likley just for the US i would imagine
any word wayne?