Andrejs 2 Comments

I don’t want to say that Lowrance GPS fishfinder combo is the best on the market, but definitely, it is one of the Top brands in the marine industry.

Lowrance Electronics is the U.S. in 1957 established company. The Company is a manufacturer of consumer sonar and GPS receivers, as well as digital mapping systems. Headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Lowrance employs approximately 1,000 people.

Unfortunately, I had no chance to use Lowrance GPS for boats navigation but as an experienced user, I made an online and offline research.

It is so obvious that every manufacturer praises of their products and it’s okay but reading their advertisement and product brochures are quite difficult to make an objective and fair impression of given product.

When it comes to unknown for me GPS for boats or even fishfinder combo I usually start my research with a reading of cons. Sources are different, but Amazon customer’s reviews are my favorite. Why? Because there are many reviews of products familiar to me and I can confirm the veracity. My advice never makes the final decision just from one or even two sources.

So what is Combo in our case?

It is a combination of marine navigation tool and fishfinder or echo sounder in one device. I don’t like any combined devices but life is life and for occasional use it is a way to save. For angler like me, such a durable and waterproof fishfinder GPS combo portable device can tick all the boxes.

Top Marine sat nav makers have their own combo devices. Like Garmin GPSMAP series or Humminbird 409620-1 HELIX 5 DI Fishfinder and more. This time, let’s take a look at Lowrance product.

What ordinary angler needs to know for a good fishing? Depth, water temperature, bottom topography, meteorological conditions and if there are any fish around a boat. Naturally, the most important for good fishing is the experience and feeling. These options not included in any machine.

Let’s take a look at Lowrance Elite-5 HDI Combo.

5″ color LCD

Includes 50/200+455/800 KHz Transom mount transducer

Standard and Down Scan Sonar for sounding and fishfinding;

Built-in GPS;

Pre-loaded Nations Gold charts as an option;

Lowest price in Amazon.com

Product description for standard packing sold by Amazon:

“Lowrance Elite-5 HDI Combination Plotter/Fishfinder w/ Navionics Gold Charts and 50/200+455/800KHz Transducer. The brilliant 5 in., 480×480 pixel Solara 256-color TFT display has unmatched screen brightness, contrast, resolution and viewing detail at wider angles and in bright sunlight. Adjustable screen and keypad backlight improve usability and visibility day or night. Hybrid Dual Imaging combines the power of a conventional Broadband Sounder (83/200 or 50/200 KHz) with the high-resolution imagery of Down Scan Imaging, providing easy-to-understand, picture-like detail of bait fish, predator fish and bottom structure. The images can be viewed side-by-side or can be overplayed to unprecedented detail. The internal 16-channel GPS antenna provides great WAAS+EGNOS+MSAS precision for navigation. And an external antenna option is also available for customized applications. A waterproof micro-SD memory card slot is fully compatible with Navionics Gold chart cards, as well as Fishing Hot Spots and Lake Master map cards in the micro SD format for U.S. anglers. Built-in memory allows for up to 3,000 waypoints, 100 routes/100 waypoints per route and 100 retraceable plot trails/up to 10,000 points per trail. All of this, packaged with easy-to-use menus with Advanced Mode to expand features selection. An all-new case/mounting design provides for easy one-hand tilt/swivel view adjustment, removal and re-install – even fits same cut-out for previous 5 in. models for in-dash installations. And the new unplugs 1/4-turn connectors are compatible with earlier Lowrance unplugs installations to simplify upgrades to any new Elite model. Warranty: One year. Dimensions: 6.9″W x 5.4″H x 2.5″D. In the box: Elite-5 HDI, transom mount transducer, installation hardware, owner’s manual.”

Sounds great and very much seems it is as announced.

As negative experience from users,

I found that some complained about complicated wiring instructions and other mounting difficulties. Common guys, switch on your brains, maybe a bit more patient and voila work is done, enjoy fishing!

What I like most

Comparing with other brands that it is a very enjoyable menu and the wide range of computer interaction possibilities. It means that you can download maps, waypoints and execute many actions on the computer.

For many potential GPS Fishfinder Combo seekers very significant are nautical charts and other mapping details. Without more or less updated maps will be hard to find good fishing spots in unknown areas.

Lawrence comes with US Navionics Gold included in Amazon selling price. By me that it is great value as buying charts separately spending an extra money is imminent.

Navionics is an excellent choice and for me one of the best in industry. Easy to use and update and available for all existing well-known electronic tools like PC, Mac, Android and Apple smartphones and tablets. They easily communicate each other and data could be transferred mutually. I like it very much. Although I have to say that many other nautical charts manufacturers are trying to reach such communication interaction because the competition is high.

One important reminder when ordering for the USA and Canada.

Make a note when ordering the device for West coast or East Coast edition. I somewhere read that not all area is covered in single GPS combo unit but I am not hundred percent sure.

My conclusion regarding Lowrance GPS Fishfinder Combo Elite-5 HDI.

The given machine is worth the money that is required. Less than $400 for fully equipped and easily detachable, the transducer in the box, all weather GPS for boats device is a good price.

Is it better than competitors fishfinder combo?

Only you can answer that question. Try in real life, read different sources, ask your fellow fishermen blah, blah. I do not think that it is so big difference in same price tag other brands combos just some nuances which sometimes is very crucial to make a choice.

Enjoy the water, the Sun, the wind, and fishing!