Advice before buying Garmin vs Lowrance

[+pipeguy1953]

I am going to buy a GPS soon-the question is will it be a Lowrance Expedition C or a Garmin 76CSx. I am familiar with Garmin products and have no major complaints with them. I feel the Lowrance has the same bang for less buck-about $200.00 less when the software is factored in.

I will use it for canoeing, hunting, fishing and car trips.

Any advice will be much appreciated. Thanks

[+zeke1975]

I've had a lowrance iFinder Pro in the past and currently have a Garmin 76Cx. I'd say if you don't need autorouting ability, the Lowrance wins hands down in terms of value. However if you want an autorouting unit, lowrance doesn't autoroute, so it's not an option.

[+ICHTHYS]

I just ordered the H2O C. Best value for the dollar. Mine should be here Tues.

[+MAG315]

I've owned an Expedition C for about 9 months now and overall, have been very satisfied with the unit. There are things I don't like about it such as the fact that you have to remove the SD card to load all waypoints and maps instead of just plugging in a cable. There also seems to be a lot of features that are not finished yet and I think that the unit was rushed to market before it was ready. Having said this, I think that most of the things the Expedition C lacks can be corrected with software updates and are not really a problem. The learning curve is pretty steep because there are so many ways to customize this unit but once you get things set the way you want them, you have a great GPSr. There are so many nice things about the Expedition such as the dual processors which make the map updates lightning fast and the way it lists waypoints with the actual cache names (up to 100 characters) instead of being limited to the "GC" numbers. The onboard barometer will warn you when inclement weather is approaching and the electronic compass will really help you zero in on a cache in difficult terrain. It will even play MP3's but I've never used this feature. The onboard memory will hold up to 1000 waypoints which you can load and unload from the Sd card. The mapping software from Lowrance is about the same as anything Garmin or Magellan has and you can buy the unit and software for a little over $300.00 which makes it a bargain. I've never had to deal with Lowrance's customer service but from what I've heard, it's very good. If you're looking for a full-featured GPSr at a good price, this is it.

Edited January 22, 2007 by MAG315

[+Airmapper]

A friend of mine is going to buy a 76Csx, so once they have that I may hear what they like/ dislike about it. I do know a Garmin 76 is much bigger than a Lowrance, and some people complain that a Lowrance is hefty. (I think it's small enough, it fits in a shirt pocket.)

 

Like others have said, if you don't need the Auto-routing, Lowrance is a great deal, offering tons of features for less money. They have as many if not more features than a Garmin, along with great antennas and screens. I do use mine for car trips, I just plan my route on the computer, and send it to the unit as a tracklog or route.

[+briansnat]

Lowrance units are good, but if I were buying one unit it would be the Garmin if for the autorouting alone.

 

I've also found the Lowrance user interface to be a bit clunky, while Garmin's is very well thought out and easy to use.

 

If you aren't interested in auto routing then the Lowrance is a good choice, but since I've owned an auto routing GPS I don't think I'd want to do without it.

[scheister]

I received the GSPmap 76Csx for Christmas. I don't know anything about the Lowrance so I can't compare them; my former experience was with an e-trex Vista.

 

I just started geocaching as a way to learn how to use the unit and its various features; I have been very pleased thus far. Although I am an outdoor enthusiast, I value the auto-routing features because of the nature of my work. With that said, the interfacing with my PC is great, it locks on relatively quickly, you can customize the data display fields, navigating through the pages and fields is easy, the color and screen are great, and the batteries seem to last quite awhile. However it is a bit bulky (compared to the e-trex series), the buttons are on top making one handed operation a little clumsy (especially with gloves), and the loaded base map is very disappointing. For the cost of this unit, the buyer should at least have a choice between USA TOPO and city navigator.

 

I will post more when I really take the unit on a good backpacking/ fly fishing expedition. Check on-line prices, they are very good.