Garmin or Lowrance 3500. Which maps also?

[FishinginDavenport]

Just bought a 16.5 Alumacraft and am trying to get it set up for spring without spending a small fortune. I have a Lowrance 67c color fishfinder purchased and now want to purchase a GPS. I have searched the internet for days trying to decide. The unit has to be in the 400-600 dollar range. Reliability and ease of use are most important. Handhelds are to small.

Garmin has opened a store on Michigan Ave in Chicago with all thier units but they did not have the 172c on hand. None of thier people were well trained on anything having just opened the store last week. So the 300 mile roundtrip yesterday for info from them was a total waste.

The unit should also be able to display maps of the Mississippi River and the features such as wing dams, etc. What mapping program is good and which unit will it work with.

Sorry for so many questions but I am baffled....

[blackwaterkatz]

Duane, why not go to the websites of garmin and lowrance. Follow the links and see what is required for each brand in order to get the mapping you need, and the overall cost. I had a garmin gpsmap162, and really like it. I had "recreational fishing and hot spots"? and bluechart americas. They gave me all I needed for the eastern half of the country, not a lot on rivers, though. The maps covered a much larger area than the lowrance lms337c unit I have now, but a a little more cost. I am just learning the lowrance, and I like it more and more, but it won't do some of the things (nothing too important) that the garmin would. It's mainly just two different animals, and you have to figure out what works best.
There is quite a bit of mapping software out there for lowrance, but with garmin, although they're good, you are kinda locked into their stuff.

[gilmafam]

[quote=FishinginDavenport;486696]Just bought a 16.5 Alumacraft and am trying to get it set up for spring without spending a small fortune. I have a Lowrance 67c color fishfinder purchased and now want to purchase a GPS. I have searched the internet for days trying to decide. The unit has to be in the 400-600 dollar range. Reliability and ease of use are most important. Handhelds are to small.

Help is on the way...

Duane,

Before I got my 3500, and I still have it (Mag-315) the hand held was nice but did not give any map detail. With my 3500, and the add-on $ 100, Nautic path, and & fishing hot-spots..... I have all that I need for out here on the west coast. Love my unit..... I have gone 46 miles off shore in my 18' boat Santa Barbara Island.... the trail mode that it makes allows me to come back over my way points with .04 feet (so they say) I have it mounted on a block of wood 1" thick and 8"x20". Right next to it is my Low 105C sounder...... figuring out where to place the antena has to be thought out..... My boat has a dashboard and lots of room.... placed the antena (done) on the left......
my feeling is "dont leave home without it"

I mark the bolders in the rivers/lakes with "skull and crossbones" I usually keep my first trail as reference to activate it later when needed. Turn em on or turn em off..........I love it..... Makes it easier for my wife to negotiate the tricky stuff.... when she is at the helm.... "follow the line"

Hope that I have been helpfull.....base price 500 + 200 in add ons...

[FishinginDavenport]

Thanks Ray. It does seem that Lowrance has more map availability. I sent off an email to Navtronics about maps of the Mississippi River and they havent replied yet. Tried to call them and got nothing but computer prompts. I see the 3500 is being replaced in January with a 5300c. Its supposed to be better in brightness and some places have preorder for it now at prices cheaper than the 3500.