Choosing a GPS/FishFinder: Lowrance Hook vs. Raymarine Dragonfly vs. Other

[dpagini]

Hey All,
I am considering adding a GPS/Fishfinder to my 2000 Four Winns 248 Vista (26' cabin cruiser, I/O).
I don't know what I'm looking for, but know I primarily am looking for a GPS unit to take trips around Long Island Sound with, and secondarily as a fish finder unit. I have gone to a few boat shows and stores and played around with some units. I'm comfortable with the $300ish price range, but could go higher or lower for the right unit.
I found myself looking at the Raymarine Dragonfly 4, and the Lowrance Hook 5. The Dragonfly seems to me to be "more of" a fish finder than a GPS, and meant for more for fishing on a lake, or something like that. Is that at all accurate? I dont know why I feel that way, but I guess when I was trying to find reviews and things online that was the common application of this unit. I then was looking yesterday at the Lowrance Hook 5, which is a little bit pricier, but seemed like a pretty good unit to me. I also was looking at a Garmin unit, echoMAP CHIRP 54dv, but that was a bit more out of my price range. I liked the interface better on that system.

Anyways, what I'm asking for... can anyone provide recommendations or experiences with these units? Or just picking out a unit in general? What to look for that I might not be thinking of...?

Here is a photo of my helm (someone else's photo, but same set up). I have the same size unit now, which is why I want to stay with something with a 4-5" screen. I just think much bigger is too big for this set up.

 

[dpagini]

Little bump. Anyone have anything positive or negative to say about the brands, if not about the units? Or can maybe suggest another brand I look at for my needs? Thank you!

 

[David Young]

See if Amazon or e-bay sells what your looking for. Read the reviews they have. I have a Lowrance gps/fishfinder with a chartplotter, i haven't installed it yet for my little 15 foot boat. I'm sure most of the gps/fishfinders made and sold, 'should' be pretty good.

 

[JoLin]

Not familiar with the Hook.Unless they've changed it, the Dragonfly won't let you upload/store routes, so I went with Ray's a78 instead.

Don't automatically assume that a touchscreen is 'better.' Smallish boat, small touchscreen, choppy water- it can be a challenge for me to 'stab' the screen in the right spot when I'm rockin' and rollin.' One other thing I found out the hard way... I was running at night and turned the backlight way down to preserve my night vision. Well, next morning I couldn't see the screen at all, and spent 5 minutes feeling around until I stumbled on the backlight control and was able to increase it. Now I'm careful to turn the backlight UP again before I power the unit down and leave the boat. Who'da thunk it.

My .02

 

[fishin98]

I have the Lowrance Elite 4 with DI and GPS, I wish I would have gotten the 5. What I did when shopping for a new unit was go to BassPro and to West Marine, looked at ALL the units on display, stepped back and looked at clarity and ease of use and of course PRICE. All the units are about the same.

 

[Davetowz]

I use a Lowrance Elite 5 for a chartplotter. Navionics maps make it an awesome unit. Dimmable and has a night mode that does not kill night vision yet bright enough to see in the daylight. Cheap too. The Dragonfly is a nice down imaging device but a little weak on the navigation side.

 

[roscoe]

Brother in law bought a Hook 5.

I bought a Hummingbird Helix 7.

The Helix has an easier user interface in my opinion.
We both think the Helix has a clearer and sharper screen.

Something else to consider:

What map chip will you be using? Who has the better mapping, and at what price, for your area?

Lakemaster chips will only work in Hummingbird units now, as they are made by the HBird parent company.