Which Lowrance GPS to get?

ive seen one thread on which GPS from Lowrance was the best model to get but in reality it never really got to the point and most were recommending ipad maps... for the norcal area and with the new raptor expiditions the lowrance models are required for all future runs to help prevent back ups and slow downs while on the expeditions... my question is im on a budget and cant figure out which one is worth getting? the elite baja 5m seems to have a lot of sites discontinued and models are hard to find... i found Lowrance Elite 7M Gold Chartplotter with a $100 mail in rebate for $639 and with the rebate comes to $539... just trying to figure out which ones the best and or if anyone has a used one thats possibly getting ready to upgrade to a newer model and would want to sell their old one? as far as mounts go im already 100% sure im getting the LGE/CTS fold down mount since its the only one ive found that has a stow away mode... any help would be greatly appreciated!

Here are a couple places you can get one and don't forget the mount. There are a lot more places that sell them.

Units:
Lowrance 000-11176-001 Elite-5M HD Plotter with Navionics Gold U.S. Charts:Amazon:GPS & Navigation


Lowrance GPS

Mounts:
http://www.fordraptorforum.com/f184/navigation-head-unit-brackets-lge*cts-motorsports-29810/

GPS Mounts

---------- Post added at 05:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:41 PM ----------

Sorry the Amazon link won't link correctly but it was $460. You can search for it

Thanks Andrew! I'm still weighing out if I will get my money's worth out of it, I don't have a lot of free time for runs and everyone that I go on I have to take leave... I really enjoyed the lost coast run and this year it's required to have a lowrance so I guess the cheapest one to get is the baja 5m just curious as to with them being discontinued is it worth getting the left overs?

We'll if it's required for the LC run and you want to go on it then it's worth it. $500-$700 is not a one time use dollor amount you can use it on future runs or even resell it if needed.

Sub'd...looking too. REC is going to wreck my wife's ride in this....but oh well.

I purchased the HDS 5M gen 2. I wanted physical buttons rather than touch screen since bouncing around in a truck makes it tough to be accurate with your fingers. Also, sometimes I'm wearing gloves. I got the 5 due to cost. If I had it to do again, I would have done a 7. More screen is always nice. No grips on the smaller screen, just would have ponied up the cash for the 7.

The 7 does have some physical buttons, like for page, zoom and menu. So if I had the money, i might have done the touch. You loose all the wasted space of the buttons, so the unit is smaller i think.


I also have the Lowrance Topo maps. I love them. They zoom in and out very fast on the Gen 2 HDS. On the older unit, i noticed a delay when it was repainting the image after a zoom click.


Anything else I can add, just ask. I love my Lowrance and would do it again.

---------- Post added at 02:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:51 PM ----------

Oh, and I pieced together a windshield suction cup mount from Ram Mount. SnoBall prerun and trip and it never popped off the windshield, but I can take it all down easily if I'm parked where I don't want it exposed to prying eyes.

---------- Post added at 02:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:52 PM ----------

slowjoe said:

Sub'd...looking too. REC is going to wreck my wife's ride in this....but oh well.

Click to expand...

Your wife should have no problems. My wife's 5'2" and has no visibility or issues with comfort in my truck. When/if I cage it is another story lol.

Is this a good deal? It seems after rebate to be $549 after rebate.


Lowrance® HDS-7 Gen 2 Combo : Cabela's

Bigg50 said:

Your wife should have no problems. My wife's 5'2" and has no visibility or issues with comfort in my truck. When/if I cage it is another story lol.

Click to expand...

She's not saying too much about the kenwood at her knees, but I know she wants to. It's not obstructing her so she can't get the courage to say much, just a "is that staying there?" Lol...I know what that meant.

BABaracus,
Nice unit; I wonder if they have any without the sonar/depth finder at a lower price. Nice to use on your boat if you have one, but I doubt I will ever use one as such....
Eddie