Which Lowrance GPS ?

[Kalop]

Can someone give me brief overview of which Lowrance GPS is best for money for recreational riding? Trying to keep it to $500 or less.. ebay works, but need to narrow down models.... I've seen some old threads recommending Baja Elite 5m, others say HDS-5 gen 2, some say Polaris XTR ... my heads dizzy with all different models and I must admit I have no clue what to look for or why such extremes in model pricing. Will I need external antennae if I got aluminum roof? Will I need to buy SD map card (if so, which one?) Thanks.

 

[State Farm 1953]

I have only used lowerance and have been really happy with them and you can always find someone to help you on setting up or using and that's what's in most of the cars. If you don't have an aluminum dash you should be okay with the built in antenna. On the older lowerance models I believe you can't exceed a 2mb SIM card , but I would honestly call pci and they can get you hooked up.

 

[mosslager]

What is it you want from a GPS? Do you want it as a safe guard so you dont get lost or do you want it for marking courses during prerunning and do you want geocaching options. For getting back to camp a hand held is fine and Garmin I believe makes the best for that. For large screen fast runs a tablet may be the best cost wise...for high speed with course markers then the Lowrance is choice. I run a a Lowrance 540c with roof mount puck antenna and love it but they are discontinued. Another thing to look at is do you want to run an external antenna. The 540c requires one and some other models use it as an added option to the built in. If you use one you need to have a hard roof or put it out on the hood....like 30 inches away from the screen. I also keep a handheld Garmin 60csx in the glovebox in case I need to leave the SXS and hike out.

 

[megadesertdiesel]

i run a Lowrance Baja 540-C with a Garmin antenna mounted 24" from the screen on my hood. It works great for me.

 

[Kalop]

I want it for 1) getting lost (I have to admit, I get lost easily) and 2) exploring, finding new trails. That's pretty much it.

I've currently got nexus 7 tablet + backcountry navigator mounted on my steering column... IT WORKS, but it's PITA, battery charge doesn't last (yea, I could run hot wire too it), the screen is hard (very hard) to see in daylight, and I have to remember to download the maps in advanced before the trip.. sometimes I don't download enough sections and/or completely miss parts of new areas I've never been too. I've been using it couple years now, thinking lowrance would be nice upgrade.

Thanks for tips/suggestions thus far.

 

[Oc1]

I have the Lowrance HDS 5 in the race car with the external ant. and it works great, but I've never used it for anything other than speed and distance while testing and downloading the race course. It works great with the race course on it, so I would imagine it would work well with other maps.
For hiking and on my dirtbike I have a Garmin Montana. 4" color touchscreen and lots of memory. I downloaded the entire southwest so as long as I'm within a 4 state area I don't need to worry about extra maps. I like how compact this unit is and that its easy to just grab it bring it in the house and hook it up to the computer. The only downside is that I think it would be hard to read at speed.

 

[mosslager]

Sounds like the HDS5 is a good match for you.

 

[Kalop]

HDS-5 ... I'll be on the lookout for deal on this... THANKS

 

[Plumber]

Dude just get an android tablet. The resolution on the Lowrance sucks. Had one used it one time. Majorly disappointed. If you don't care about resolution, than by all means.

 

[calstyl2]

You have to add a Topo card with Topo if you want to see detail, to say it sucks without stating does not help. Lowrance GPS units need a Topo card for the detail topo info, and roads etc.

 

[Plumber]

Ok I put the southwest region polaris maps on my hds5. $200 SD card was not worth it plus 500 for the unit. $ hit for 700 bucks, I could get a really nice rugged tablet for that price. I sold my Lowrance and the SD card.

 

[Kalop]

I do have tablet, nexus 7 w/backcountry navigator. Hmmm... not interested in $700 investment on GPS. If I have to buy $200 card in addition to $500 HDS5 then I'll just stick w/what I got.

 

[PCI Race Radios]

Can someone give me brief overview of which Lowrance GPS is best for money for recreational riding? Trying to keep it to $500 or less.. ebay works, but need to narrow down models.... I've seen some old threads recommending Baja Elite 5m, others say HDS-5 gen 2, some say Polaris XTR ... my heads dizzy with all different models and I must admit I have no clue what to look for or why such extremes in model pricing. Will I need external antennae if I got aluminum roof? Will I need to buy SD map card (if so, which one?) Thanks.

The HDS and XTR are the same GPS. If you have a metal roof or will be mounting the GPS under a metal dash you will need a $250 external antenna kit (Point 1 Baja) for best reception. With your budget I would recommend going with the Elite 5m Baja HD. This GPS comes with an external antenna for $500 and is the best bang for your buck. We can then add topo mapping chips to the GPS order and can add any specific states you may need for $75 or we have a predefined Southwest US states mapping card for $60.

We also have mounts available for the Elite 5M Baja depending on which sxs you have.

Feel free to give me a call at the shop if you have any further questions.

Alon

 

[Kalop]

The HDS and XTR are the same GPS. If you have a metal roof or will be mounting the GPS under a metal dash you will need a $250 external antenna kit (Point 1 Baja) for best reception. With your budget I would recommend going with the Elite 5m Baja HD. This GPS comes with an external antenna for $500 and is the best bang for your buck. We can then add topo mapping chips to the GPS order and can add any specific states you may need for $75 or we have a predefined Southwest US states mapping card for $60.

We also have mounts available for the Elite 5M Baja depending on which sxs you have.

Feel free to give me a call at the shop if you have any further questions.

Alon

Thank you very much !!!!!

 

[Kalop]

Ok... finally ordered me Lowrance GPS. Got the Gen2 HDS-5m for $350 off amazon... pretty good deal IMO.

QUESTION - Now where's cheapest place get TOPO cards ? I tried searching ebay... but apparently I don't know the search term to use??

 

[TREE68]

The HDS and XTR are the same GPS. If you have a metal roof or will be mounting the GPS under a metal dash you will need a $250 external antenna kit (Point 1 Baja) for best reception. With your budget I would recommend going with the Elite 5m Baja HD. This GPS comes with an external antenna for $500 and is the best bang for your buck. We can then add topo mapping chips to the GPS order and can add any specific states you may need for $75 or we have a predefined Southwest US states mapping card for $60.

We also have mounts available for the Elite 5M Baja depending on which sxs you have.

Feel free to give me a call at the shop if you have any further questions.

Alon

this is the exact package i got at the offroad expo from pci ^^^

and you guys wont be disapointed. elite 5m, face cover, cage mount, external antenna, western topo map sd card. i wont post pricing due to expo bundle deal but i am a very happy cat right now. now mobile radio is next. whens the next show

 

[Kalop]

Well... I figured out the card I need is called "TOPO INSIGHT" ... ebay is no luck yet, they're about $150 each... and we ride OK, TX and AR, which means 2 separate cards.

 

[Plumber]

Well... I figured out the card I need is called "TOPO INSIGHT" ... ebay is no luck yet, they're about $150 each... and we ride OK, TX and AR, which means 2 separate cards.

You might want to try this card.
They have satellite imaging kind of like Google maps but not as good

https://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/p/892/39799/Polaris-XTR-GPS-HD-Map-Card?v=11437
Pick your region

 

[Kalop]

You might want to try this card.
They have satellite imaging kind of like Google maps but not as good

https://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/p/892/39799/Polaris-XTR-GPS-HD-Map-Card?v=11437
Pick your region

Yea, that's same cards as Insight Topo but they're on ebay for $150 ($50 cheaper) .

 

[TREE68]

i got the one from pci. regular 55. got for 45 expo special. was told its the same as insight, even has the navionics name when i go to charts. rugged routes makes some nice topo mapping sd cards for 79.00 each. check them out