Wanaflatsfish Posted May 5, 2019 Report Share Posted May 5, 2019 Had the opportunity to fish with Forum Member Coto on his Redfisher 21....what a beast Alex recently purchased the FMT chip and was going back and forth between the Simrad and Lowrance..... Advantages of Simrad - knob control of view, Disadvantages of Simard - $$$$ Advtanges of Lowrance - $$$$ less expensive, Disadvantages (which I'll say now in ONLY MINOR) is +/- buttons We ran around Choko / 10K's yesterday and launched from Outdoor resorts...Alex had not run the FMT in this area... I must say, for the $ value vs a EVO3 Simard - the Lowrance, in my opinion is a very very good option, $ for $. I thought the button in/out would have been a PIA, not at all, and the Elite model was fast and the graphics were great.... I"m sure Alex will post some pics or comment....but, I do stand corrected when I said I'd only go for the Simrad due to the "Knob"...but, for the $1K less for the Lowrance, we ran fine, graphics very good, and the speed of refresh was adequate for it's use... Alex and I were joking, as I was reaching to adjust the screen, my muscle memory kept making me move towards turning a knob....but, the buttons did work well...if I had to do it again, I'd go with the Lowrance Elite vs Simrad vs spending the extra $$$$$. I was fortunate in that I got the last EVO2 NSS9 in all the USA at West Marine, for an internet match at less than $1K when they were discounting them for the new EVO3....it did the job. BTW, more to come in the 10K section....we did catch a few feeeessssh dc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Seither Posted May 5, 2019 Report Share Posted May 5, 2019 Great Product report, Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soflah3 Posted May 5, 2019 Report Share Posted May 5, 2019 I was back and forth on both the Simrad vs Lowrance as well as the 12" display vs the 9" display. I ultimatley ended up going with the 9" Simrad and I am super happy with the decision. I was able to find a retailer to give me 10% off MSRP and then there was a $400 rebate at the time which got me down to the "hundreds" more for the knob. Certainly makes it more palatable. When I made my first trip to the Keys last month it was blowing 20-25 the whole time, it was super choppy and it was my first time in Florida Bay. Using the knob to zoom in when approaching cuts was easy and natural. I was able to do so with quick glances and confidence while getting bounced around. I feel for that particular instance it is certainly worth the $$$. Now if its glass flat using the +\- probably isn't a big deal. I am super impressed with the FMT chip, it allowed me to run around the Keys like I have been doing it for years. I had zero stress about where I was going which is worth its weight in gold. Now I just need to find a copy of The Little Back Book of Fishing Spots : ) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coto Posted May 5, 2019 Report Share Posted May 5, 2019 The refresh rate is way more than adequate, Dino. You must still be suffering from the heat or from the thought of an impending cavity search from the FWC officer that stopped us yesterday 😨. I will say the rotary knob is nice because you don't have to take your fingers off to go in and out of zoom however, the buttons zoom in and out as fast and as smoothly as the rotary knob. IMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Seither Posted May 5, 2019 Report Share Posted May 5, 2019 Agree on the buttons as ya have listed they are quick in both of the units I run, I can see where in very sloppy weather the knob working very well, FMT from what I'm reading on the post sounds great, LMT I have not had the pleasure of seeing or using it yet FMT did send me the name of a local guide using it, I will be tracking this guy down to see when it's convenient for me to look at it. The EVO Simrads are great units along with the HDS and the Elite TI's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted May 5, 2019 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2019 6 hours ago, Coto said: The refresh rate is way more than adequate, Dino Yes, I should have used another descriptor....I'm still suffering from POST I stole your big snook delirium and the pounding we took on the way back from Indian Key...the cavity search from the FMT is something I'm never going to recover from...it was quite the poking and jabbing.....since I wasn't the Captain, I felt it best to sit by on the gunnels in the fetal position to insure weapons would not be drawn, given how aggressive they were in asking for every document and checking every cooler....yes, a 63 y/o old guy and his buddy in a $30K redfishes are going to be "poaching" fish......hmmmm..... Adequate......heck NO....it worked great !!!..Heck we got home didn't we ? dc 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted May 5, 2019 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2019 8 hours ago, soflah3 said: The Little Back Book of Fishing Spots : ) Coto and I will be happy to give you some....sometimes they work, sometimes they don't, sometimes....well, they are just BS :) (LOL) dc 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Seither Posted May 5, 2019 Report Share Posted May 5, 2019 LMAO this is funny DC!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bamaskeet Posted May 6, 2019 Report Share Posted May 6, 2019 13 hours ago, Wanaflatsfish said: Yes, I should have used another descriptor....I'm still suffering from POST I stole your big snook delirium and the pounding we took on the way back from Indian Key...the cavity search from the FMT is something I'm never going to recover from...it was quite the poking and jabbing.....since I wasn't the Captain, I felt it best to sit by on the gunnels in the fetal position to insure weapons would not be drawn, given how aggressive they were in asking for every document and checking every cooler....yes, a 63 y/o old guy and his buddy in a $30K redfishes are going to be "poaching" fish......hmmmm..... Adequate......heck NO....it worked great !!!..Heck we got home didn't we ? dc The FWC has been stopping a lot of boats around Aplachicola this spring because the oystering has been poor so there are very few oyster men to harass. The FWC safety sticker has save me the hassle of pulling out lifepresevers, flares, etc.. I highly recommend you get the safety sticker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mangroovin Posted May 6, 2019 Report Share Posted May 6, 2019 Good review guys.👊 What model number is the Lowrance? Transducer? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Seither Posted May 6, 2019 Report Share Posted May 6, 2019 23 hours ago, Wanaflatsfish said: 23 hours ago, Wanaflatsfish said: Alex and I were joking, as I was reaching to adjust the screen, my muscle memory kept making me move towards turning a knob....but, the buttons did work well...if I had to do it again, I'd go with the Lowrance Elite vs Simrad vs spending the extra $$$$$. I was fortunate in that I got the last EVO2 NSS9 in all the USA at West Marine, for an internet match at less than $1K when they were discounting them for the new EVO3....it did the job. I'm not sure if the Lowrance Elite TI was a 9" COTO will need to answer that one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coto Posted May 6, 2019 Report Share Posted May 6, 2019 Elite Ti2 9" with the 3 in 1 transducer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mangroovin Posted May 6, 2019 Report Share Posted May 6, 2019 1 hour ago, Coto said: Elite Ti2 9" with the 3 in 1 transducer Thank you sir! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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