I went ahead and purchased the Lowrance, did a temp/red-neck installation, took the boat out and tested the units side-by-side. The Lowrance has better 2d sonar with the 83Kz option that casts a wider cone and I just like the sonar screen readout better. The Lowrance also has better built in and (obviously) map card included so the catography is great compared to the blank screen on the H'bird w/o a map card.
The Hbird wins in every other way. The down imaging is better in my opinion, the menu/user interface is much easier and more intuitive. And I'm already used to it.
Since the 2d sonar and mapping are the most important to me, I'm going to try to sell the Hbird with waypoints included (about 350 striper/hybrid that are awesome and some others I haven't used but have been told are great for crappie) and if it sells, keep the Lowrance. If it doesn't sell, I'm going to take the Lowrance back.
Have a great Monday everyone!
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