i have an old lowrance depth finder and the screen displays are broken up and the light does not work and it does not have water temp., so i've been considering a new one. i usually get a gift card or two from bass pro for christmas so i figured i'd put that toward a fishfinder. i'd like to go with color but not to pricey. the garmin 300c looks like a good one, what do ya'll think.

I wouldn't take twice the money for the HD5 I have on my boat that I paid for it.
Lowrance has got it going on now!

Provided it was manufactured after July of this year the HDS units are awsome. But if you're on a budget, I'd suggest looking at the Eagle units. They're actually the same thing as the Lowrance just a little cheaper.

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I can't really figure it out. I've heard about the seal problems, but I've not had any. I purchased mine in May of this year, so I can believe the production date was before July of this year.
I know that the 7's had their problems, but I don't recall the 5's being mentioned. Maybe I just overlooked any posts with 5's specifically.
I sure have enjoyed mine.
The other night on Tobo at 1:30 a.m. when I was headed in, the fog was so thick I couldn't see a thing. But my trusty lowrance HD unit brought me home safe and sound. I know the lake very well... but that night I'd have been in trouble. You can't put a price on that, you just can't.

i say get what ever you can afford there are good and bad in all the new units

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The fishing was good,it was the catching that was bad

the lowrance hd is a little more than i want to spend, though i would love to have one. i mainly want good visibility, day and night, depth and temp. i already have a gps. was mainly wondering wether the low end color units like the garmin were worth the extra $$ because you can get more features for less $$ in a grayscale.

Gray scale will be fine for that type of application but i would stick with an Eagle for quality at a lower price range

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Joe Faircloth of Byron Ga.