Hummigbird 788ci

[tennwalkinghorse]

Can any one tell me if they have or have used  this unit on the water and what your opinion is of it?  I have played with it on the display and like how easy it is to move around in compared to the Lowrance HDS 5

[burleytog]

Been using it for two months, no complaints as yet.

[SoFl-native]

I got it about 2 months ago. I love it. I am a humminbird fan based on ease of use. Everything is very functional and easy to navigate. The three xpress keys are nice. The gps is very accurate and the display is top notch for a 5 inch unit. I researched them all pretty hard and in the 5", under 1 grand space i think it is tops. I got the NVB unit and the maps are sick.

I have experience with other Lowrance units not the HDS. I did not like the navigation on them at all. Although i think the soft keys on the newer untis might address that.

As far as the 788ci i say thumbs up.

[tennwalkinghorse]

Thanks Guys for the info really like the unit but in store and real life are two different things.

[burleytog]

It is extremely user-friendly.  The menu is easy to navigate.  I honestly do not think there is a better non-SI unit on the market for less than $1000.

When I bought mine, I had first picked out a Lowrance 522C.  Then I started looking a bit more and the choice came down to the Lowrance HD5 or the 788ci.  The Navionics capability as well as the second SD slot made the choice for me.

[tennwalkinghorse]

Hey Burley how is the unmap look will it show contours and depths ? I really don,t fish a lot of big water or travel far from home to fish and most of the lakes in jersey are small so I really don't have a need for the navionics chip or do I just bit the bullet and go for the other 100 bucks I don't know any one who has it so I can check it out and if I,m never going to use it I can not see buying it just because it looks good. I could put the money on a nice St. Croix I'm sure the bait monkey will find so thing to spend it on. Thanks for taking the time to answer.

Mike (aka Walking Horse )

[Wayne P.]

I haven't seen the uni-map on the 788 but all the uni-maps on all the HB units I have seen only include a very basic outline (colored blue inside the outline) of some bodies of water (no contours or depths) and a limited amount of highways. For any depth contours, you will need a unit with the pre-loaded Navionics software (NVB) or purchase the Navionics software separately.

[burleytog]

The Humminbird map has no contour detail.

Check http://www.navionics.com to see if your lakes are on their cards.

[Olebiker]

I can't imagine a better unit for the money than the 788 ci.  I mounted mine at the console then bought a second mount and a trolling motor transducer.  It uses a quick release mount so when I get to the spot I want to fish I just move it to the bow.

As Burley mentioned, the second SD card slot is nice.

[Buford]

I just bought a 788ci today and will mount it tomorrow. I was torn between the 788ci and Lowrance hd5. After reading all the post I believe I have made the right decision.

[Olebiker]

Trust me; you're gonna love it.  I just bought a 778c to mount on the bow.  I'm going to get an Interlink to connect the two.

[K_Mac]

I don't have the Humminbird, but I looked closely at it before I bought the HDS-5 for my console and the 5X for the bow. The clarity of the Lowrance and the detail of the Lake Insight was what made up my mind. I am not saying the Hummingbird is a bad choice-it is a fine unit-but for better or worse I went with Lowrance, and am very happy so far. If you're like me either the 788ci or the HDS-5 will open up a whole new world. Good luck.