Club Homepage Forums Classified Ads Buy & Sell - Everything But Airplanes GPS: Garmin vs. Lowrance

Hello,
I'm a brand new club member and brand new 150L owner (and a damn happy camper).

In the spirit of full disclosure, I'm also a student pilot. I'm in the market for a portable GPS and have been seduced by the Garmin 295 and the Lowrance 2000c. Any recommendations/thoughts about either one? Is this more than I need?

Also, I'm looking for a used unit. I want my plane to be worth more than the GPS

Wallace
N19306

Take look at the Garmin 96/96C. It's small, has great battery life, not an issue if you use the cigar lighter cord, doesn't need any external antenna, has a really functional yoke mount. Only problem is the incomphensible operators manual, which I guess is a common complaint for all the GPSs. You can eventually figure it out. There arn't many (any?) on the used market because it's just recently been appeared on the market.

I'm just learning to use my Airmap 100, and my first GPS unit! I tried using it without the manual, and found many of the functions were intuitive to work with. I wound up going to the manual just to keep track of all of the various abilities of this unit. I do not have the Garmin manual for comparison, but the Lowrance manual is a common sense step-by-step tutorial that walks you through all the functions, screens, and setups. As the Lowrance manual is available online, the Garmin manual probably is too. A side-by-side comparison of the manuals you're interested in might be a good way to decide, in a close race.

Carl

As I've stated before I personally believe the Airmap 500 gives the most bang for the buck. For me the larger Lowrance models are too big for the airplane. That's my 1 and 1/2 cents (after taxes). Only thing I know about the Garmins is that they're very spendy, but excellent products I'm sure.

Thanks, George, Carl and Dan for your feedback. I'll look at the G96C and the Airmap 500 plus compare the Garmin and Lawrence manuals. Good advice.

Wallace

I have seen quite a few new and used Garmin III Pilots available on E-bay for about half the original price. They have most of the features of the 96 series except for WAAS, but you really wouldn't use that feature in a handheld since it can't be used IFR. New ones have been at the $350 area.

There is a Garmin 295 on E-bay right now with 22 hours left that is just $700. One just sold today for $690. Retail at Sporty's is $1099.

Thats the GPS that I use, it has everything you need at great deal! Most can be picked up for about $300.

I use the Airmap 500 and love it. one of these days on a long trip I will play with the other features.

A local pilot I know, another of those w/ more money than sense, (he ran out of fuel and crashed/landed on I-70 late one night) showed me his brand new Lowrance 2000C that he bought while at OSH this year.

It sure is sexy looking, but my immediate thought was, "too big for the 150's cockpit." Carl, who just bought his Airmap 100 from another member here, is going to love it, and the Lowrance 500 would be the next natural step.