# Lowrance Elite 7 or Simrad GO7



## 02edge2wd (Dec 4, 2019)

I was looking at both as well. I am going to go with the Simrad GO series. Can bluetooth to a phone/tablet and has NMEA 2000 for future add-on's. The Lowrance unit i was looking at did not do either of those and did not look as modern (i know that has nothing to with function, just not a good looking unit in my opinion).


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## HenryTinSkiff (Jan 14, 2020)

02edge2wd said:


> I was looking at both as well. I am going to go with the Simrad GO series. Can bluetooth to a phone/tablet and has NMEA 2000 for future add-on's. The Lowrance unit i was looking at did not do either of those and did not look as modern (i know that has nothing to with function, just not a good looking unit in my opinion).


I'm leaning towards the GO as well.


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## sandyharris (Jan 12, 2015)

Judging from other discussions and looking at product ratings, Lowrance does not appear to have stellar customer service. As for the Elite series, my son-in-law has an Elite 9. He's already exchanged it for a new one and now the replacement won't respond to the touch screen. I know they now have a second series but I still don't care for the comments I hear about their customer service. I'll be needing something by summer and will take a hard look at Simrad.


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## BobGee (Apr 10, 2019)

sandyharris said:


> Judging from other discussions and looking at product ratings, Lowrance does not appear to have stellar customer service. As for the Elite series, my son-in-law has an Elite 9. He's already exchanged it for a new one and now the replacement won't respond to the touch screen. I know they now have a second series but I still don't care for the comments I hear about their customer service. I'll be needing something by summer and will take a hard look at Simrad.


I had the card reader on my Lowrance Carbon die. I called Navico and they replaced my unit. No problem.


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## HenryTinSkiff (Jan 14, 2020)

Do you think factory reconditioned is a good option?


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## sotilloa1078 (Mar 27, 2014)

sandyharris said:


> Judging from other discussions and looking at product ratings, Lowrance does not appear to have stellar customer service. As for the Elite series, my son-in-law has an Elite 9. He's already exchanged it for a new one and now the replacement won't respond to the touch screen. I know they now have a second series but I still don't care for the comments I hear about their customer service. I'll be needing something by summer and will take a hard look at Simrad.


lowrance and simrad are one in the same. Same customer service for both, as they are made by Navico.


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## sandyharris (Jan 12, 2015)

sotilloa1078 said:


> lowrance and simrad are one in the same. Same customer service for both, as they are made by Navico.


Unfortunately......and I'm sure there are folks who have had stellar experiences with their Lowrance products. And with the limited number of manufactures in the marketplace I guess you pay your money and take your chances......


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## TwitchAO (Feb 18, 2019)

sandyharris said:


> Unfortunately......and I'm sure there are folks who have had stellar experiences with their Lowrance products. And with the limited number of manufactures in the marketplace I guess you pay your money and take your chances......


I had a Go7 and ended up selling it and upgrading to the Evo3. A touch screen only unit can be a big pain in the ass when you are running and trying to zoom in and out and use other features on it. I would opt for a unit with buttons over a touch screen but both work good. Had no other issues with my Go. Btw I had nothing but problems with my total scan. The 3 in 1 is a much better choice.


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## HenryTinSkiff (Jan 14, 2020)

Pretty bummed. Finally had the chance to buy the GO7 and I looked at it yesterday and it was in stock but when went to buy it today it was sold out. Looks like i'm going with the Lowrance. I think it will do well either way but definitely wanted the Simrad.

EDIT: Unless, I spend the extra $200 and get the GO7 with the rebate.

Also, Is the GO5 a good unit or is it just too small?

After all, It's still a jon boat; just a special one. And my eyes are young.


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## Ben Sheppard (Feb 1, 2020)

I currently have a less than two year old hook9 in for repairs. The reset the had me do at home wiped my machine. I went to three different West Marine electronics people and the all recommended anything other than Lowrance. I had a Garmin and will go back to garmin or hummingbird


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## HenryTinSkiff (Jan 14, 2020)

I’m torn now. Simrad GO5 came in and the unit seems great. Other than 2 big things. 1, zooming in and out of the chart is not very smooth so I think I want buttons. 2, the screen is the size of my thumb. I fished with a guide on my trip to Islamorada who had a Garmin Echomap 7” with touchscreen and zooming buttons. If I returned this one i could get that unit including the $100 rebate without side scan for the same price as my go5 with AI 3n1. The other option would be to get the GO7 with an hdi transducer. I’ve come to realize that screen size and interface is more important than having side scan. Any thoughts?


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## Steve_Mevers (Feb 8, 2013)

If you get the GO touch screen only model realize that Florida Marine Tracks recommends not using their software on those models.


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## Ben Sheppard (Feb 1, 2020)

Ben Sheppard said:


> I currently have a less than two year old hook9 in for repairs. The reset the had me do at home wiped my machine. I went to three different West Marine electronics people and the all recommended anything other than Lowrance. I had a Garmin and will go back to garmin or hummingbird


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## Ben Sheppard (Feb 1, 2020)

Marine west has 30 percent off, I just replaced my Lowrance with a Garmin. My Lowrance cam back from service, 250 bucks and the debts still does not work. When you talk to the people wo sell and service electronics they will tell you who has the best reputation for product and quality.


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## FishWithChris (Feb 6, 2019)

Steve_Mevers said:


> If you get the GO touch screen only model realize that Florida Marine Tracks recommends not using their software on those models.


HOWEVER - FMT does work. It works just fine on my GO9 XSE. 

Henry, buy the largest screen you can afford. If that's the GO7, absolutely do it. a 5" screen on anything more than a canoe is a waste. (many will argue that)


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## HenryTinSkiff (Jan 14, 2020)

FishWithChris said:


> HOWEVER - FMT does work. It works just fine on my GO9 XSE.
> 
> Henry, buy the largest screen you can afford. If that's the GO7, absolutely do it. a 5" screen on anything more than a canoe is a waste. (many will argue that)


Ok will do. I’m not in Florida so marine tracks won’t be a big deal. There’s rebate on both so I won’t be losing more than $30 total if they actually give me my rebate. How are the Garmin charts? From what I’ve seen it’s very simple to operate and the charts looked pretty detailed but not quite as good as CMAP pro on the GO5.


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## Steve_Mevers (Feb 8, 2013)

FishWithChris said:


> HOWEVER - FMT does work. It works just fine on my GO9 XSE.
> 
> Henry, buy the largest screen you can afford. If that's the GO7, absolutely do it. a 5" screen on anything more than a canoe is a waste. (many will argue that)


I did not say FMT will not work on a GO model, only that FMT doesn’t recommend it. 

Directly from their website, “ISLA recommends all Simrad models except a GO unit. ISLA does run on GO units but GO units are touch screen only and not recommended because they are a hassle to operate on the water compared to all other options and offer no functional advantage. They also have a single core processor and load chips from the back“


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