Table of Contents
The fish finding market has gotten pretty crowded in the last 15 or 20 years.
Up until the early 2000s you really only had a handful of fish finding options to pick and choose from. Then all of a sudden the floodgates kind of opened and a bunch of other companies jump headfirst into the market, too.
Many of these brand-new companies came out of the gate swinging, promising the moon and the stars when it comes to fish finding results.
Interestingly enough, though, the companies that continue to lead the pack – not just in sales but as far as fish finding technology and innovations go, too – are some of the oldest companies in the industry.
Humminbird and Simrad definitely fall into that category.
These are two “legacy” operations in the fish finding space. They’ve got a mountain of history under their belts, and both of them have dedicated followings that love the kinds of solutions they offer anglers looking for bigger fish.
In this detailed breakdown we compare these two fish finder companies, sort of stacking them up against one another to see which one really is the best of the bunch.
Let’s kick this off!
A Brief History of Humminbird
Humminbird open up their doors for business all the way back in 1971.
Originally based out of a garage (a pretty tiny garage, too) in Alabama, Humminbird launched what would quickly become one of the top names in the industry with incredible fish finding solutions unlike anything else on the market at that point in time.
This was the first company to introduce waterproof depth sounding technology to find fish. It was one of the first companies to use LCR screens and was one of the first companies to shift over to LCD screens, too.
This was the first company to introduce 360° sonar technology.
We are talking about a history of innovation driven by fishermen that just want to make better products for people that love to go out and hook big monsters just like they do.
Serious anglers have really come to love and appreciate everything that Humminbird does for the sport. They also love that these fish finders are 100% made in the USA, are backed by one of the best – if not THE best – warranties in the industry, and really appreciate the customer service of this company.
You can’t go wrong with a Humminbird unit.
Our Humminbird Reviews
Check out our top Humminbird reviews below and make up your own mind!
Click here to read our Review of the Humminbird 410950-1 Helix 7 Fish Finder…
Click here to read our review of the Humminbird 410200-1 Helix 5 DI G2 Fish Finder…
Click here to read our review of the Humminbird 410150 1 Piranahmax 4 Fish Finder…
Click here to read our comparison of Humminbird vs Garmin Livescope…
Click here to check out our Humminbird Vs Garmin take…
A Brief History of Simrad
A lot of people see that Humminbird started in 1971 and assume they are the oldest company in the business – but nothing could be further from the truth.
Simrad, for example, was started all the way back in 1946.
Originally starting out as a company designing radio communication tools for fishing vessels, it didn’t take long for Simrad to shift gears a little bit and start rolling out a whole host of other marine electronics.
New navigation tools, new auto steering tools, and even new fish finding solutions were pioneered by this company. The fish finding tools were a big inspiration for the ones that would later be kicked off by the folks at Humminbird, even.
The Simrad company has been bought and sold a handful of times in the last few years and it’s future was uncertain a short while. However, a merger between Simrad and Lowrance in 2006 turn both of these companies into the largest marine electronics manufacturer in the world for leisure and sport vessels.
Even though Simrad and Lowrance have “combined forces”, so to speak, they still have a lot of autonomy and still produce their own separate lines of fish finding solutions.
Our Simrad Reviews
Check out our Simrad reviews below:
Click here to read our review of the Simrad G07 XSE Fish Finder…
How Many Options Are Available?
In the late 1990s and early 2000s it sort of felt like every fish finder company was rolling out a new product (or a couple of new products) almost every day.
The market was absolutely saturated with these tools, flooded even. People were kind of overwhelmed by all the options and instead of helping people find the perfect fish finder for their needs most folks got frustrated with the daunting task ahead of them.
A couple of companies learned how important it was to pare things back a little bit, something that Humminbird and Simrad both did around the same time.
Humminbird still has a bit more fish finder options out there than pretty much anybody else, though. This company has standard an entry-level fish finders solutions (HELIX brand options) and premium option for more advanced anglers or power users looking crazy features (SOLIX brand options).
The even have ice fishing specific fish finders to pick and choose from in the ICE lineup.
Simrad, on the other hand, sort of condensed things down into four individual “levels”. There is a lot of variety in these levels, though, with different configurations in different options available for anglers to pick and choose from so that they can kind of narrow down a choice with their budget.
Entry-level CRUISE options include GPS and CHIRP sonar technology. The GO series is a bump up from there, probably representing the best value for your money – a lot of bang for your buck.
Then you jump up to much larger units that are specifically designed to be used by luxury cruisers and commercial fishing boats (not really the kinds of options you are probably interested in looking at right now).
Standout Features
Humminbird fish finding units are probably best known for the crystal clear imaging they offer, thanks in large part to some advanced and proprietary setups you won’t find anywhere else.
The CHIRP sonar system is fantastic, but once you bump up to the down scanned, side imaging, and dual display solutions (at a slightly higher price point) from Humminbird you really get into more advanced fish finding setups.
Add in the Advanced Signal Processing systems as well as the ice fishing specific technology and all anglers are going to be covered with Humminbird hardware.
Simrad features incredible chart plotting tools, maximum depth readings that can touch 1000 feet (huge in saltwater fishing applications), and leverages navionics charts that are easy to load up and deploy.
The fact that you can flip back and forth between saltwater and freshwater with Simrad hardware (all without having to baby it) really doesn’t get quite as much attention – or as much credit – as it deserves.
It’s also important to remember that Simrad lets you access your own custom fishing maps on your phone or tablet via the free mobile application for iOS and Android devices.
Not only are you going to be able to crunch the numbers of your last fishing trip through this mobile app, but you’re also going to be able to edit, modify, save, and configure all that data as well.
Ease of Use
Both of these units are downright easy use, though Humminbird options are probably a little easier to use – especially when you start to get towards the higher end side of these two product catalogs.
This isn’t to suggest that Simrad fishfinders are difficult to use.
Not by any stretch of the imagination.
In fact, a lot of people think that Simrad options are pretty intuitive and can be picked up in no time. You’re definitely not going to have to worry about fighting Simrad setups to get the results you want, to configure the options you want to configure, or to find the fish you are after.
It’s just that Humminbird does a better job than pretty much anybody at putting together a really clean, easy to navigate, and easy to understand UI.
Humminbird devices “just work”. They feel like they are built up the back of the same design and engineering principles that the best Android and iPhone devices and apps leverage.
Humminbird gets the scales tilted in their favor here.
Build Quality
Both companies make very high quality units with legendary reputations for overall durability, reliability, and consistency.
You just don’t get to be as old as these companies do making terrible products. You fold a lot sooner.
The warranty on Simrad units is good for two years and the Humminbird warranty (at least on the surface) is good for two years as well.
In reality, though, both of these companies are going to work with you – even outside of those warranty windows – most of the time to try and find a fix for the issues you are struggling with (or get you a replacement).
One of the coolest things about buying fishfinders from either one of these companies that you know you’re not going to have to pitch it in the garbage in a couple of years. It’s going to last and last until you are ready to upgrade.
Even then you can flip it on the secondary market at a decent price because of how rock solid these fish finders are.
Humminbird vs Simrad – Which One?
Humminbird versus Simrad, that’s a pretty fair fight!
These companies really know how to make quality marine electronic equipment better than almost anybody else in the business.
They’ve been around forever, with passionate followings and fan bases that trust and rely on their equipment every time they want to do a bit of fishing.
Simrad has had a bit of a bumpy road over the last 15 years, though (at least from a company success standpoint). They’ve been sold, bought, resold, and then merged with. It’s been a roller coaster ride but their products really happened showed any decline throughout.
Humminbird, on the other hand, just continues to plug along as one of the most beloved companies in the fishing equipment space.
This Alabama based operation puts out fantastic that are feature-rich, always well-made, and relatively affordable.
If you have to go with a fishfinder from just one of these companies, though, it should probably be Humminbird. They just shoehorn a little more fish finding technology into their hardware than anybody else.
You won’t regret getting a Simrad unit. It just (probably) won’t be quite as effective as a Humminbird would have been!
Leave a Reply