H-Bird 898 or 998

[wobbie19]

I am looking to upgrade the electronics on my boat and eventually I-Link when its available, after looking at the 898, 998, 1198, the 1198 is out, it just won't fit on my boat, at least if I want to sit down and drive anyway.

The question is... is the 998 worth the extra $500 or so, everything that I can see is approximately equal, (screen size aside) am I missing something. If someone has both, or used both I would greatly appreciate an opinion. Is the 1" larger screen worth the cost? Thanks in advance

[Wade B AKA: Ruger2506]

Originally Posted by wobbie19

I am looking to upgrade the electronics on my boat and eventually I-Link when its available, after looking at the 898, 998, 1198, the 1198 is out, it just won't fit on my boat, at least if I want to sit down and drive anyway.

The question is... is the 998 worth the extra $500 or so, everything that I can see is approximately equal, (screen size aside) am I missing something. If someone has both, or used both I would greatly appreciate an opinion. Is the 1" larger screen worth the cost? Thanks in advance

Tough call. The 8" screen was worth it to me the first time around. However this time I am being money conscious. So........the 898 is big enough. Will it work? Yep. Is it as nice as the 998? Almost.

[Kyle Posterick]

Do some looking online and you will find a 9 series for a couple hundo less than the 2k mark.

If you can at all swing it the 9 is the way to go, the extra space on the screen makes it that much easier IMO. I personally have a 7 series and kick myself every time for buying that small. Two of my friends have 9's and another has an 8, the inch matters IMO.

[crzytoad75]

I've got both of those locators on my boat other than the bow one is a 858c. I don't notice really any difference in the size of the screens. When I use my bow one, I usually only have the sonar feature on the screen. If I ran a split screen with the nav all the time, it might be more of a difference. Both are kinda hard to see on sunny days with the glare occasionally. Been thinking about going to the 1198 and get the brighter display.

I'd personally go with the biggest you can afford either way. You'll probably never saw I wish I would have went smaller.

[Iowa D.]

I do believe that both the 800 & 900 series will be coming out later this year with LED Back Light like the 1100 series. You might want to investigate if the Brightness of the Screen is an issue. If todays models are adequate try Digital Oasis Or Poor Fish there are some real deals right now.

You will be happy either way.

[1860Angler]

998 all the way, if you will be running split screen the bigger the better. If you don't ever run split screen then the 898 would be ok, but since you are going with an SI unit, I would assume that you will be using split screen, so go big, you won't regret it. I have a buddy or two that have 800 series and they kick themselves for not going with the 900 series. As far as overall size they are exactly the same, just the screen is different. Like was stated earlier in December the 800's will be upgraded to an LED screen and the 900's in January, might be worth the wait.

[wobbie19]

Yeah I saw that the backlight is coming out for next year and it might be worth waiting for, I would be running split screen so it sounds like that extra inch would be nice. I tend to agree that you never regret a little more power or a little larger screen on anything.

I greatly appreciate all the posts, it really does help with the decision making process.

I went in to buy a 798 and walked out with an 898 and love it. Would I like the 998, ra... But I,d also like the 1198. I would wait for the LED screen if I were buying it today thoug.

[Gregking]

I am in the same spot, I chose to buy from digital oasis which I had never heard of but they had a huge positive feedback. I just received the 788 Wednesday for my bow so I can buy the I-link this winter. I am waiting for a 900 series for my dash with 360 view then link it to a 798 for the back of the boat. I will have a 597 di for sale this winter. Not sure how much. Been used about 23 days but it won't network

I am choosing to get the one inch wider screen because I run a lot of split screen.