Marcum "i" Series LX-5- 2 Trips In

Well, I sent my 8-year old LX-5 down to the minors, and have a few trips under my belt with the LX-5i this year. I’ve had a few questions on it, so I figured I’d let folks know how my experiences have been thus far. I did get a chance to fish with it some at the end of last year, but not extensively enough to form an opinion on it. The first thing I did, was swap out the existing lead-acid battery with a Lithium battery. I use that LX-5 primarily because of its small form-factor, so to extend that mobility, a lightweight battery is key. That combination, among all of the flashers on the market, digital or mechanical, with all of the cases, packs, and configurations, to me, represents the best of mobility and features. There’s lots of mobile flashers out there, esp. when equipped with a battery, but few to none as compact AND protected when encased.

As far as differences in performance between my old LX-5 and the LX-5i, there are none. No cone is nice when it’s snowing, so the flat screen is helpful, and bright conditions do not affect your ability to see the circular dial, which was a fear of mine going into this. In other words, I’m happy to report that I’m just as pleased as I always have been with an LX-5.

Why go away from digital you ask? I’m not. To me, for a hard-side angler or someone that fishes in a portable more often than they’re on the open ice, the immersive screen sizes, upgrade-able, and customize-able abilities of the digital series make an LX-6, 7, or 9 a winner. Lots of guys are so attached to the the digital series, that no matter how much they hole-hop, it’s the clear ticket for them. Call me a creature of habit; could be nostalgia, or simple trust and familiarity, but I’ll be an LX-5 guy for awhile.

Joel

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Nice to know. Picked mine up at the Blaine show and obviously haven’t been able to put it to work yet. Joel do you have a recommendation as to where to get a lithium battery from?

Trevor Ellingson wrote:

Nice to know. Picked mine up at the Blaine show and obviously haven’t been able to put it to work yet. Joel do you have a recommendation as to where to get a lithium battery from?

I’m using the Ice Force version – http://goo.gl/7XBDXl, though I know there to be various versions on Ebay and other online sites. The charger on Lithium batteries can be a concern in that they are different from standard lead-acid battery chargers. If you don’t have a charger up to the task, you’re only going to fill the Lithium batteries up halfway. Wherever you would buy, make sure you research the charger. I’ve been using the Ice Force battery and charger for 2 years and so far, so good.

Joel

Thank you

How do the lithium batteries compare to the typical lead acid “brick” as far as longevity season to season? I seem to have the worst luck when it comes to batteries. Even being very diligent with maintaining it through the summer I’ve had to replace a few over the last few years. For me, $150 is a hard ticket to justify if they’re not more reliable in this aspect.

Trevor Ellingson wrote:

How do the lithium batteries compare to the typical lead acid “brick” as far as longevity season to season? I seem to have the worst luck when it comes to batteries. Even being very diligent with maintaining it through the summer I’ve had to replace a few over the last few years. For me, $150 is a hard ticket to justify if they’re not more reliable in this aspect.

Hey Trevor – I couldn’t agree more, it’s alot to spend on a battery. Not to mention, there’s not a long product history here, so I myself was apprehensive at first. That said, the more I read on Lithium battery technology to begin with, the more impressed I am in it’s application for electronics like these.

This battery is a LiFePO4 version of Lithium Ion Technology. What does that mean to a fisherman? A minimum of 2,000 recharge cycles, up to 7,000 before charging gets you back to less than 80% of original capacity. In terms of years, that’s 5-7 years on average depending on how frequently you use it, with some science claiming its time durability to be greater than 10 years.

For me, that means as long as I charge it appropriately and don’t use it like a broomball stone, I’ll enjoy longer run times and an incredible weight savings for a long time before having to re-invest in newer battery technology. If you ask the guys at Marcum, or any other flasher mfr. for that matter, the vast majority of their service calls are battery related. After doing the research, I got one expecting not to have to worry about batteries as much again.

Joel

Awesome info. Thanks for the help Joel.

Thanks for sharing! That new flat screen has got me jealous – no more snow covering the display!

Joel , where did you buy your battery from ?

Very cool info all the way around. I will be an lx5 guy for awhile also and the i version has me interested in retiring my old machine to tipup checker status. Thanks for sharing the info.

@fireline

http://www.rapala.com/ice-force/ice-force/lithium-12volt-10amp-battery/lithium-12volt-10amp-battery/SEE12V10ANB.html?id=1

If these lithium ion batteries are the cats meow than how come Marcum doesn’t include them in the sale of of their new i line of flashers? I think it would be a major selling point in weight and battery longevity. It would also be a first on the market? I myself am interested in these batteries as well and while I am not afraid to cough up the $150 for the battery the extra $40 dollars for the charger is what bothers me. I bought a new Lx 3TCi at close to $360 and then spend another $200 on just the battery and charger? Also curious why these are not available in any stores or any ice shows, just strictly online. Hopefully prices will come down so everyone can afford the technology !

The research on the battery is interesting. Thanks for the link. As far as selling the battery with marcum units: I would guess marcum is interested in keeping there price point low. New technology cost more money. This is something I will look into further…..