Have fished with the 8/12/18/20 and now have spent the last couple weeks fishing and enjoying my 22HD Tri Beam (which I'm beginning to really luv).....The 10ft breakdown in depth changes (instead of 20ft) really give a better interpretation on the dial face.... Buying a vexilar is totally a case of 2 things........Either a price issue.....or a tech. issue...If you want all the bells and whistles (and will really use them)or will they be usless dials that you seldom touch or do you pretty much want to just turn it on and fish as things come your way.....The zoom feature's really can make a difference under certain conditions......same with being able to go from a narrowbeam to a wide beam....Only a couple hundred dollars seperates the bottom from the top.......I've caught ton's on the 8 and hope to live long enough to catch ton's on the 22HD. They hold there value really well....so if you start (budget wise ) at the lower end.....and in a season or so, find you want to move up. You can still get a pretty good return on your investment (provided you take care of your unit) and use that to reinvest in the new unit of your choice......Besides, there will always be some sort of changes to the newest model being released......so you'll always wind up behind the 8 ball at some point.....Hope my disclosure....gives you some insight and I wish you well in your journey.......Either case (lower or higher priced) you'll have a ball catchin fish on your own unit...........Good fishin and enjoy your choice....
