Humminbird Helix 5 is probably the best basic unit you can get, and it won't break the bank either. You can also pop them off their mount on the boat, and zip tie it to a plastic tool box with a battery inside, and presto you have a perfect ice fishing rig. Works like a dream.
You can get the basic model, or deck it out with a Generation 2 unit with all sorts of mapping capabilities / scanning options. To get those options you may have to purchase a different transducer, and I'm sure other board memebers will chime in with their favorite set ups.
The nice thing about most units nowadays (even Lowrance and Garmin) is you can make them as complicated or as simple as you want
You can run a basic Helix 5 out of the box and find depth, structure and even mark fish pretty well with little to no fine tuning. Once you master the basics, you could look into software upgrades / upgrading the transducer to all sorts of different things to get down-scan, side scan, live mapping, etc etc. But to me you are better off starting simple and working your way up.
The Lowrance equivalent of the Humminbird Helix 5 is the Elite 5 and they are pretty comparable units at the base level, at that point it is personal preference.
Hope this helps, feel free to shoot a PM!
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