# Garmin vs Lorance



## Jon-ny Cash (Nov 29, 2018)

I was just wondering which was better. max budget $325, unless its a massive good deal. I have been looking at the Garmin Striker Plus 5cv 5". No matter which brand or model, in has to include a transducer. 

https://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Transducer-Fishfinder-Traditional-Quickdraw/dp/B076W865Z4/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1543533350&sr=8-4&keywords=garmin+fishfinder


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## LDUBS (Nov 29, 2018)

I have not used either the Garmin or the Lowrance FF's. I expect both are decent products. 

On the link you provided if you scroll down to the "related sponsored products" section, it shows a Lowrance Hook 2 for the same $299 price. What caught my eye is that deal includes lake maps. 

If all other things are equal, my advice is get the one that includes the map software. I guarantee you will use it more than you think. 



PS: I wish they spelled it "Lawrence" instead of Lowrance, then autocorrect wouldn't drive me nuts.


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## JNG (Nov 30, 2018)

Over the years I've owned 3 Lowrance, 5 Eagle, 1 Humminbird, and 1 Garmin. Still have 2 of the Eagles and the Garmin. The only brand that has given me any trouble has been the 3 Lowrance. All 3 were absolute garbage. Now no one needs to tell me that Eagle was the economy line for Lowrance, but all of the Eagles I've owned have been flawless. The one brand that I hear the most complaints about around here about is Lowrance. I personally would be very hard pressed to ever buy anything with the Lowrance name on it ever again. We can debate features that one brand might do better than the other brand till the cows come home but if you need the darn thing to work everytime you turn it on, Lowrance would be the last brand that I would buy. Of the two mentioned, I would buy the Garmin. The one I own is an older model but it has been fantastic for my needs over the past few years.


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## DaveP (Nov 30, 2018)

I am going with a garmin 7 unit on the console with a cheap lowrance hook 2 unit up front on the trolling motor this year. In the past I've used birds and eagles. Just felt it was time for an upgrade since I'm hanging onto the boat for a while. I like the simplicity of the garmin units, personally. The hook was just a really good deal for a color unit to replace my old b&w up front.


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## moloch16 (Nov 30, 2018)

I've always owned Lowrance and never had any problems with them. I stick with Lowrance because I know how to work the units and like I said they have never been a problem.

The real answer is do your research, compare all the features for the amount of money you want to spend. I think all the brands are worthy of consideration. You could get a dud with any brand, or you could get a winner that will work for the next fifty years.

Make sure to compare the following:
* Warranty: how long and what's the pain level if you need warranty service
* Return policy of the store you buy it from. If you think you will return it, get a liberal return policy
* Can you upgrade the unit later? A lot of Lowrance units can go from standard downscan to sidescan with an transducer upgrade


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## LDUBS (Nov 30, 2018)

Kind of like the vehicle discussion happening in the Watering Hole. Some say I will only buy "_X_". Others say I would never buy "_X_". Experiences differ dramatically. 

I read recently about someone complaining they had to pay shipping costs for a Lowrance warranty repair. To be fair, as far as I know the same fine print exists for other brands. I think the Humminbird warranty says that but when I had to return my HB under warranty, they provided shipping labels. 

OP -- maybe throw Humminbird into the mix.


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## eshaw (Nov 30, 2018)

I agree it's all about personal choice. I have a Lowrance unit and I think it's great. I also have a Hummingbird and like it also, it's a cheaper unit than the Lowrance and the features aren't comparable. They both do what I bought them to do. I try not to have brand loyalty and just get what features I need at a price I can afford. This always leaves me with a little wiggle room to keep looking for that sweeter deal if there is such a thing.


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## LDUBS (Nov 30, 2018)

One of the things I don't like about any of the brands is how difficult it is to understand features and even which features are included in any given package. Different terminology for the same feature doesn't help. I know that when it comes to features, "compatible" doesn't mean "included", but dog gone it, just say in plain word what is actually included in the unit. 

I think I have just confirmed my dinosaur status. :shock:


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## MrGiggles (Nov 30, 2018)

I have only ever used one Lowrance, my main units are Garmin, I prefer them mostly because I am already familiar with their interface and settings.

One thing to note, any Garmin with "Clearvu" does not have true down imaging. The older units labeled Downvu with GT transducers are ones to look for if having true down imaging is important to you.

I have a 5DV on the bow and a 7SV on the console. They are both great units. 

JMO, Garmin has the best 2d sonar, Lowrance and Humminbird have better side/down imaging.

Additionally, I don't believe you are able to link a Garmin to a trolling motor either, if that is an upgrade you plan on doing later on.


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## LDUBS (Nov 30, 2018)

MrGiggles said:


> *JMO, Garmin has the best 2d sonar, Lowrance and Humminbird have better side/down imaging.
> *



You just got my attention. I have little use for down or side imaging. One of these days I will probably upgrade just to gain a few steps of technology (my current unit doesn't even have CHIRP). I'll have to take a harder look at Garmin.


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## JNG (Nov 30, 2018)

Absolutely Garmin has the best 2d sonar on the market today. However some of the high end Eagles had 2d sonar that is unmatched to this day. I don't know exactly what all the differences between Eagle and Lowrance were but the Eagles were in a league of their own. I miss having them as an option. I still say between the OP's 2 options, the Garmin is the way to go.


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## Scott F (Nov 30, 2018)

I don't keep up with the current models. It's so hard as they change so frequently. I replaced my relatively new Lowrance models a couple of years ago with Garmins because the Garmins did not require me to spend hundreds of extra dollars to buy map chips. The built in high def maps on the Garmin's were so much better than what I had to pay extra for at the time. I also waited until the new models came out and got the last year's models at a significant discount.


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## LDUBS (Dec 1, 2018)

I was very interested in the Garmin's inclusions of high def maps However, I don't think they are included in the Striker series. For the Striker series there is mention of built-in software that allows creation of map contours. To me it looks like lake contour maps are not included and cannot be added to the Striker series. The thought of having to create my own contour maps from scratch is not appealing. 

So, I'm probably missing something here. Can someone confirm if the Striker series includes lake contour maps? If no, can they be added? 

Jon-ny Cash, don't mean to hi-jack your thread, but perhaps the answer to this will help with your decision.


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## MrGiggles (Dec 1, 2018)

LDUBS said:


> I was very interested in the Garmin's inclusions of high def maps However, I don't think they are included in the Striker series. For the Striker series there is mention of built-in software that allows creation of map contours. To me it looks like lake contour maps are not included and cannot be added to the Striker series. The thought of having to create my own contour maps from scratch is not appealing.
> 
> So, I'm probably missing something here. Can someone confirm if the Striker series includes lake contour maps? If no, can they be added?
> 
> Jon-ny Cash, don't mean to hi-jack your thread, but perhaps the answer to this will help with your decision.



To my knowledge only the Echomap series can run charts from Navionics and the like.

Striker models only have very basic GPS, that allows the creation of waypoints and route tracking. 

Striker Plus models have the features that you mentioned, but I don't think they will run pre-loaded maps.


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## LDUBS (Dec 2, 2018)

Thanks Mr Giggles for clarifying. 

This is just my personal view. For whatever it is worth I would not consider the Striker unit because it lacks detailed contour maps.


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## gnappi (Dec 2, 2018)

I have a Striker 4 and my fishing buddy has a Striker 5 and we both like them a lot. We fish So. Flo. shallow lakes and waterways and have no need for maps so if that's a deal breaker you may want to look at something else.


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## jethro (Dec 5, 2018)

LDUBS said:


> Thanks Mr Giggles for clarifying.
> 
> This is just my personal view. For whatever it is worth I would not consider the Striker unit because it lacks detailed contour maps.



Pretty much all of them come with basic map info, don't they? I had to buy a map chip for my Helix 5 DI GPS and my Lowrance Elite 5 Chirp GPS. Otherwise the maps were basically just outlines of the lake.


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## LDUBS (Dec 5, 2018)

jethro said:


> LDUBS said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks Mr Giggles for clarifying.
> ...



I think so and the Striker allows the user to build & share maps. It does not have the capability to add map chips (according to Garmin). My Helix 7 was one of those package deals that included a Navionics lake map chip. I know I didn't get it for free, but it seemed a good deal so I went for it. 

You know, before I had the detailed maps I would not have thought them that important. Now, if I had to choose between detailed maps or sonar, I'm not sure which I would be willing to give up first. Of course, fishing styles and preferences vary dramatically and I fully understand someone else might not find maps useful at all. 

I wonder how we managed to catch fish in the old days without all this fancy high tech stuff. I also wonder what new technology is around the corner. In a few years everyone might be wearing virtual reality 3D glasses that show the fish. Haha.


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## onthewater102 (Dec 5, 2018)

I came across this comparison that showed the Garmin sonar units did not have a full field of coverage beneath the boat, and that there was a blind spot the software concealed by building a composite image.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=iSEavtazXt0


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## jethro (Dec 6, 2018)

LDUBS said:


> Now, if I had to choose between detailed maps or sonar, I'm not sure which I would be willing to give up first. Of course, fishing styles and preferences vary dramatically and I fully understand someone else might not find maps useful at all.
> 
> I wonder how we managed to catch fish in the old days without all this fancy high tech stuff. I also wonder what new technology is around the corner. In a few years everyone might be wearing virtual reality 3D glasses that show the fish. Haha.



As I am sure you know, I can't troll coldwater without charts, especially in the summer when I'm fishing deep. It's a big part of the info I need when I'm dragging close to a thousand dollars in hardware under the boat. 

Have you seen the Garmin Panoptix Livescope units? That technology is amazing, the sonar is so accurate you can even determine fish species from it. They've started to ban it from tournaments is so amazing. https://youtu.be/q-TtJcEQmB0


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## jethro (Dec 6, 2018)

onthewater102 said:


> I came across this comparison that showed the Garmin sonar units did not have a full field of coverage beneath the boat, and that there was a blind spot the software concealed by building a composite image.
> 
> https://youtube.com/watch?v=iSEavtazXt0



That's interesting, makes me wonder what other games they play, especially with that Livescope I linked above!


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## MrGiggles (Dec 6, 2018)

jethro said:


> onthewater102 said:
> 
> 
> > I came across this comparison that showed the Garmin sonar units did not have a full field of coverage beneath the boat, and that there was a blind spot the software concealed by building a composite image.
> ...



That's the difference between Clearvu and Downvu that I mentioned before. Clearvu does not have a true down element in the transducer. Downvu (with a GT series transducer) does.

From what I understand, Downvu's technology was too similar to the competition. That prompted a lawsuit which Garmin lost, and is why they had to switch to the "wannabe" Clearvu.


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## LDUBS (Dec 6, 2018)

jethro said:


> Have you seen the Garmin Panoptix Livescope units? That technology is amazing, the sonar is so accurate you can even determine fish species from it. They've started to ban it from tournaments is so amazing. https://youtu.be/q-TtJcEQmB0



I've probably seen the name in the past but just scrolled on by. I watched the Youtube video in your link. Now, I have to admit that is very impressive. Price tag is kinda rich for me, but let's see, if I start saving now, and the prices come down like they always to for tech stuff, then I could possibly have one at some point in the future. Haha. 

Looks like it has been out for awhile. I wonder why we don't hear more about it.

Edit: Jethro, in another Panoptix video the guy was trolling for walleye. He shows them at 10' depth in the forward view. As the boat approaches, the fish dive down to 25'. Then they go off the forward view scope and his regular sonar shows fish marks at 25'. Now, where should the downrigger be, 10' or 25'? This time of year I kind of ignore the FF and go shallow because I know the rainbows are going to be shallower due to water temps being down.


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## hipster dufus (Dec 19, 2018)

picked up a garmin echomap plus 93sv at bass pro yesterday. wanted a 7 in screen but the 9 was only 600$. chirp, down vu and side vu, lakevu maps. thought i wanted the 7 in but the price was too good. it is going on the console of my g3 1756 cc. takes up the whole console gonns have to get a ram mount maybe.touchscreen w buttons.leftover from black friday sale.will install next month and give feedback. they list for 1k$. only negative is i wanted to be able to swivrl it towards my bow, stock base doesnt swivel. can turn it around in cradle.will be looking at ram mounts.


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## LDUBS (Dec 19, 2018)

hipster dufus said:


> picked up a garmin echomap plus 93sv at bass pro yesterday. wanted a 7 in screen but the 9 was only 600$. chirp, down vu and side vu, lakevu maps. thought i wanted the 7 in but the price was too good. it is going on the console of my g3 1756 cc. takes up the whole console gonns have to get a ram mount maybe.touchscreen w buttons.leftover from black friday sale.will install next month and give feedback. they list for 1k$. only negative is i wanted to be able to swivrl it towards my bow, stock base doesnt swivel. can turn it around in cradle.will be looking at ram mounts.



Nice & congrats. The RAM brand mounts are nice although as I'm sure you already know some can get a little pricey. I used a Johnny Ray swivel mount on my Humminbird. Not as nice as the RAM mount IMO, but the price was right and it works well for me. 

Anyway, I hope you will circle back around and let us know how you like the Echomap after you get a chance to use it.


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## jethro (Dec 20, 2018)

LDUBS said:


> Edit: Jethro, in another Panoptix video the guy was trolling for walleye. He shows them at 10' depth in the forward view. As the boat approaches, the fish dive down to 25'. Then they go off the forward view scope and his regular sonar shows fish marks at 25'. Now, where should the downrigger be, 10' or 25'? This time of year I kind of ignore the FF and go shallow because I know the rainbows are going to be shallower due to water temps being down.




Good question, maybe he should be using planer boards dragging lead or copper to be 10' deep but off to the side. But I would tend to think like you do, kind of ignore the FF because for as many fish as you see on the screen, you know there are 20 you didn't when they are that close to the surface.


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