Lowrance Elite 4HDI vs Garmin striker 4dv

I have the Lawrence and a friend is debating between that and the Garmin Striker 4dv.

Any pros and cons??

The Garmin has a 3.5" screen and the Lowrance has a 4" screen.  Other than that, I know diddly about Garmin finders.

I have only had the Garmin Echo that I got on Craigslist for $50.  It has worked flawlessly and I still have it, but a fellow is outfitting his new W700 and wanting to know which one is better.  Since I am so new to the Elite 4 HDI  I don't have a lot to offer him in the way of advise.

I was hoping someone was running a garmin and would chime in.

go fish

I have a good buddy who has the garmin and really likes it. He replaced an older B&W Lowrance unit without GPS so the comparison is not totally fair. The biggest thing he commented on is how much quicker his battery dies, but again it's a color screen with GPS vs B&W screen without.

One thing that I can say is that from my experience with Garmin for a GPS I had purchased about 4 or 5 years ago is that the customer service at the time was fantastic, not sure if it still is that way so take that with a grain of salt... On the other hand my experience with Lowrance CS has been spotty at best, I had to call 3 times to get someone on the phone that even had a remote clue what I was asking (Would a certain transducer work in a thru hull situation.) Your or his mileage may vary though.

Further it may be best to point him to a store that sells both, like a west marine or something so he can try it on for size and mess around with the buttons and what not.

Was just able to test out a Garmin 551dv on a boat yesterday and I like my lowrance better. We got a insane deal on one and it was originally more expensive than my elite 4 hdi so I figured it would be better and I'll give it a shot. But there's no speed cord included. Kinda ridiculous. And it did not have gps maps option. Besides that a great unit but when you can get more for less with the lowrance. It's a better bang for the buck.

I hate my Lowrance,  went with a Raymarine dragonfly 4 on my current yak, and LOVE LOVE LOVE it.  GPS works great, downscan is amazing.  You won't regret it.