Lowrance Elite-4x vs. Garmin Echo 300c

Looking into sub-$200 color fishfinders and it seems like the Lowrance Elite-4x and Garmin Echo 300c are both popular models in this space. Anyone have any thoughts on what might distinguish one of these from the other? Or another option I'm not thinking of? I've never used a fishfinder so I'm not entirely sure what questions I should be asking or what features are important.

I honestly like my garmin echo 300 i havnt used anything from lowrance ive thought about getting the elite 4x but im sure what ever you chose you will like 

I have the lowrance and it was awesome out of the box. Never used the garmin, so no room to compare the two.

I also have the lowrance. Sweet unit for the price.


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Just food for thought .... in a different thread regarding GPS / FishFinders / Batteries,
I remember demonick mentioning his had a feature that let you keep track of the battery voltage.  Regretfully my Eagle lacks it, but I thought this really should be a must have feature and something I am look for with future purchases.

Hey Tim. It just depends what you're going to use it for or what type of fishing you plan on doing. Having your speed is really helpful for trolling and I'd say the GPS is almost a must have for the salt. It's also helpful to know how far you are from your launch site. The lowrance also has some depth information on it that's helpful. It's not 100% complete but good enough to find reefs and other structure in the salt. For your price range I think the Elite 4 is pretty hard to beat. As far as all the bells and whistles of down imaging or whatever, I'd say skip it and keep it simple. You can almost get into it for (200-250 on the low end) but I'm not convinced it's all that helpful . At least not the Mark 4 DSI, it sounds like the hummingbird is a bit better but to be honest I miss my cheap, basic $80 eagle. Hope that helps.   

I second Noah on the gps.  If you dont already have a gps, get one with that feature.  It is amazing how far you can get offshore without realizing it and how fast the currents are moving you away from the launch. Last weekend we were out salmon fishing and the wind was blowing hard to the north.  By seeing how hard it was moving in it,  it kept us from straying too far.  As it was,  it took us over two hours to get back to the rock from 220 feet of water at PC. Without the gps showing the current speed,  we may have gone too far. Plus you can mark waypoints.  I would take a grayscale with gps over color without any day.

Thanks for the great input guys. I have a Garmin handheld GPS that I thought I might use rather than duplicate that functionality in the fishfinder. I get that it won't likely be as efficient as having a combo unit. Do any of you use a handheld GPS along with your fishfinder?

Thanks for the great input guys. I have a Garmin handheld GPS that I thought I might use rather than duplicate that functionality in the fishfinder. I get that it won't likely be as efficient as having a combo unit. Do any of you use a handheld GPS along with your fishfinder?

I have a Garmin Rino 530 that I use alongside my humminbird 160. The two have worked well in the past. Although, It is odd that this thread came up. I am in the market for one that combines the two.

Went up to Friday harbor and left my mount for the GPS at home. I spent the whole time digging out the GPS to see where I was. I am of mind to combine and simplify my on-board electronics. Instead of packing and finding space for two units, one combo frees up mental and deck space. God knows that I need the former!

Wobbler

Thanks for the great input guys. I have a Garmin handheld GPS that I thought I might use rather than duplicate that functionality in the fishfinder. I get that it won't likely be as efficient as having a combo unit. Do any of you use a handheld GPS along with your fishfinder?

Yup, the handhelds work really well too, and to some degree it's nice to have two separate units. You don't have to split the screen of your FF for navigation. Then again it's one less thing to pack into the kayak and have to worry about batteries for. Or drop overboard into the Ocean  You could also check out the lowance X4, it's on sale at fishermans for 72 bucks. The most important thing your FF is going to do is show you the depth. Seldom, if ever, are you ever going to see a fish on the FF and go catch it.

Well, I decided to go with the Lowrance Elite-4 color combo rather than the 4x (sonar only). For under $200 you can get color or GPS but not both. And I'm such a sucker for feature-creep that I couldn't say no to either one, budget be damned. So I picked up the Elite-4 over at Fishermans during lunch. 

Now, on to mounting it and figuring out the battery stuff...Yikes.

Lots of good information for batteries here:

http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=7606.0

Make sure you read the whole thing, so you find the solution that's right for you!

Just a heads up on the Lowrance Elite-4. I know of a couple of Elite 4 units that got water damage when they guys got knocked out in the surf etc, water enters through the SD card cover/slot. Lowrance (Europe) have admitted that they have been having slight problems with it and are working on improving it.

The guys over here cover the SD card cover with a bit of sealant to be on the safe side... Anyways, might not be a problem on your units but though I'll share our experiences. Other than that they are great units and good value for money.

Thanks for the feedback Chris. We've fried a few of them as well, mine is all gooped up now and it seemed to have worked well at my last surf dump