Is a sub-$500 set-up worth it or save a bit more?

[kingiFiddler]

With budget approval up to $500, should I buy my first ever 'yak FF, or keep saving for a better one?

If the former, what would you suggest please? Any great deals going please?

I feel like I did decades ago when I had finally saved enough for my metallic red HMX 500 BMX. The anticipation is delicious.

Thanks all.

[Schiskafish]

I have a garmin striker plus 4. $269 with chirp and a basic chart plotter unique to Garmin. You could go for the landscape 5inch unit for about the $500 mark I believe.

Unless you want alot more out of a chart plotter unit... And you want downscanning.. Sidescanning tech etc. The standard sonar imaging technology is no inferior to higher end lowrance or hummingbird units

[kingiFiddler]

Thanks for that.
What about the Lowrance hook2 4x with GPS for $160 and a navionics subscription for my phone for $20-ish per year?

Would it lack too much sonar detail? I don't need a crystal clear view of the bottom or structure. Or do I?

I'm wondering if i just cheap out with something like that until can afford a better one. Or should I wait and keep saving?

Decisions, decisions.

[dedant]

I wish I avoided my Hook2 unit , it is crap. go for Garmin Striker plus.

[dedant]

I wish I avoided my Hook2 unit , it is crap. go for Garmin Striker plus.

[kingiFiddler]

GDay mate, howzit going?
Thanks for that, will avoid the hook2.
It's either a cheap garmin or try and find a model with better traducer and NZ maps etc (for under $500 - ha). Or keep saving. Trouble with the last option is the savings can erode this time of the year rather than accumulate.

[kingiFiddler]

Quick update and question:
WTF are they hundreds of dollars cheaper overseas than NZ for the same model, same charts, same warranty period, etc? I don't buy the argument it's a volume thing, that's a contributing factor for sure but the differences are too much.

With that said, how many people have had problems with their units and needed to use the warranty? I'm contemplating a 6" Garmin echoMAP unit that's about $150 cheaper overseas, but still over my original budget. Should I risk it without a warranty or pay the extra from a NZ seller?

Oh, and another question, Garmin do a 4" model that's within my budget but I'm a bit worried the screen is going to be too small to make out detail. @Schiskafish and anyone else with the 4" Garmin models, are the screens easy to see detail? Even if in a split GPS/sonar screen view?

Cheers All

[Marc N]

I just got a Garmin Striker Plus 7sv and I'm really happy with it. I started out looking at a 4" Garmin and I did some months of research n comparisons.

My impressions:

At any particular price point, Garmin is better than Lowrance or others.

I decided on not worrying about charts, because even the ones on the high end units, don't show much detail, excepting navigation lights etc, which in a Kayak, I don't care about.

On the advice of folk here on the board, I made sure I got one with 'Quickdraw' mapping and it's fantastic.

My process is - have a look on my computer or phone at charts and see roughly where I'm going. When I'm on the water I turn on the quickdraw mapping and I can map the area I'm in in 1 foot increments.

I've found that sidescan and downscan as well as the traditional scan, are all complimentary, if I didn't have one of them, not a biggie, but with all three, I'm covered.

Was lucky I got to save enough pesos for the 7sv, but if I didn't have the money , I'd step down, model by model till I got a Garmin Striker Plus, what ever size.

[Nemesis]

One small, but very important, detail. Most chartplotters are Geo fenced. Meaning that they won't work outside of their original market area.
I don't know if this is applicable to Garmin, but Navico products (Simrad/Lowrance) are, and the unlock key can be bought here in New Zealand, but is close to the price of the entire unit.
The warranty issue is a question that only you can answer, but for piece of mind, I'd buy local.

[Schiskafish]

Quick update and question:
WTF are they hundreds of dollars cheaper overseas than NZ for the same model, same charts, same warranty period, etc? I don't buy the argument it's a volume thing, that's a contributing factor for sure but the differences are too much.

With that said, how many people have had problems with their units and needed to use the warranty? I'm contemplating a 6" Garmin echoMAP unit that's about $150 cheaper overseas, but still over my original budget. Should I risk it without a warranty or pay the extra from a NZ seller?

Oh, and another question, Garmin do a 4" model that's within my budget but I'm a bit worried the screen is going to be too small to make out detail. @Schiskafish and anyone else with the 4" Garmin models, are the screens easy to see detail? Even if in a split GPS/sonar screen view?

Cheers All

Absolutely no problem to see even with the split screen on for the 4" model, and my unit is mounted about 1.2 metres from me. It's a really bright and sharp image and it's really easy to toggle back into full screen while you're not watching your chart (P.S. you don't need your chart open to mark fish or other waypoint).

[Schiskafish]

On the advice of folk here on the board, I made sure I got one with 'Quickdraw' mapping and it's fantastic.

The Quickdraw mapping is what was introduced with the 'plus' models i.e. striker 4 'plus'. For new areas that you haven't had the chance to map yet. I like to go onto navionics on my phone, find some coordinates I'm interested in and manually log these into my FF unit. Although the map is empty until the countourlines map out... any waypoints you've added will still appear on the screen. The GPS accuracy is very good

[kingiFiddler]

Thanks Schiskafish. That's great info.

Regarding buying local, I went on Garmins website to check their warranty terms and it linked through to the Aussie warranty. I'm getting the feeling they pretty much run out of Aus anyway. I can't afford to pay for the mapping features so it'll be a striker plus with the quickdraw feature, although I'm still a bit uneasy about how tide levels are going to play havoc with the quickDrawing of relatively shallow contours if I don't map everything I want on the same trip, thus the next time I hit it the tide could be different and the FF won't adjust for that so I'd have to work it out manually and input. Might be a hassle, might be no problem at all. I dunno.

It still pisses me off the exact same model can be $200 cheaper overseas. That's a huge difference on a $800 FF.

[kingiFiddler]

For anyone interested, the striker 4 (not the plus model) is $239 at marine deals today only:
https://www.marine-deals.co.nz/garmin-s ... ps-tracker

If I didn't want the plus variant, I'd consider it. That's pretty cheap fish findering.

[zeropak]

The Navionics charts for iPhone is brilliant. Great detail on the chart its better than the marine blue chart for my Garmin that I paid $160 odd dollars for.

[kingiFiddler]

The Navionics charts for iPhone is brilliant. Great detail on the chart its better than the marine blue chart for my Garmin that I paid $160 odd dollars for.

Thanks for that. I wonder if the quickDraw feature that garmin plus models use will mean their maps will get quite detailed in time, and all the blank patches in any updated maps are the great spots users didn't want to upload