NC Angler Forums banner

Fishfinder input needed

3K views 16 replies 12 participants last post by  tony2innc 
#1 ·
Ok guys ive deciced to bite the bullet an add a Ff to my yak looking for a compact unit. Kind of thinking either a
1- Humminbird Piranhamax 170
2-Lowrance x-4 pro
please give me your thought on these unit as its all new to me

Tony
 
#2 ·
Not familiar with the Lowrance, but I have heard good things about them. I have a Huminbird 180 PMax that I use on my boat, it has a black and white image. Haven't had any problems with it at all, I basically wanted something simple that would give me water temp, depth, and a decent description of what the bottom looks like, and wouldn't burn up a lot of amperage to run it.

This little 180 does it for me. I can run it for a half day fishing trip and it doesn't hardly use any juice at all..... nice little simple FF/DF..... If I had been looking for GPS and a color screen no doubt I'd have done something different, but for what I do with it and what I wanted it to do.. it does what I want just fine.

I heard that the 160's and 170's are very dependable too, and these little units are not too expensive either. I just boils down to how much technology you need and how much your willing to pay for it.....I like mine so far.
 
#3 ·
piranhamax 170 has the lowrance x-4 beat

- dual beam 200/83 khz beams versus the lowrances single 200 khz
- 8 level grayscale over the lowrances 4 level (larger range of shades showing a greater array of sonar returns)
- 1600 PTP power over the 800 of the lowrance
- 200 RMS power over the 100 of the lowrance
- All other specifications for the units are pretty much the same.
** RMS Power (root mean square) is a function of PTP (peak to peak) power and while i dont full understand the difference of the two the RMS is a function of the PTP power. It basicly boils down to the more PTP/RMS power the stronger the sonar signal which will help in dirty (silty) and deeper water.

looking at the actual size of the units it seems the lowrance is a tiny bit more compact but overall i think its completely fair to say that the humminbird has lowrance beat for these two.


edit: i wanted to add that i have never used these two even in a store in demo mode and am only going off the specifications i read on their websites. the first hand info/reviews from people who have used them are more important than any numbers; not trying to put either unit down and im sure they are both fine choices.
 
#4 ·
I have the x4 and love it. it pick up great shows stumps way better than the humminbird i had. I havnt figured out how to get the arches instead of little fish markers but it gives u depth of the target fish. its basic but does great for the price its awesome but the guys on here will knowmore about this than I
 
#6 ·
I'm starting to get confused on lowrance models. This must be different from the Mark4? Mark4 has 2100 PTP and is dual frequent.
I decided the elite 4X was the best bang for the buck and have really been diggin it. For $169 it's hard to beat. Color definitely helps and with 320 vertical pxls it really has good detail.


Www.hardcorekayakfishing.com
Them Hardcore boys
 
#8 ·
Ok I found the x4 pro. The pro does have dual frequent. But still only 240 vertical pixels and 4 grayscale. 4 lvl gray scale isn't gonna show much variance.
What does the x4 cost?
I found out sat that when my elite 4x is on auto sensitivity it picks up the current swirling around and makes alot of clutter so I cut it back. Later when they cut the current off I cranked it back up. That caused a big plume of muddy water to come out of a creek and I was zig zagging in and out of the cloudy water and that also showed as "clutter". Point is they are pretty darn sensitive.
 
#11 ·
I run 2 X-4's. One is the Pro and one the regular X-4. I love them both. They are clear as can be and have been great at picking up structure. Neither have given me any issues and my buddy uses my X-4 from time to time on his and likes it better then his Hummingturd.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RouseD
#13 ·
Keep your eyes peeled for an Eagle Cuda 350, IMO some of the best compacts Lowrance ever produced so I have NO IDEA why they stopped making them. They can be had for around $100 and just last week one came and went in the classifieds... Looks identical to the X4/Pro but they have 16 levels of gray, dual frequency, 240x160 pixels and GPS.
 
#14 ·
also depends on how you are going to mount the unit's tranducer. Some guys dislike the exterior suction cup style transducer mount that came with my humminbird portable that i use in my yak. while it DOES cause some drag when paddling/drifting, I like having the ability to detect changes in water temperature instantly as opposed to just the cool temperature of the kayak itself when using a transducer mounted inside the kayak. this will make your decision a little easier to narrow down. good luck.
 
#17 ·
fistmouth . was nice meeting you as well , that little area i stayed in put a few more in the yak for me, i just happened to hit that spot before an did ok last time out there i kind of use that big dead tree an the no wake bouys as my guide to where to be ,
This will be my first ever experience with a Ff so looking for it to be a "kiss" type unit
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top