I am debating what kind of depth finder to get. I want one that is great for identify fish and bait in the ocean and schooled fish in the rivers. I am leaning towards Lowrance, specifically the X-85. Any one have any suggestions, comments, insults?

Thanks

Mike K

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Busch Light Pro Staff

i have an X-85 and realy like it, i use it the same places you mentioned and it works great. if you do decide to buy one check to see what transducer comes with it, i found out that difrent stores order difrent transducers, i bought mine at the outdoor emporium and it came with a 20 degree, but at boaters world those dorks order it with the 8 degree.

I've got the X-85 also, I've had it about 4 years. I've been pretty happy with it, even though I had to get the first one repaired twice and finally replaced once due to malfunction. Later on I found out it might have been my boat's electrical system that did them in, by running at too high a voltage (like 15V... outboards have bad or nonexistant regulators, gel cel batteries are not forgiving...)

Anyway, I like my X-85, but if I had the cash I'd buy one of the newer finders that has better vertical resolution. Also, beware that not all companies measure the power ratings the same way. Lots of people will tell you that 500 Lowrance watts is not the same as 500 Furuno (or even Raytheon) watts. Remember, Furuno depthfinders have a background that comes from the technology that powers all the commercial fishing finders, while Lowrance finders have a history of being in bass boats...

-N.

I don't know much about the X-85 but do have extensive experience with both Furuno's FCV 667 and the Garmin 160 Blue, I would recommend either with the Furuno being my first choice if money is not a major concern ($650) The Garmin 160 Blue is probably the best unit for under 300 bucks, I think they go about $240.

Raytheon, Raytheon.....Raytheon!

Raytheon is ok if you don't mind paying to much.

I looked at Furuno and was comparing them to Lowrance. One of the major differences, besides the watts measurement, is Lowrance has a monochrome screen, while Furuno has a color display. Is there advantages to a color display? I remember once talking to a commmercial guy, and he said different fish will show different colors, well to a point. Is this true? Or is monochrome just as good?

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"Jeez, I didn't plan on getting this Drunk"
Pro Staff

[ 11-02-2001: Message edited by: KORE ]

My father uses a Furuno on his boat and I purchased a Raytheon unit for my boat about a year ago. I went back and forth on my purchase decision, but I'm glad that I bought the Raytheon from purely a performance perspective. Both have output of 600w, both are dual frequency, but the processing and display on the Raytheon unit is better. It's got great sensitivity without a lot of noise.

I was outfitting a brand new boat though... And at the time I was just sinking the costs of Raytheon into the overall price I was paying for the boat(in my head). Looking back, at times, I wonder what the heck I was doing because the Raytheon was pretty darn expen$ive.

Price for performance, the Furuno is a better unit.

-Jim

You can buy the Lowrance if you don't mind paying too much. Look into the Eagle Accura. I believe it has the same feature set as the Lowrance, and is 100 bucks cheaper. I may have the models wrong.

Eagle and Lowrance are the same company. For all of the Lwarance products, there is an equivalent Eagle product. Eagle products have the same features as the Lowrance, the same chassis, even the same buttons. But they're cheaper. Don't know why, but I've used the Eagle products for years without complaint.

I have the Eagle Accura on my sled. Works great in the rivers, in Puget Sound, in lakes. Has a speed and temp sensor. If you go up in the model line you can get GPS, but I already know I'm on the Skykomish, so I didn't get that.

Cabela's has good prices on them, and you avoid sales tax.