Eagle vs Lowrance

[BlackwaterStout]

What exactly is the difference bewteen the eagle and lowrance finders? They are for a the most part identical. I just bought an Eagle Fishmark 320 that cost me $139.99 and it is directly comparable to the Lowrance x96 which costs $199.99. The specs are identical between the two adn the only difference I see is that the Lowrance is dark grey in color and the eagle is light grey. Both have a 1 year warranty. Obviously they are made by the same company, just wonder why they are so different in price. Is there a hidden difference I don't know about?

[prov1900]

I think some of the Lowrance units have higher pixel counts, which will always cost more. They are made by the same people. Both Eagle and Lowrance are great. I have had Lowrance units for years, but always wondered why I just didnt go with Eagle..for the price

[BlackwaterStout]

Yeah from what I'm seeeing it looks like Lowrance has more high end units (>$1000), but in the example I stated above both units are 320x320 with 1500 watt peak and the exact same chassis. As far as I know the software is identical.

Who actually makes these units? Lowrance, eagle, or does some third party make units and market them as eagle/lowrance?

Just seems kind of odd that the units are identical and the lowrance cost 33% more.

[gspman]

The connectors on the back are different. Lowrance locks on and Eagle just slips on I think. Also the peak to peak power is greater in the Lowrances. There may be other differences but these are the ones I know for sure.

gspman

[PerchJerker]

Very similar units. In general the comparable Lowrance would have more power and a few more features. Pretty minor differences. The comparable Eagles are great buys - really good units at really good prices. Great for someone on a tight budget, or looking to get more locator for the money.

[BlackwaterStout]

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The connectors on the back are different. Lowrance locks on and Eagle just slips on I think. Also the peak to peak power is greater in the Lowrances. There may be other differences but these are the ones I know for sure.

gspman

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Both the Fishmark 320 and the x96 units have 1500 watt peak power and 16 level greyscale. If they have a different connector on the back that would be the only difference I see.

[JohnMickish]

The Lowrance locater has this.

FlashGraf™

FlashGraf™ combines a scrolling sonar target graph with a digital LCD flasher with GRAYLINE® or COLORLINE™. This allows you to view two of the most popular ways of finding fish all in one screen. FlashGraf™ also employs the "Resize Window" feature, which allows you to make the sonar graph or flasher "window" wider or narrower in the split-screen display according to your preference. Also, the "Overlay Data" feature is included to allow temp, speed, lat/long, and more information to be displayed in the flasher "window".

That and it's all first rate materials, no cost saving moves involved.

[BlackwaterStout]

That definately explains it. The flasher is the main difference. I thought it was weird that the eagle would cost that much less considering they seamed identical.

[caseymcq]

Some of the comparable Lowrance/Eagle units also have differences in power (not the case with your X96 and Fishmark320)

The X135 and X125 have 4,000 watts and 2,400 watts respectively where as the Fishmark 480 has 1,500 watts.

[EJ]

The backlighting in the Lowrances is generally much better. If you are doing a lot of night fishing I would get the Lowrance.

EJ

[caseymcq]

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The backlighting in the Lowrances is generally much better. If you are doing a lot of night fishing I would get the Lowrance.

EJ

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I have noticed that too. With the comparable Lowrance/Eagle units I have seen the lighting on the Lowrance seems to make the image a little crisper.

[katoguy]

I haven't used Lowrance in a few years, but one of the main differences in comparable Lowrance and Eagle models used to be that the Lowrance model and an internal memory backup. After setting your window preferences you did not lose them when powering down. On the Eagle model you had to reset your windows every time after turning the unit on.

Not a big deal if you run the unit in auto and default modes.

[BlackwaterStout]

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I haven't used Lowrance in a few years, but one of the main differences in comparable Lowrance and Eagle models used to be that the Lowrance model and an internal memory backup. After setting your window preferences you did not lose them when powering down. On the Eagle model you had to reset your windows every time after turning the unit on.

Not a big deal if you run the unit in auto and default modes.

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Do you know if this is still the case? In particular the Fishmark 320? Seems kind fo crazy that they wouldn't retain your settings upon powerdown.

[katoguy]

I don't know if this is still the case (I am running a Humminbird now).

Usually, the brand marketed as "higher end" does have a few additional features to help "sell up". I would not be surprised if it is still the case, but hopefully an expert will chime in.

[PerchJerker]

I am 99% sure this is not the case.... even 99.9% sure. Check with the place where you bought your FM320.