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Final Updated on March 22, 2022
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If yous've been a reader for a while at present, you lot'll know that I'k very song nigh my fish finder preferences. And i thing has remained true and information technology'south that I love the Garmin Striker iv.
The goal of this Garmin Striker iv review is to evidence yous why I dear it and why it's improve than nearly of the other fish finders I've always used.
For years we anglers searched for a budget-friendly fish finder that actually provided us with a little quality control, a little accuracy, and decent imaging that you could see in less than desirable conditions.
Well, folks, information technology's been here right under your olfactory organ since 2015. If you lot've never heard of the Garmin Striker 4, it'due south about time you did. Let's get to information technology.
- Things to Consider Before Buying a Fish Finder
- Brandish/Unit Design
- Sonar and Transducer
- Navigation and GPS
- Customization and Model Options
- Garmin Striker iv Review: Features and Benefits
- Display
- CHIRP Sonar
- Variable Modes
- What Are People Maxim About the Garmin Striker 4?
- Alternatives to the Garmin Striker 4
- Humminbird Piranhamax 4
- Humminbird 5
- Lowrance Hook Reveal 5
- Concluding Thoughts
Pros:
- Portable
- Easy to use
- Clear and crisp imaging
- Budget-friendly
Cons:
- Bad client service
- Doesn't come up with preloaded maps
Past the stop of this Garmin Striker four review, you'll sympathize a few things. You lot'll sympathize that you don't need a ton of fancy features to find fish, that a small screen can go a long way, and that Garmin's customer service stinks.
But even with subpar customer service, the Striker iv is unmarried-handedly the all-time fish finder for the coin and beginner fish finder the marketplace has always seen. There'southward a reason why this fish finder has been leading the market place for nigh 7 years now with no sign of slowing down.
Things to Consider Before Buying a Fish Finder
The indicate of this Garmin Striker review is to help you identify the best fish finder for your needs. Of class, with whatever decision comes ownership factors. The point of every fish finder is to make catching fish easier and more enjoyable, right?
Merely a high-quality fish finder can help you do that and if you don't have decades of experience testing out various units, you might not exist every bit familiar with some of the features.
The expert news is, the Striker iv is a relatively affordable unit so we won't have to dwell too much on the finer details. Even so, let's take a expect at some of the things I expect for before buying a fish finder.
Display/Unit Blueprint
The showtime thing everyone sees when they look at a fish finder is the screen and it has a few chief purposes.
Offset, the obvious purpose is to testify you what'south going on in the water.
You want something in the 100-200 kilohertz (kHz) range to provide a precipitous enough image but scan enough area to brand it worth your while.
If nosotros dive a little deeper into it, you'll besides want to pay attention to everything outside of the screen as well.
In the case of the Garmin Striker 4 we're non dealing with a touchscreen unit, it's a keypad fish finder.
I notice these preferable because they're easier to keep clean and buttons are less likely to give y'all trouble or short out than a touchscreen.
Y'all want to brand certain that the keypad is large enough for y'all to actually be able to push buttons without accidentally pushing other stuff. It should be unproblematic to navigate with only as many buttons as necessary to accomplish the goal of finding fish.
Sonar and Transducer
You'll find a lot of companies like Garmin, Humminbird, and Lowrance throwing around phrases like side imaging, down imaging, CHIRP, mega+, tripleshot, and all kinds of other things.
These are all used to describe the type of sonar available on the fish finding unit.
CHIRP sonar was one of the first types of sonar that really changed the manner we used fish finding technology. It essentially uses a consistent flow of variable rate sonar to provide enhanced image quality with great target separation and a more accurate picture of structure underwater.
What does all of that mean?
It ways that you become better imaging than you lot would on older models. You also get everything y'all demand to mount this fish finder including the transducer and waterproof cables.
You tin mount it on the transom or directly to your trolling motor (Garmin Force preferred).
This is too a great kayak fish finder and works well for well-nigh freshwater fishing situations.
Navigation and GPS
The best GPS fish finders do a heck of a lot more than than evidence you where the fish are. They serve as a complete guide on the water.
Many of these fish finders can help yous place great fishing locations, you can utilize them to navigate your manner effectually the water, and y'all can even input variable fishing weather condition such as rain or clouds to customize what the unit tells you.
Some of the more than avant-garde fish finders come with 5,000 waypoints, premium high-sensitivity GPS systems, and more.
You won't find a lot of these advanced features on the Garmin Striker 4 because this fish finder isn't quite pricey enough to merit them.
This is more of an entry-level fish finder for someone who hasn't experimented much and just wants to observe some fish.
That said, information technology doesn't mean there isn't a GPS feature. More than on that coming before long!
Customization and Model Options
Ane of the nigh confusing things that I find to be the case with the Garmin fish finders is understanding the different types of models. There are four primary units, each with its own added benefits.
Here's a quick tabular array to help break it down for you.
I want to break each of these down a fiddling more to help you understand which 1 would be the right choice for you.
If you're new to fish finders and you're looking for something standard go with the CHIRP or Vivid sonar. These offer limited details with enough to get you going and help you understand how fish finders work.
Dual-axle sonar means that it comes with a variable kHz frequency which is highly useful in shallow or murky water. It's a step up from the previous options and as a outcome, is more expensive.
The portable kit Garmin Striker is the aforementioned equally the traditional CHIRP sonar simply it comes with a cover so you lot tin use information technology equally an ice fishing fish finder or in heavy rain.
Garmin Striker 4 Review: Features and Benefits
Whether you're looking for a portable fish finder or something to install permanently to your boat, the Garmin Striker iv does a nice chore at offering a piffling something for anglers of all skill levels. It's a nice budget-friendly fish finder with plenty of user-friendliness as well.
That said, does information technology offer enough premium features to brand it worthwhile for skilled anglers? Let's see.
Brandish
The first thing you see when yous wait at a fish finder is the four.3-inch, 480 ten 320-pixel screen with A-Telescopic and you desire to make sure it's as simple to read and accurate as possible. Even if you don't have whatever experience using a fish finder, y'all should have no problem diving correct in and using the Garmin Striker 4. The prototype quality is crisp, and the buttons brand navigating it as simple as could be.
If y'all choose to go with the dual-sonar unit of measurement, you'll benefit from both a 77 kHz and 200 kHz image.
Naturally, the 77 kHz image quality will be much lower simply you lot'll be scanning a larger surface area with the sonar to provide a more comprehensive look at what is going on below the surface.
This is dandy for scanning forth shorelines or deeper water.
CHIRP Sonar
Every bit I've said, CHIRP was really the world's introduction to serious sonar technology for the average fisherman. It works by sending bursts of sonar into the water at variable frequencies. This allows the sonar to either bounciness off what it'due south hitting or identify it and either narrow downwards or spread out for ameliorate target separation and more accurateness.
The case with the dual-beam transducer is that instead of a single frequency of CHIRP sonar, at present you become 2 frequencies of sonar which farther increases the accuracy and provides yous with more details about everything happening below the surface.
This unit of measurement too comes with an IPX7 h2o resistance rating to protect against splashes, rain, and snow but information technology cannot handle submersion or anything similar that. It comes with a split-screen with 2d sonar and all the hardware needed to install it. You can swivel and tilt the unit when installed and it too alerts you to things like water temperature.
Variable Modes
1 of the coolest but most confusing parts of this Striker 4 Garmin review is the fact that this fish finder comes with a agglomeration of dissimilar modes that you can hop between. It tin take a little while to empathise what each of these does but I desire to give you a headstart past outlining some of information technology for yous.
Traditional Style – The traditional screen settings let you to scan the water for fish arcs, structure, or any blazon of obstacle you might discover in the h2o.
Flasher Mode – The flasher setting operates similarly to an ice angling flasher in terms of sonar. It sends bursts of sonar downwards into the water directly below you for extreme accurateness only limited range.
Split Frequency – I prefer this manner most oftentimes considering yous're assuasive the fish finder to essentially determine what frequency it should use based on what is happening beneath the surface.
Waypoint Map – The map manner allows you to marker your favorite or least favorite spots on the lake and then you can remember hot spots you want to visit again and fishing spots you lot want to avoid on future fishing trips.
Section Number – This mode provides you lot with exact GPS coordinates.
Ultra Scroll – I dear this characteristic. Information technology allows you to browse the water fifty-fifty if the boat speed is loftier speed. The HVGA color brandish volition still show fish arches and fish symbols but it can be a bit distorted.
What Are People Saying About the Garmin Striker 4?
I've spent hours researching and testing this fish finder to make up one's mind that it'south a solid unit that offers a lot of what yous need but not a lot of what you might want.
Keep in mind, it's a upkeep fish finder geared towards beginners.
If y'all're expecting to become $2,000 premium fish finder features out of a unit priced less than $200 you're mistaken.
A little good and a little bad from Amazon, I appreciate it. Even though this unit does come with GPS capabilities, it doesn't offer downloadable maps only I wouldn't await that in this price range. Information technology'due south likewise recommended past a lot of people that y'all don't use it in saltwater.
The chirp technology and connectivity are fine but the transducer isn't cut out for it.
The more I research, the more I hear about Garmin'due south terrible customer service. Hopefully, this is something they can address but if you're the kind of person that likes to shop based on the visitor reputation, Garmin has a rough i.
Fifty-fifty people in the line-fishing forums are fans of the Garmin Striker 4. Personally, folks, this fish finder review hither says a lot. It has its limitations but information technology'south priced accordingly.
Alternatives to the Garmin Striker 4
Humminbird Piranhamax 4
The Humminbird Piranhamax is near as shut as you get in terms of functionality and price. Information technology comes with a 4.3-inch screen but similar the Garmin Striker four. Information technology also comes with a carrying bag like the package bargain from the Garmin Striker. The only affair it lacks is any type of GPS technology at all.
Humminbird 5
The Humminbird five is virtually double the price of the Striker but we take to co-operative out a bit in this Garmin Striker iv review. Information technology'due south a great portable fish finder with a 5-inch display, dual frequency sonar, and congenital in basemap technology with GPS and then you get access to all the preloaded maps of lakes. It offers a lot more the Striker 4 but it's non as piece of cake to employ and the price tag could scare some of you.
Lowrance Hook Reveal 5
The Lowrance Hook Reveal five offers a lot of the bully features of the Humminbird five without the price tag.
Split Shot down and side imaging, GPS nautical chart plotting, and more are all available with this unit of measurement for less than $300.
The heavily debated Lowrance vs Humminbird topic will never end but this fish finder brings a lot to the tabular array.
If you want to dive deeper, check out my full Lowrance Hook Reveal review.
Final Thoughts
At that place comes a time in every angler'due south life when they start to wonder most fish-finding technology. They outset to question if a fish finder could make a dramatic impact on the enjoyment they experience out on the lake.
I'chiliad here to tell you that the point of this Garmin Striker 4 review is to bear witness you that nifty fish finders don't accept to exist expensive and they don't have to be loaded with endless features to exist useful. This fish finder is awesome because it provides a consistently authentic and crisp reading and it's simple to utilise. What more than could yous ask for?
If you lot're new to fish finders and you're looking for a great starter unit, click here to learn more nearly the Garmin Striker 4.
Source: https://yourbassguy.com/fish-finders/garmin-striker-4-review/