Showdown vs. Elite 4X Ice Machine

[AERO63]

Alright guys...nothing new here, just looking for some feedback in terms of Pros / Cons...

I have a Showdown dual beam, been fishing with it for two years, and I like it.  No complaints.  I'm thinking about selling it and trying a Lowrance Elite 4X Ice Machine.

No "real" reason at all to get rid of the Showdown and try something new, other than just to try something new for fun.  I know the basic differences between the two units, and I'm sure I'd like either.

For the sake of conversation with a couple months of time before hardwater season...you're in my shoes...keep the Showdown, or try the Lowrance for something new??

[toofuss]

I can't give an unbiased opinion because i dont like the showdown. I have seen too many problems and on topof that just dont like the display. I am going to try my humminbird 587 this year but my flashers are not going anywhere yet. I do think you will be happy with the elite 4 though.

[filetandrelease]

you fellas will like both outfits , if your fishing deeper fish try the graph mode , you might like it , takes a little getting use to ,

showdown is ok but IMO the 4 will do a little more

[drowndin dots]

   I'm getting the 4 this year

[jumbo chaser]

I think it's just what you get used to looking at I just like the flasher for real time action

[filetandrelease]

mine has both graph and flasher, love the color and memory and it's real time and my flasher is now my back up to my other 2 units 

[toofuss]

I know from playing around on the boat that the graph on my 587 is instant. I had no problem picking up a size 10 mudbug in 40 plus feet of water and any twitch i made showed up immediately on screen. Im thinking one will get set up portable and the other mounted either to the quad or truck for gps purposes.

[Dog-duster]

I think if you switched to a graph type machine you'd really like it. I kinda miss my old x67c for the color scheme it had and the slightly wider beam than my new LX7 has but I do really like the larger screen of the LX7.  If Lowrance made a larger screen  finder with a 8&20° beam I'd buy one and maybe make my LX7 the spare unit.

[Gimper]

I got my Humminbird 998HD set up for ice fishing/vertical jigging. Nice big screen and it's got at least a half dozen color schemes to chose from. Can change the background color too. Black/white/blue. I like the black background with the 'angry dragon coming off the bottom' Orange, red, yellow and green color scheme. It's a bit pricey, but they are on sale right now.

[Curley]

If you have or are thinking of getting a boat the elite 4 could pull double duty. Last spring I picked upa Humminbird 597 for my kayak with the intention of converting it this fall. Just waiting on the ice ducer to show up. I'll see how I like it before I sell an older FL8.

[conesusguy]

I had the same decision to make last winter.  Glad I chose the lowrance!  The unit truly shines on the ice, and isn't bad at all in the boat either.  I do think that it has trouble in regards to power fishing in 100ft or more of water.  You still see fish, but has a harder time picking them up.  The sonar/graph on the ice in my opinion is 10x better than watching a dial flasher.  It may be a few 10ths of a second off say a vexilar, but is superior in every other way to a flasher in my opinion.  You get a lot more information with the sonar than you do any flasher.  And you get GPS! No flasher offers that.  I do believe that this is the future of ice fishing sonar.  I think a lot of guys are stuck in their ways watching a dial all day.  Plus the lowrance has a flasher mode, but the graph/sonar is far more efficient to use.  The biggest problem you will have should you get one will be figuring out the settings and dialing the unit in.  It was tricky for me at first but I did some research and played with it and about a week or so later got it figured out, and I loved her from then on.  If you do choose to buy one and need help with settings, shoot me a pm and I'll help you.  And also I don't think the Marcum Showdown is a quality product.  I had the backlight go on mine and I only owned it 1 season.  Stay away from those.

[Mudpuppy31]

I'm having some difficulty setting up my new Elite 4x ice machine, what are the chances of you helping me out 'conesusguy'. I would greatly appreciate it.

[spam]

 I don't understand why you guys don't got with the elite 5 ice machine bigger screen and it's been on sale for a while now?

[fishing4u2]

Great replies, guys.  Here's my .02 on the original question.  Last year I picked up the original SD. Used, in a package deal with all sorts of other ice gear, so it cost me very little.  Worked just fine in deeper, more open water situations.  Trouble was, for a lot of the applications I intended for it, it was almost useless.  Get into a tall weed bed with only a variable grey toned display, and good luck discerning your jig in that jungle!  Oh, all the signals are all there all right, but you can't begin to effectively tease them apart, and especially not in real time!  I have a pal who is very, very good at reading his Marcum flasher.  The least nervous signal flutter to him may as well be a telegram, hand delivered, that a sniffer or biter is nigh.  Frustrated that with the SD I was utterly unable to detect much less ice fish during a tough bite, he kindly offered to switch up units for a full half hour. Suddenly our fortunes shifted, although I still was struggling with the real time flasher's kaliedescopic effects.  So this year I got the Elite 4, and its a whole new ball game.  Having the history, the split screen, the GPS, and the ability to customize the displays to my own liking is light years ahead of the SD, which will still see use but only by the newbies that tag along when we target perch in deeper water, say.  This choice seems like a no brainer.  As for screen size, if you zoom in on the bottom few feet, I feel like I have MORE screen where it counts... in terms of target separation, more than enough.  And since I 'yak fish come softwater season, a bigger screen would be for me a liability.  We each have our own ops and constraints, but I have no buyer's remorse on the 4.

[ducati]

I don't understand why you guys don't got with the elite 5 ice machine bigger screen and it's been on sale for a while now?

Speaking for myself, I am not willing to spend $450-$500 on a finder, this is why I went with my X67c, $250 out the door and certainly does the job.

[MarkoB]

Hey guys how is it going?
First time post but long story short i am in the market for the same fish finder.
Radio world has them for 279 and a 50 dollar mail in rebate coupon. Are these units worth 300 dollars?
I am a little concerned now when i read about issues pickin up fish at 100 feet...those are lakers depth and i need it to work.
Also how well does it track your jighead that deep?
Thanks again
Marko

[ducati]

I have never used the Elite 4x but I have the X67c that it replaced. The X67c is worth every bit of $300, I laker fish as deep as 80' and it is spot on.  I would imagine that the Elite 4x is even better.

[BRIFISH]

I have the 4x and love it, had the showdown and it broke 3 times and ended up getting my money back and buying the lowrance 4x.  I love the graph it can be a flasher, can zoom in run dual freq. and i can use it all year.

[MarkoB]

Hey guys,
Thank you for replies.
Radioworld has them for 280 plus a 50 dollar mail in rebate thing.

[bee]

I picked up the ice pack for my elite 5. I have been using it on the trolling motor for a few months and it is sweet. Tried it yesterday on the ice and it is still sweet. Lowrance has the start of something that could be great. They need to open up the options so the screen can be customized. Like being able to expand the vertical display width wise etc.