Small-Screen Plotter/Sounders: Lowrance Bests Garmin and SI-TEX

High-resolution and fine sounder detail give Lowrance the win.

We tested four units from three makers. Top, from left: the Garmin 198C, the SI-TEX ColorMax 6, and the new Lowrance LMS 337C DF. The SI-TEX requires the addition of a converter box (lower right) for fishfinding capabilities. The Garmin 178C is at the bottom.

Four years ago, we concluded that it made little sense to buy an ordinary depth sounder when, for the same price or slightly less, you could buy a decent fishfinder that shows the bottom contours, wrecks, fish, and more. This becomes all the more obvious as you stray off the beaten path. Anyone who’s tried to keep their anchors free of the wrecks that litter the bottom of foreign ports with long histories (Penang, Malaysia, comes to mind) or the reefs of the deepwater anchorages (The Society Islands in French Polynesia qualify here), will vouch for the advantages of a graphic representation of the bottom. And with today’s color sounders,…