# Garmin 942xs plus



## Rob (Aug 23, 2015)

I currently have a Lowrance elite 5 which is about five years old. I am looking to upgrade to a bigger screen. I was looking at another Lowrance unit but I have a friend who has the Garmin 942xs plus and he is upgrading to a bigger screen. The unit is about one year old and he will sell it to me for $400. I thought that was a really good deal. But I am trying to get some feedback on the unit. I fish mostly shallow and don’t really use the unit I have in home waters unless it’s night or something. I would use this unit for when I travel to other areas I am unfamiliar with. Any advice in this unit. I will probably add a transducer down the road to it for all the side scan and stuff. Thanks. 
Rob


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## Egrets Landing (Feb 11, 2016)

Forget about the unit for now. Go look at the map running in it. That is far more important. If that works great for you then it's worth considering. If it doesn't just remember Garmin provides no map options other than their own map chip. For inshore running the chart it in it or that can run in it has the worst reputation in the market based on the blog reviews going back for more than a decade. The accuracy and detail of their charts is poor and that is supported by fact and side by side comparisons. It is not opinion. Expect to see your rig running on land when you are easily floating. The unit is only as useful as the map you are looking at.


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## Shallows (Mar 29, 2020)

Egrets Landing said:


> Forget about the unit for now. Go look at the map running in it. That is far more important. If that works great for you then it's worth considering. If it doesn't just remember Garmin provides no map options other than their own map chip. For inshore running the chart it in it or that can run in it has the worst reputation in the market based on the blog reviews going back for more than a decade. The accuracy and detail of their charts is poor and that is supported by fact and side by side comparisons. It is not opinion. Expect to see your rig running on land when you are easily floating. The unit is only as useful as the map you are looking at.


What maps do you like better, Navionics?


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## Egrets Landing (Feb 11, 2016)

Shallows said:


> What maps do you like better, Navionics?


Navionics is owned by Garmin and is a tad better overall than G2/G3 charts that can run in the Garmin units. But if you have a Garmin you can't even run the Navionics chip in there. No matter how you compare them they both are general reference charts with poor quality imagery and provide nothing in the way of detailed inshore navigation insight in any inshore areas. They are dangerous to use in many places. Garmin is famous for showing your rig running on land when you are floating in plenty of water. If you run the blue water there is little difference in the charts and it comes down mostly to depth information only. For skiffs, I run ISLA's FMT which fully corrects all of the problems with those Garmin controlled charts that have frustrated boaters since the beginning.


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## KClark (Apr 5, 2019)

Rob said:


> I currently have a Lowrance elite 5 which is about five years old. I am looking to upgrade to a bigger screen. I was looking at another Lowrance unit but I have a friend who has the Garmin 942xs plus and he is upgrading to a bigger screen. The unit is about one year old and he will sell it to me for $400. I thought that was a really good deal. But I am trying to get some feedback on the unit. I fish mostly shallow and don’t really use the unit I have in home waters unless it’s night or something. I would use this unit for when I travel to other areas I am unfamiliar with. Any advice in this unit. I will probably add a transducer down the road to it for all the side scan and stuff. Thanks.
> Rob


Any interest in a Lowrance Hook7? I bought my skiff with it already installed and all my other technology is Garmin.


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## Egrets Landing (Feb 11, 2016)

Hook and Cruise units are the least capable units in the market and incapable of running any charts with imagery. They have inferior software and screen resolution and I would never own one. It is no accident they cost less than the charts.


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## Rob (Aug 23, 2015)

So I passed on the Garmin. I will either upgrade to a Lowrance 9 or a simrad unit


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