Garmin Striker Plus vs Garmin Striker – What’s changed
We’re tackling the newest announcement from Garmin marine this week with their announcement on the new Plus series for the Striker series. This new Fishfinder is towards being a more of hardware/software update rather than a full-fledged new model. This statement will be a little clearer when we look at what’s actually changed.
What’s Changed
Not a huge upgrade here though I can see Wifi is an excellent addition to some setups, and obviously Quickdraw contours are very welcome.
- Quickdraw Contours
- WiFi (Only available 7-9 inch models)
- Active Captain App
Apart from these new features, you will be keeping all the old features including the built-in sonar and side scanning sonar.
How do the Quickdraw Contours work?
The Striker Plus units can now create live HD fishing maps. Quickdraw has been available for a while on the large echoMAP and GPSMAP units but has now been brought over to all of the Striker series. The essential features for Quickdraws contours are as follows:
- Create routes
- View boat speed
- Draw custom maps with 1-foot contours
- Stores up to 2 million acres (dependent on memory space on unit)
To use Quickdraw mapping, you will need to be travelling under 32km/h (to keep the Sonar and GPS position accurate). Garmin suggests under 16km/h to get the most precise reporting but between 16-32km/h will give you ‘good’ depth and position information. While mapping you can add Labels to specific GPS coordinates that will stay on your map this is great for returning to a good fishing spot or avoiding tricky shallows.
In addition to this Garmin have set up the Quickdraw Community which is a free crowdsourced contour map community. The Quickdraw community is useful in of itself but can be taken a step further with the Garmin Active Captain app which I’ll go into more detail in the next section.
Active Captain (Only applicable to the 7” and 9” units)
Garmin has introduced the Active Captain App to the Striker Plus series; this app is aimed at keeping you connected and allowing you to dynamically update your routes and maps without the need to update your unit via the computer or when you get back from the trip. It will also allow you to receive smart notifications from your phone/compatible device to your Striker unit. The following are the primary functions of the Striker App:
- Smart notifications
- Sync new routes and waypoints from the waypoint community
Striker Series- Core features
Skip this section if you’re already well versed in the Striker fish finder. While these features are not new they’re still worth mentioning as they are core components to what make this fish finder such a great unit. All the Striker devices come with a high sensitivity receiver so fishers can not only see fish and structure below the boat, but can also quickly mark their favourite spots. When trolling the GPS will update position once per second giving you an extremely accurate positional report for waypoints, dialling in the exact trolling speed and optimise lure presentation. You can also share waypoint data across Striker Plus units as well as the new Echomap Plus series.
The new Striker plus series will be available in the displays sizes and models featured below:
The new Plus series still offers the CHIRP traditional sonar along with the CHIRP ClearVü and SideVü (on some models – see picture above). This sonar is perfect for display clear fish arches and clear target separation. The ClearVü mode shows a wide image of what passes below the boat.
The SideVü gives you a crisp, clear view of what lies off to each side of the boat, including structure, submerged objects and fish.
The Striker units are available in Australia and range between $249 - $899 RRP. I’ve included the specs comparison for a Striker Plus 7sv against the old Striker 7sv if you want to get it straight from the source.
Spec Comparison for Striker Plus Models
| STRIKER Plus 9sv | STRIKER Plus 7sv | STRIKER 5cv | STRIKER Plus 4cv | |
|
General |
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Physical dimensions |
11.1” x 6.5” x 2.4” (28.2 x 16.5 x 6.0 cm) | 9.3” x 5.5” x 2.3” (23.5 x 14.0 x 5.8 cm) | 7.4’’ x 4.5’’ x 2.1’’ (18.8 x 11.6 x 5.4 cm) | 3.9'' x 6.9'' x 1.8'' (9.8 x 17.4 x 4.5 cm) |
| Weight | 2.4 lbs (1.1 kg) | 1.7 lbs (0.8 kg) | 1.0 lb (0.5 kg) | 0.7 lbs (0.3 kg) |
| Water rating | IPX7 | IPX7 | IPX7 | IPX7 |
| Display type | WVGA color | WVGA color | WVGA color | QSVGA |
| Display resolution | 800 x 480 pixels | 800 x 480 pixels | 800 x 480 pixels | 272 X 480 pixels |
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Sonar Features & Specifications |
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Dual-frequency (50/200 kHz) sonar capable |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Dual-beam (77/200 kHz) sonar capable | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Frequencies supported | Traditional: 50/77/200 kHz | Traditional: 50/77/200 kHz | Traditional: 50/77/200 kHz | Traditional: 50/77/200 kHz |
| CHIRP (mid and high) | CHIRP (mid and high) | CHIRP (mid and high) | CHIRP (mid and high) | |
| ClearVü and SideVü 260/455/800 kHz | ClearVü and SideVü 260/455/800 kHz | ClearVü 260/455/800 kHz | ClearVü 260/455/800 kHz | |
| Transmit power | 500 W (RMS) | 500 W (RMS) | 500 W (RMS) | 300 W (RMS) |
| Bottom lock (shows return from the bottom up) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Water temperature log and graph | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
Fishfinder Features |
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Split-screen zoom |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Ultrascroll® (displays fish targets at higher boat speeds) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Symbol ID (helps identify fish targets) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AutoGain Technology (minimizes clutter, maximizes targets) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Adjustable depth line (measures depth of underwater objects) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| A-scope (real time display of fish passing through transducer beam) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Water temperature sensor included | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
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Additional |
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Additional |
Wireless Connectivity: Yes | Wireless Connectivity: Yes | Quickdraw Contours | Quickdraw Contours |
| Quickdraw Contours | Quickdraw Contours | Integrated GPS | Integrated GPS | |
| Integrated GPS | Integrated GPS | Mark Waypoints | Mark Waypoints | |
| Mark Waypoints | Mark Waypoints | Course over Ground (COG) | Course over Ground (COG) | |
| Course over Ground (COG) | Course over Ground (COG) | Current draw @ 12V: 0.40A | Current draw @ 12V: 0.40A | |
| Current draw @ 12V: 0.75A | Current draw @ 12V: 0.67A |
Striker PLUS 7sv VS Striker 7sv
| STRIKER Plus 7sv | STRIKER 7sv | |
|
General |
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|
Physical dimensions |
9.3” x 5.5” x 2.3” (23.5 x 14.0 x 5.8 cm) | 9.3'' x 5.5'' x 2.3'' (23.5 x 14 x 5.8 cm) |
| Weight | 1.7 lbs (0.8 kg) | 24 oz (680 g) |
| Water rating | IPX7 | IPX7 |
| Display type | WVGA color | WVGA color |
| Display resolution | 800 x 480 pixels | 800 x 480 pixels |
|
Sonar Features & Specifications |
||
|
Dual-frequency (50/200 kHz) sonar capable |
Yes | Yes |
| Dual-beam (77/200 kHz) sonar capable | Yes | Yes |
| Frequencies supported | Traditional: 50/77/200 kHz | Traditional: 50/77/200 kHz |
| CHIRP (mid and high) | CHIRP (mid and high) | |
| ClearVü and SideVü 260/455/800 kHz | ClearVü: 260/455/800 kHz | |
| SideVü: 260/455/800 kHz | ||
| Transmit power | 500 W (RMS) | 500 W (RMS) |
| Maximum depth | 2,300 ft freshwater*, 1,100 ft saltwater* | |
| Bottom lock (shows return from the bottom up) | Yes | Yes |
| Water temperature log and graph | Yes | Yes |
|
Fishfinder Features |
||
|
Split-screen zoom |
Yes | Yes |
| Ultrascroll® (displays fish targets at higher boat speeds) | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Symbol ID (helps identify fish targets) | Yes | Yes |
| AutoGain Technology (minimizes clutter, maximizes targets) | Yes | Yes |
| Adjustable depth line (measures depth of underwater objects) | Yes | Yes |
| A-scope (real time display of fish passing through transducer beam) | Yes | Yes |
| Water temperature sensor included | Yes | Yes |
|
Additional |
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|
Additional |
Tilt/Swivel Mount | Tilt/swivel mount |
| Integrated GPS | Integrated GPS | |
| Mark Waypoints | Mark Waypoints | |
| Course over Ground (COG) | Course over ground (COG) | |
| Current draw @ 12V: 0.67A | Current draw @ 12V: 0.67A | |
| Wireless Connectivity: Yes | ||
| Quickdraw Contours |
Striker Plus Series Naming conventions
I get this question a lot so thought I would just add this at the end.
Striker Plus 5sv = SideVü & ClearVü
Striker Plus 5cv = Only ClearVü
Any unit that has 'sv' designated after the number will have both SideVü and ClearVü technology, a unit that has 'cv' after the number will only feature ClearVü.
The numbers in each model designate the size of the model 5 = 5-inch display size (4.25'' x 2.55'' (10.8 x 6.5 cm); 5'' diag 12.7 cm)