Best gps chartplotter for under 400

[Built_in_USA]

Has anybody tried the humming bird products or cheaper garmin? I also dont want to put anything through my hull. Thanks for any help

[MARK1940]

Look at cabelas website. They are probably ready to start reducing the price on some of the garmens. Still gonna have to shell out for a map card no matter what you buy.$400 is a tight budget but you could find a deal. Good luck.

[JN Welsh]

:) good price from amazon.com, already had ext ant. Had to buy mem card ($110) Still getting used to it. Seems ok. I think it's moneys worth.
Will give another report soon. ( it helped w/fl drifts,showing depths & dropoffs & trax) Norm

[Mulv80]

I bought a Garmin 441 S and have been really happy with it. The "S" signifies thats its a sounder model so you have a combo fishfinder/GPS. The "4" in the second position indicates that it has coastal G2 Garmin Maps preloaded. The first "4" is the screen size. I was limited with mounting space so I went with the 441 the 541 is bigger. I have no problem viewing the screen but it is compact. I purchased mine from GPStore.com for $380 minus the transducer.

[grtwhthunter/fisherman]

i own a hummingbird 385i its a combo chart,sounder,gps works fine for me. gps rite on as well as plotter. have zero problems. just small screen. mines black n white for 300. cecil marine has same model in color for 400..you have to buy a chip if you want detailed info though.

[wellcraft]

west marine has garmin 441s chartplotter/fishfinders on sale for right around 400 bucks. the transducer is sold seperately for about 70 bucks so you're still looking at close to 500. i was checking out hummingbird combo units at basspro shops and while they were a bit cheaper than the garmin i thought the garmin had sharper/clearer images on screen.

[lagerhelps]

I bought a Garmin 441 S and have been really happy with it. The "S" signifies thats its a sounder model so you have a combo fishfinder/GPS. The "4" in the second position indicates that it has coastal G2 Garmin Maps preloaded. The first "4" is the screen size. I was limited with mounting space so I went with the 441 the 541 is bigger. I have no problem viewing the screen but it is compact. I purchased mine from GPStore.com for $380 minus the transducer.

Were the maps that came with the 441s good for the bay?

It looks like its a wash between the 421 and 441 it depends what you like. If you buy the g2 maps separately I believe it comes with features that the 441 doesn't. Look into this if you are a gadget kind of guy. Birdseye view and different views of bottom etc... I never use any of it though. I need to know where I'm going and where I've been...haha If you have a garmin fishfinder it uses the same transducer so you might be able to save a little there. Good luck on purchase.

[Built_in_USA]

Thanks guys, at first getting from a to b seemed good, but then thinking about being able to see what the bottom looks like all around me clearly would be nice.

[swab1985]

Check out the Furuno NavNet 3D systems! They are awesome. The 12" is great, but you could probably work with the 8" model. For fish finders, either black box your Navnet, or get a furuno fcv-1150 and pair it up to a aimar r-209 cheese wheel transducer.

Good luck!

Brian

[sundog1]

Hands down, GARMIN!:thumbsup: $400 is a tight budget though. In terms of the the 400 series, you are better off with a 441s. The 441s comes with all the basics you need. If you go with a regular 441 you end up paying more in the long run if you want to upgrade it with a sounder and transducer later. The "S" models come with the sounder for only a marginally higher cost. The 421s comes with a worldwide base map instead of the US coastal map that has more detail. If you plan on buying the G2 card it doesnt really matter which unit you buy. However if you dont want to spend the $ for the G2 card stick with the 441s. We dont sell many of the 400 series here but usually sell the 500 series which offers a larger screen. Garmin produces a great product thats easy to use with great reliability and excellent support. I recommend looking at the units too as many of our customers are surprised at the screen size. You don't want spend several hundred dollars only to be unhappy with the product.:wave:

[Mulv80]

I'm happy with the base maps preloaded in the 441S. The cards Garmin sells that you would need for the 421 are like $269. The 441S has enough detail where I don't think the external card is needed.