Key points in 30 seconds
- The Eagle 5, 7 and 9 share the same software, transducer port, GPS and microSD reader. What changes: resolution, footprint, power draw and the transducer bundles.
- The 7-inch shows exactly as many pixels as the 5-inch (800 × 480): a bigger picture, not a sharper one. Only the 9-inch steps up to 1024 × 600, 60% more pixels for split screens.
- Kayak and tender: Eagle 5 SplitShot. All-round use: Eagle 7. Drifting and trolling: Eagle 9 TripleShot. Coastal boat fishing deeper than 18 m (60 ft): Eagle 9 50/200 HDI.
- The transducer decides what you see: SplitShot HD below the boat, TripleShot HD to add SideScan, HDI for deeper water.
- No Eagle connects to an NMEA 2000 network: if your boat has or will have one, look at Elite FS or HDS Pro.
Table of contents
What really changes between 5, 7 and 9 inches
First, what stays the same. One Lowrance operator manual covers all three displays: keypad control (no touchscreen), built-in GPS, microSD reader, IPS panel rated at 1,000 nits, IPX7 waterproofing with the card door closed, and pages of up to four panels (chart, sonar, imaging). The Eagle 4x, with its Bullet transducer, is excluded by Lowrance from CHIRP and DownScan and is not covered here.
Resolution holds a surprise. The Eagle 5 and Eagle 7 both display 800 × 480 pixels: the 7-inch shows the same picture, roughly twice as large in area. You gain legibility, not detail. The Eagle 9 moves up to 1024 × 600 pixels, 60% more, at the same pixel size as the 7 (about 132 pixels per inch versus 133, by our calculation from the stated diagonal and resolution). So the 9-inch adds room, and room is what counts on a split screen.
The rule to remember. From 5 to 7 inches you buy legibility at a distance. From 7 to 9 inches you buy screen area to show several views at once.
Eagle 5, 7 and 9 comparison table
| Lowrance data | Eagle 5 | Eagle 7 | Eagle 9 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen size and resolution | 5 in, 800 × 480 | 7 in, 800 × 480 | 9 in, 1024 × 600 |
| Front face (W × H) | 182.1 × 113.2 mm | 226.5 × 139.8 mm | 270.7 × 162.5 mm |
| On gimbal bracket (height × depth) | 127.7 × 110.6 mm | 162.8 × 88.5 mm | 175.2 × 90.0 mm |
| Flush-mount cut-out | 152.5 × 90.7 mm | 202.3 × 118.0 mm | 250.4 × 140.7 mm |
| Weight, display only | 0.46 kg | 0.67 kg | 0.9 kg |
| Max power draw at 12 V, full backlight | 290 mA (3.48 W)* | 550 mA (6.6 W) | 640 mA (7.68 W) |
| Power draw, backlight off | 190 mA | 250 mA | not published |
| Bundles sold in Europe | SplitShot HD, 83/200 HDI, 50/200 HDI, display only | SplitShot HD, TripleShot HD, 83/200 HDI, 50/200 HDI, display only | TripleShot HD, 50/200 HDI, display only |
| Transducers listed as compatible | SplitShot HD, TripleShot HD**, 50/200 and 83/200 HDI | SplitShot HD, TripleShot HD, 50/200 and 83/200 HDI | SplitShot HD, TripleShot HD, 50/200 and 83/200 HDI |
| Charts | Preloaded worldwide basemap; C-MAP DISCOVER on microSD (32 GB max); the manual also covers Navionics charts | ||
| NMEA 2000 networking | No, on any size | ||
Lowrance documents listed at the end of the article, checked on 25 September 2026. * 280 mA on the product page, 290 mA in the installation guide: we use the higher figure. The two documents also differ on the supply voltage range (10.8 to 17 V or 10.8 to 18 V); the recommended fuse is 3 A on all three sizes. ** Conflicting documentation, see “Limits and pitfalls”.
The transducer before the screen size
Two Eagle 7s will not show the same bottom if they run different transducers. According to Lowrance, all three transducer families plug into the same port and keep FishReveal (CHIRP and DownScan overlaid):
- SplitShot HD: CHIRP and DownScan, so the water column and the bottom below the boat. Compact (130.7 mm, 0.26 kg), it mounts on the transom or on a trolling motor.
- TripleShot HD: the same plus SideScan, which images both sides of the boat to find rock, wrecks and drop-offs without driving over them. Longer (282.7 mm, 0.48 kg), it is transom-mount only.
- 50/200 or 83/200 HDI: CHIRP and DownScan, which Lowrance positions for deeper water.
On paper, SplitShot HD and TripleShot HD reach 152 m (500 ft) in CHIRP and 91 m (300 ft) in DownScan at 455 kHz. Yet Lowrance recommends SplitShot for depths under 60 ft (about 18 m) and HDI beyond that: a maximum depth is not a working depth. The full comparison is in our article Lowrance SplitShot vs TripleShot: which transducer to choose?
The right screen for the way you fish
Kayak and tender: Eagle 5
On a kayak, three constraints decide: the space in front of you, the battery and how the transducer is mounted. The Eagle 5 is the easiest on all three. It weighs 0.46 kg and draws at most 290 mA: 8 hours of fishing at full backlight comes to about 2.3 Ah, against 4.4 Ah for an Eagle 7 (calculated from the published maximum draw, excluding wiring losses). Its SplitShot HD transducer can go on a trolling motor, and Lowrance presents the twist-lock connectors as designed for portable use.
Two caveats. On its bracket, the Eagle 5 is deeper than the Eagle 7 (110.6 mm versus 88.5 mm): measure the space in front of your seat. And Lowrance’s kayak page features the Eagle 7 TripleShot: a fair choice if the kayak has the room, the battery and a mount for a 28 cm transducer. What the Eagle 5 SplitShot will not do: SideScan.
All-round use: Eagle 7
Open boat, RIB, lake or coastal fishing in manageable weather: the Eagle 7 is the only size sold with all four transducers (SplitShot HD, TripleShot HD and both HDIs). Same resolution as the 5, but a bigger picture that reads better from the helm. Choose the Eagle 7 SplitShot to fish spots you know below the boat, the Eagle 7 TripleShot if you search for new ground.
Drifting and trolling: Eagle 9
Drifting over a wreck or a rock pinnacle, trolling along a drop-off, you keep chart, sonar and imaging in view at the same time. That is where the 9-inch’s 1024 × 600 pixels pay off: on a page split side by side, each half keeps 512 × 600 pixels, against 400 × 480 on a 5 or a 7. With TripleShot HD, SideScan covers both sides of your track while the chart plots the drift. The Eagle 9 TripleShot is the tool for this job; the budget gap over an Eagle 7 TripleShot only makes sense if you really split the screen. Allow 287.2 mm of width on the bracket, knobs included.
Coastal fishing boat: Eagle 9, transducer chosen by depth
Console or wheelhouse, reading the screen standing a step away, fishing in 20 to 60 m of water: the 9-inch is the natural size, and Lowrance’s 60 ft threshold points to HDI. The Eagle 9 50/200 HDI is the logical bundle; the Eagle 9 TripleShot makes sense if you mostly search shallower ground. If the console cannot take a 9-inch, the Eagle 7 comes in 50/200 HDI and 83/200 HDI versions. Measure the cable run to the console: the SplitShot HD and TripleShot HD come with 6 m of cable; Lowrance does not state the length for the HDI transducers in the bundles, so ask us. For live sonar, the Eagle Eye 9 Live is a separate model whose transducer only works with it.
Limits and pitfalls
- No networking. Lowrance’s FAQ states that the Eagle series is not designed to be networked and points to Elite and HDS instead. Neither the manual nor the installation guides describe any data interface: no second display, no link with a VHF, AIS or autopilot. See our guide to the Lowrance ranges.
- Flush mounting. Cut to the Lowrance template (four 25.4 mm holes at the corners) in a panel with no more than 0.5 mm of curvature; the dash gasket kit is sold separately (Eagle 5, Eagle 7, Eagle 9). Lowrance warns that panel mounting may affect GPS performance, and the built-in GPS is the only one the display has. Keep 300 mm between the display and the compass. And choose the size before you cut: going from a 7 to a 9 means enlarging the cut-out by 48 mm in width and 23 mm in height.
- Eagle 5 and TripleShot: the documentation contradicts itself. The Eagle 5 installation guide and the display-only product page list a TripleShot-compatible port; the operator manual pairs the Eagle 5 with the SplitShot HD and reserves SideScan for “TripleShot models”. No Eagle 5 TripleShot bundle is sold in Europe: if SideScan matters, go for a 7-inch. Before adding a stand-alone TripleShot transducer to a unit supplied with SplitShot, ask us.
- A single microSD slot (32 GB max) for the chart card, software updates and Genesis Live recording.
- Genesis Live ignores the tide. According to the manual, its contours are not corrected for tide (accuracy stated up to 20 knots) and only display over a Lowrance or C-MAP chart. On tidal Atlantic or Channel waters, a survey logged at high water overstates the depths you will find at low water.
- Charts: check before you buy. Lowrance’s specifications only list C-MAP DISCOVER; for any other chart range, check compatibility (see our marine chart comparison).
Workshop verdict
- Kayak, tender, small removable setup: Eagle 5 SplitShot. If you often fish deeper than 18 m, its 83/200 HDI or 50/200 HDI version.
- All-round open boat or RIB: Eagle 7 SplitShot for spots you know, Eagle 7 TripleShot as soon as you search for new ground.
- Drifting and trolling on a split screen: Eagle 9 TripleShot. The Eagle 7 TripleShot if the console cannot take a 250 mm wide cut-out.
- Coastal fishing boat, depths beyond 18 m: Eagle 9 50/200 HDI.
- Live sonar: Eagle Eye 9 Live.
- Replacing a Hook Reveal, which Lowrance now lists among its past series: see our Eagle vs Hook Reveal equivalents.
- NMEA 2000 network or several displays: not an Eagle. Compare the ranges in our Lowrance fishfinder comparison.
Sources
- Lowrance Eagle range pages for Europe and France: FAQ, bundles, SideScan.
- Lowrance Europe product pages: Eagle 5 SplitShot HD, Eagle 5, Eagle 7 and Eagle 9 without transducer, Eagle 9 50/200 HDI.
- Lowrance documentation: installation guides for the Eagle 5 and the Eagle 7 and 9, Eagle 7 and 9 mounting template, SplitShot HD and TripleShot HD transducers, Eagle Series operator manual.
- Lowrance Europe, kayak fishing.
