Top 5 Editorial Picks
Five current fishfinders chosen for distinct buyer needs—from compact value to a premium expandable system. These are editorial selections, not Amazon or reader ratings.
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Best Compact Value
A straightforward sonar and GPS unit for kayaks, jon boats, and small boats.
Best All-Around 7-Inch Fishfinder
A capable sonar-first choice for anglers who want a useful 7-inch display without moving into a full chartplotter system.
Best GPS & Chartplotter Upgrade
The mapping step-up for buyers who need confident navigation as well as high-quality scanning sonar.
Best Side-Imaging Upgrade
A current 9-inch imaging platform for anglers ready to build around serious side imaging and boat integration.
Best Premium Expandable System
A larger-boat platform for buyers who want premium sonar, mapping, networking, and a serious expansion path.
A marine GPS, whether a standalone navigator, chartplotter, or plotter fishfinder combo is going to be your favorite piece of marine electronics when you’re running the tight confines of a wily inlet at o’dark thirty or looking for your favorite fishing hole. Joining a chartplotter and a fishfinder into a
You will find a number of Standard Horizon GPS chartplotters and combination chartplotter fishfinders, as well as chartplotter VHF radio combos on the marine electronics market today. As a builder of a variety of marine gear Standard Horizon is the one maker that has combined a VHF radio with a
The Standard Horizon CPV550 features a massive 12-inch color screen and will do about anything but cook dinner. It’s a full-function chartplotter packed with a VHF and a number of bonus capabilities. Plus, it has the ability to hook up to an optional black box sounder and AIS receiver. The
The Standard Horizon CPV350 is not easily categorized. It’s a marine VHF radio, chartplotter, and even has sounder capability when it is paired with the Standard Horizon FF520 black box sounder. This unit is also AIS capable when coupled to an AIS receiver. The CPV350 is a perfect fit for
The Standard Horizon CP390i is built around a very high resolution 7-inch display screen that packs 800 by 480 pixels of resolution. Compared to its smaller brother, the CP390i is a big step up in screen space, pixel count, and the ability to see fine detail. This Standard Horizon chartplotter
The Standard Horizon CP190i is built around a bright crisp 5-inch display screen and features a built-in 50-channel GPS sensor. It also comes with preloaded cartography and is one of the least expensive standalone chartplotters on the market today. The preloaded charts in this Standard Horizon GPS chartplotter provide detailed
The Standard Horizon CP180 we tested ships with an external Smart GPS sensor. This unit is one of the least expensive standalone chartplotters on the market today. Another version, the CP180i is equipped with an internal GPS sensor. Our test unit comes with a base map. More detailed cartography is
The Standard Horizon CP1000C is a large screen colorized version of the original CP150 Standard Horizon GPS chartplotter. It measures just over 13.5 inches wide by nearly 9 inches high and is equipped with a huge 10.4-inch color screen boasting 640 x 480 resolution. Well known in the marine electronics
The Sitex ColorMax Wide chartplotter we tested was paired with the Sitex ES502 black box sounder to provide both plotting and sounder capabilities. This unit will also accept radar inputs from a Sitex radar sensor. The ColorMax Wide comes with a quick-release bracket that allows for easy removal of the
The Sitex ColorMax 6 will interface with the Sitex ES502 sounder and AIS. The case measures just over 8-inches wide by 6-inches high and is under 3-inches deep. ColorMax 6 comes with a quick release bracket that keeps all wiring on the boat. A nice feature but, in our opinion
The Sitex Colormax 5 ships with a Smart GPS sensor. The unit does contain a base map but to get detailed cartography, tide information, and buoy data you’ll need to add a map card. We filled the unit’s single card slot with a C-Map Max chart card covering South Florida
The Sitex ColorMax 11 is a large screen all-in-one chartplotting system. It will interface with the Sitex ES502 sounder, a couple different models of Sitex radar, AIS, and video. This unit will take up some panel space as it measures just under 13-inche