Lowrance Elite-4 HDI Review

This was a replacement for my old Elite-5 DSI. It has a bit smaller screen than Elite-5 but it does have dual imaging which makes it easier to understand the sonar output. The price was 1/3 of what I paid for Elite5 DSI so this is great value. I was able to use Navionics maps from Elite5 but I had to replace the transducer. I’m still having the same issues with interference that I had before, that’s probably my fault though.

This is a great unit if you don’t need a big screen. The display is bright and it has all the features of bigger units at a fraction of the price. The preloaded maps are not that great so you might consider getting the Gold version that comes with Navionics maps if you need to use GPS.

I have a black and white Mark 4 at the console of my boat and I put Elite 4 HDI at the bow. The transducer is mounted to the trolling motor, I used the existing mounting bracket from my old X50DS. The Elite 4 has a color screen that is larger than Mark 4. It’s a much better unit even though the price is about the same.

Excellent fishfinder for a kayak. Very clear display. Down imaging is nice but I use the traditional sonar most of the time. Easy to setup and use.

I got the 4x version because I don’t need GPS. This is a perfect unit if you’re looking for an affordable fishfinder that will help find structure and fish. I used the DSI view to find structure and the regular sonar to find fish. Locating fish is super easy especially with the use of fish icon and alarms. The unit draws very little power from the battery.

I am use to either a fish symbol or boomerang symbol for the fish. With these DSI units all I pick up and can barely see are very small dots for the larger lake trout that I go after. In daylight I also find it very hard to see potential fish hits because of the size of the image. These units are easy enough to use but they have capabilities that are seldom of much use to any fishers that I know of. Give me a unit that shows depth, structure and fish period.

Flush mounted in our boat and went fishing this am. Unit worked great for the first hour then the screen locked on the start-up page. Called Lowrance from the boat and they walked me trough the reset process, no luck. My choices are buy a blank micro chip and download a software upgrade. If that fails, I need to uninstall from the dash and send it back for repair. Five days of vacation left and no GPS/sounder. Really disappointed.

I’m pleasantly surprised with the quality of the down scan image on the unit, I didn’t expect a $300 fishfinder to be able to show this much detail and clarity. This unit is great for finding structure. This unit requires a bit of learning before you can use to its full potential but it’s great when you get familiar with it.

This fishfinder works as advertised and works very well. The detail in the downimaging mode is excellent. I can even count branches on the submerged trees, I didn’t expect to see that much detail on this smaller screen. I did have one problem with it but it was my fault – I shut it down using the power button and had a problem bringing it back up. I had to call the Lowrance support and was instructed to always use the Power off option in the menu. Elite 4 HDI is a solid product backed by a solid customer service.

Elite 4 HDI is worth every penny. I put it on my Hobie kayak, the installation was easy because the kayak is designed for this type of fishfinder. It’s great to be able to see ship wrecks on the map as well as the sonar at the same time. It’s also great to be able to see fish on the screen, target it and then catch it.

Worst purchase ever. if I could give it a zero I would. Lowrance has the worst customer service in the industry. The unit would freeze up constantly. Was told I needed a software upgrade. The software upgrade required an microSD card size difficult to obtain. Tried to upgrade software with three separate cards, did not work. Lowrance finally agreed I needed to ship it in for repair. They expected me to pay for that! long story short, I returned it to Bass Pro, who gave me full credit, and I bought a Garmin. Why Lowrance allowed such a buggy, poorly engineered unit to be sold is beyond me.

I installed this fish finder on my 5 meter buccaneer. Before the install the NZ maps were fried after I tried to do an update which it’s asks you to do however navionics to their good name let me get a replacement at the shop same day it dried. Other than that with one adjustment to the transducer as well had it on slightly wrong angle all the fish suddenly appeared underneath! Misses out on a star due to the dodgy map issue which is well known on the internet post the fry up. It excellent customer service still says this is a good unit for the price. Next gen will no doubt allow transmit to an ipad or remote device as some newer kits allow but that’s technology for you!