Lowrance HDS-7 Gen2 Review

I’ve used many fishfinders and this model is by far the most accurate and user friendly. The screen is readable even in bright sun. You don’t need the manual, all screens make sense. The response is fast, the new processor does make a difference. I especially like the carousel feature that lets easily switch between screens.

I have an 18ft boat and this unit comes with the 20ft cable. It turned out that the cable was too short (with all the ups/downs and sideways). Other than that I don’t have any regrets, it’s awesome fishfinder, well worth the money.

I feel cheated by Lowrance. They made no mention of the fact that the unit is completely useless if you leave the US. I purchased this unit for my sailing vessel which I sail both in the Americas and Europe. Once out outside of the US the unit has zero functionality.
To make matters worse the customer service was horrible. No response to my emails and no solution offered once I finally got in touch with them.
You should avoid this company at all costs. I recommend replacing any Lowrance units you have before you run into any problems. Never trust this company they will rip you off.

I purchased this unit thinking I would give Lowrance a try and was disappointed. I have owned six boats in twenty years and always went with Garmin or Ray Marine for my previous vessels. This unit comes with all the features I wanted but it is overly complicated to operate. The nested menus and poor layout make it all but impossible to use when I am on the sea in high wind. It is a pain having to look up how to change simple settings in the manual every time. Another thing that I don’t like is the sub-par preloaded maps. Once you factor in having to purchase the additional map packs the one advantage this unit had, price, disappears. In the future I will stick to Garmin or Ray Marine.

I have used Lowrance products for years. They are easy to use and set up. If you see fish on this fish finder, drop the jig and reap the rewards. Excellent product

I have been an avid fisherman my entire adult life. I have always owned a mid to high range Lowrance in my various boats. I have fished with others, in their boats, with other products and found them sub-quality when it comes to fishing. I bought the new HDS 7 and spent an extra $600 for the side scan. I have never been so disappointed in a Lowrance product. The device functioned very well until the first firmware update and it never was the same again. I tried resetting the unit (with Lowrance tech support help) to the original settings but with no success. I would not recommend a Lowrance product now that the company has been sold. They have lost their focus and their edge to maps.