The advantage of the HDS series is that it can start off simply and be added to as the need, experience or budget allows, or you can fit it up as a "hamburger with the lot" from the beginning. The disadvantage of the Elite series is "what you see is what you get". No other abilities are possible.

Lowrance HDS series has come a long Way since it first graced our shelves in February 2009. Live takes the HDS series to the next level, pushing the boundaries and setting a whole new precedent in marine electronics.

Lowrance HDS12 Live Combo

They do boast about quad processors, but that is only on 12 and 16, but the Live has a separate chip to handle the coming LiveSight-ducer (no module needed for LiveSight on HDS Live, while a module is needed for HDS Carbon) and by looking in the "About"-menu you can see that HDS Live has better RAM then HDS Carbon so ...

Final Thoughts on the Best Lowrance Fish Finders

• Best Overall: Lowrance HDS 12 Live Active Target.
• Best Fish Finder and GPS: Lowrance Elite 9 FS.
• Best for Kayaks: Lowrance Hook Reveal 9.
• Best Budget: Lowrance Hook2 4X.

HDS Gen 1 and Gen 2 are both button-only, no touchscreen. They both have the exact same screens, but the colour of the housing differs slightly. The easiest way to tell them apart is by the colour of the text on the memorycardreaders door. Gen 1 has blue text, while Gen 2 has white text.

The new Elite™ Fishing System (FS) gives you access to the full line-up of Lowrance fishfinding tools – including ActiveTarget™ live sonar, Active Imaging™ and preloaded C-MAP® Contour™+ charts – to help you make the most of your time on the water.

Update 11/28/18 - Lowrance Carbon is now discontinued. Please view our Lowrance HDS Live Buyers Guide for current models.

Lowrance HDS9 Carbon Combo (Discontinued)

Best Fish Finders

• Best Overall. Garmin STRIKER Vivid 5cv Fish Finder.
• Best Budget. Lowrance HOOK2 Fish Finder.
• Best Splurge. Simrad NSS16 Evo3S 16-Inch Fish Finder.
• Best Side Imaging. Humminbird Helix 7 MSI G3 Fish Finder.
• Best for Shore Fishing. Deeper PRO+ Castable Fish Finder.
• Best for Ice Fishing.

Hard structure/bottoms produce a strong return on your screen due to the fact harder bottom reflects sound (echo) better, whereas softer structures/bottoms will turn out much weaker signals.

2015 The Lowrance HDS Gen3 Series is Lowrance's latest release for 2015 packed full of Lowrance's latest technology! Built-in Down Scan, Side Scan, CHIRP, Wifi and more.