The Hook Reveal series is the latest refresh of the entry-level fish finder combos from Lowrance. The units sport a new svelte black finish, and the same quality sonar and mapping options, with several important new capabilities.
In our Lowrance Hook Reveal review we will report on all the new and important features so you can decide if these are the right units for you and your boat.
Hook Reveal Series Overview
The first thing to understand is, you will not be getting the high-end features and performance of the HDS or Elite series of graphs. However, for the price, the Hook Reveal is worthy of your consideration.
The series comes in 5 sizes, ranging from the budget friendly 5 and 7-inch models to the big Hook Reveal 9 TS. Here is a comparison chart of the lineup.
*Last updated 2024-04-18 at 17:33 / Product Links & Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
New Features in the Hook Reveal
While there are no major shakeups in the new Hook Reveal, there are a few notable features to be aware of.
FishReveal – This is a very interesting new sonar view, unique to Lowrance, which they have added to their entire lineup. Essentially, this view combines the picture like images of bottom structure from DownScan and the 2D CHIRP sonar data from the water column. How does this help exactly?
- Helps Reveal Fish –Fish can be hard to pick out on DownScan sonar, appearing as small dots or ball. Fish are easier to see with CHIRP sonar, which can turn those dots into easy to distinguish arches. Now combine the strengths of CHIRP and DownScan, and you have FishReveal – all the pretty structure imagery, with fish arches to make it easier to see fish.
- Distinguish Fish from Cover – Taking this idea one step further, FishReveal promises to make seeing fish among cover like tree limbs, rocks, and vegetation easier as well. The 2D sonar cone is more able to turn that small fish mark in the tree limbs into an arch that pops out amongst the limbs.
Genesis Live Mapping – With Genesis Live, Lowrance can now match the live mapping capabilities of Humminbird (AutoChart Live) and Garmin (QuickDraw).
No More Hook 12 – Sadly, the Hook 12 is gone, and even the Elite FS lacks a 12-inch model. The only way to get a 12-inch Lowrance fish finder is to buy the top-of-the-line HDS Live 12.
Is Hook Reveal Compatible with Active Target?
No, unfortunately, it is not compatible. You will need an Elite FS or HDS Live unit To add an Active Target forward sonar system.
Hook Reveal 9/7 TripleShot Review
The Hook Reveal TripleShot is a 3-in-1 fish finder, with CHIRP sonar, DownScan, and SideScan. The MSRP on the Hook Reveal 9 and 7 TripleShot are very competitive, often lower than same sized models from the competition.
There are a few reasons behind the affordable costs. Mostly, the Hook Reveal fish finders do not have some of the more advanced functions like networking, live mapping, and touchscreens.
This does not mean they are bad units, just offering fishermen something different at good prices. Have a look at some of the main differences compared to competitor models.
- Hook Reveal 9 TripleShot vs Echomap UHD 93sv – The 93sv has a touchscreen, 10,000 (vs 3,000) pre-loaded contour maps, and QuickDraw live mapping.
- Hook Reveal 9 TripleShot vs HELIX 9 CHIRP MEGA SI G4N – The HELIX 9 MEGA has MEGA+ Imaging, the clearest imaging on the market, plus 2 SD card slots and AutoChart Live.
- Hook Reveal 7 TripleShot vs Echomap UHD 73sv – The 73sv has a touchscreen, 10,000 LakeVu maps, and QuickDraw.
- Hook Reveal 7 TripleShot vs HELIX 7 CHIRP MSI GPS G3N – The HELIX 7 has MEGA Imaging, networking capabilities, and AutoChart Live mapping.
Display – Each Hook Reveal display is the new SolarMAX, which is more easily viewable in direct sunlight than ever before. The pixel counts are pretty standard at 800×480 for everything. For a higher screen resolution, you can move up to the HDS Live series that has the SolarMAX HD panels with a higher pixel density.
Sonar – The Hook Reveal has new transducers, the first being the fittingly named “Reveal TripleShot Transducer”. It is a long and narrow plastic skimmer transducer with a metal bracket.
It has all three sonar features you need to scan structure and then locate fish on that structure with FishReveal. Lowrance DownScan continues to produce some of the best sonar imaging of structure and bass on the market.
- 2D Sonar: High CHIRP (200 kHz)
- DownScan: 455/800 kHz
- SideScan: 455/800 kHz
GPS & Maps
- Card Slots: One MicroSD (32GB)
- Mapping: Pre-Loaded C-MAP Inland waters, Navionics, C-MAP Insight, Genesis Live
Hook Reveal 5/7 SplitShot Review
The Hook Reveal SplitShot is a 2-in-1 fish finder, with High CHIRP, and Lowrance’s industry leading DownScan. The SplitShot series comes in 5-inch and 7-inch sizes (great for kayak fishing).
The pricing on the Hook Reveal SplitShot is very attractive when comparing then to Garmin and Humminbird. This is because, like on the TripleShot, the fish finders are lacking some of the more advanced capabilities such as linking with other units and touchscreens.
Again, that doesn’t make them bad units, just a lower priced unit that still has great sonar.
Display – Like the bigger models, the SplitShot 5 and 7 sport the bright SolarMAX display, making daylight viewing easier than ever. The pixel count for each SplitShot is the standard 800×480 which is plenty of pixels to show details.
Sonar – The SplitShot skimmer transducer looks identical to previous generations of DownScan units but has a T-shaped rib running along the top. This allows you to mount the transducer to a trolling motor without any additional brackets to buy.
One nice feature on all the Hook Reveal is the auto-tuning sonar. It does not make you sing better, but it does promise to optimize your sensitivity and contrast automatically, taking some of the guesswork out of clearing up your imaging pictures.
- 2D Sonar: High CHIRP (200 kHz)
- DownScan: 455/800 kHz
GPS & Maps
- Card Slots: One MicroSD (32GB)
- Mapping: Pre-Loaded C-MAP Inland waters, Navionics, C-MAP Insight, Genesis Live
More Features of the Lowrance Hook Reveal
Affordable Large Screen Fish Finder – The Hook Reveal 9 is one of the lowest priced 9-inch fish finders on the market at the moment. They lack the bells and whistles of say, the Echomap UHD 93sv, or a HELIX MEGA. But for an otherwise highly functional fish finder, the value is great for the larger sizes.
Great Pricing on Smaller Units – The Hook Reveal 5 and 7 also follow with the low pricing, coming in a few hundred bucks lower than the comparable HELIX 7 SI G3N, or Echomap UHD 73sv, although those units have more capabilities like networking and touchscreens. Even so, the Hook Reveal pricing is hard to ignore.
New Reveal TripleShot Transducer – This new 3-in-1 skimmer transducer does it all, from 200kHz High CHIRP, to 455/800kHz DownScan and SideScan imaging. It comes with metal mounting hardware but does not come with trolling motor adapters, so it’s best suited for the transom unless you want to buy a 3rd party accessory mount.
New SplitShot Transducer – The new 2-in-1 transducer has DownScan and High CHIRP. It looks very similar to prior Elite and Hook transducers, but now it has a molded-in rib that allows it to mount against a trolling motor housing.
Simple Setup & Operation – The Hook Reveal interface has been designed with ease of use in mind. Form the simple setup and install, to simple operation with auto-tuning sonar. Lowrance has designed a simple, but convenient keypad with 1 click access to the most common settings.
GPS Only Models – There are even more Hook Reveal models that have an “X” in the name, like Hook Reveal 7X for example. The X means it has no contour mapping, only GPS plotting. For that reason, we are choosing to leave those models out of the review.
Included in the Box – The Hook Reveal series are low cost/high feature fish finders, meaning most extra items have been stripped out to keep the overall unit price low. You’ll get the head display, transducer, cables, and basic hardware needed to mount the unit and get you running.
Neither a sun cover or in-dash mount is included, these accessories are sold separately.
- Control Head Unit
- Bracket mount, 2 knobs, 4 screws
- Power Cable with fuse and fuse holder
- TripleShot or SplitShot transducer
- Extra Corner Clips
Should you Buy a HOOK Reveal TripleShot or SplitShot?
Hook Reveal offers capable SideScan and DownScan imaging in both medium and small screen sizes. The Hook Reveal 9 TripleShot is one of the most affordable 9-inch side scanning fish finders available today.
- FishReveal sonar view makes picking out fish amongst structure and cover easier than ever.
- TripleShot 3-in-1 transducer has everything built-in, no extra modules required. Just plug and play.
- Auto-tuning sonar settings make getting clear sonar easy. This is a great feature for technology newbies.
- The SolarMAX displays are bright, and easily viewed on the water in the glaring sunlight, and with polarized sunglasses.
- Customizable views for your homepage, as well as one button click access to the most common settings.
With the Hook Reveal, you are getting a basic fish finder but still has the important features. There is no networking or touchscreens, but that is not the point of the Hook Reveal series. You will have to move up to an Elite FS or an HDS Live to gain touchscreen and networking.
With only one MicroSD card slot, you’ll be doing a lot of swapping to get them out of the unit if you like saving screenshots or Sonar logs.
- No Networking
- Lack of Touchscreens
- Only One MicroSD Card Slot
Bottom Line
With the great range in sizes and competitive prices, and the excellent DownScan imaging Lowrance is known for, it’s clear that the Hook Reveal is a great value to budget-conscious anglers.
The especially seems to strike a sweet spot in size and price. On the other end, the 5 and 7 SplitShot make for great small boat and kayak sonar units.
If you need high-end functionality or touchscreens you’ll be better off looking at Garmin Echomap UHD or Humminbird Helix MEGA models.
*Last updated 2024-04-18 at 17:33 / Product Links & Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Leave a reply