Rippton HydroBat Castable Sonar

How well is it built?

The HydroBat is a compact ball, 68mm across, with a white top, a black base and an eyelet on top for the line. The model weighs 105g, so it should cast easily enough on a carp rod or a spod rod, although it's a touch heavier than the Deeper Pro+ 2.

It carries an IP68 submersible water rating too, so it's built to sit out in the lake for a whole session without any worries about leaks.

To be fair, there isn't much on it to go wrong. It works without wires or external batteries, so there's nothing to snag or snap on the bank, and the sealed ball shape is a sensible design for something that'll be cast out and wound back all day.

Is it as solid as the Deeper Pro+ 2, with its titanium inserts and silicone gasket? I don't think it's quite in that class.

Overall, it's tidy and practical rather than premium, and I think the 8.1 is a fair mark for the build.

Sonar & Features

Its depth range runs from 0.6m at the shallow end to 120m at the deep end, which covers pretty much any UK lake, gravel pit or reservoir several times over. It has two detection angles, a wide 55° beam and a narrower 15° beam.

The wide beam covers more ground as you wind it back, while the narrow one shows more detail directly under the sonar.

In the app, you get fish location and size, depth, bottom contour and vegetation, and for carp and coarse anglers on the bank that's really what matters.

The contour shows you the drop-offs, bars and holes, and the vegetation reading tells you where the weed is, so for me it's mainly a mapping tool for finding spots.

Each scan is stored automatically with the time and location, which makes it easy to look back over a swim on another trip.

The Deeper Pro+ 2 goes further, with three beams and built-in GPS that creates bathymetric maps from the bank. For simple spot-finding, though, I think the 8.2 is fair.

Ease of Use

Ease of use is where the HydroBat earns its highest mark. The sonar generates its own Wi-Fi, so you clip it on, cast it out and read the picture on your phone or tablet, with nothing else to set up.

The free Rippton app runs on iOS and Android, so most families will already have a device that works with it.

The connection range is 80 to 100m when it's used on its own, which is further than most anglers will want to cast a sonar. The 1,500mAh battery lasts 5.5 to 6 hours and reaches full charge in two hours, so a top-up between sessions should keep it going.

How much simpler could a castable sonar be?

One thing to sort first, though. Some UK fisheries ban fish finders and castable sonar, so check your venue's rules before you take it. Overall, I think the 8.4 is well earned for something this straightforward.

Is it good value for money?

It's a little dearer than the Deeper Pro+ 2, and that's the main reason it sits at 8.1 for value. The Deeper is the stronger mapping tool and runs for longer on a charge, so if you mainly want detailed maps of a big water, I'd put the money towards that instead.

That said, the HydroBat reads deeper than the Deeper Pro+ 2, so it isn't outclassed on every count.

What the HydroBat does well is keep things simple. It reads deeper than most anglers will ever need, it keeps a record of every scan, and it's easy enough to hand to a child or a friend who's never used a fish finder before.

For a family day at a lake or a relaxed shore session, that counts for a lot.

Overall, I'd recommend the HydroBat to shore anglers and families who want a simple castable sonar for finding depth, contour and weed, without getting into detailed bathymetric mapping.