The Raymarine Axiom Pro 12 is a fish finder and chartplotter combo—and so much more. The goal of this device isn’t just to find fish—it’s to give you access to a hub for an advanced navigation network with connections for almost every kind of device imaginable.
On this front, the Axiom Pro delivers; it’s one of the best hub devices I’ve ever used, with an incredible user interface, the ability to run multiple apps simultaneously, and an excellent blend of touchscreen and keypad through its Raymarine HybridTouch control.
Where it falters, in my mind, is on the fish-finding front. With limited CHIRP sonar bands and imaging frequencies, it doesn’t give images and sonar that are as accurate as its competitors. As such, I can’t give it as high of a mark as I’d like—but this is an absolutely killer device for the right angler.
The technical details of this device are—aside from the lackluster transducer—incredible. A quad-core processor! A solid state hard drive—16 gigs! A beautiful 12” display! There’s a lot of great stuff going on here—this is an incredibly well-built fish finder.
| Max Depth | 3000 ft |
|---|---|
| Imaging | DownVision 600ft, SideVision 300ft (per side), RealVision 300ft |
| GPS | Internal, high-precision |
| Frequency | CHIRP 50/200 DownVision/SideVision/RealVision 350 kHz (320-380 kHz) |
| Transducer | RV-100 |
| Screen | 12.1” 1280 x 800 WXGA display |
| Maps Included | Variable |
| Memory Card Slots | 16GB Internal Solid State, 2 microSDXC slots |
| Max Waypoints | 10000, 250, 15/10000 |
The display of the Axiom Pro 12 is quite nice. The 12.1” screen means you can take full advantage of the splitscreen functionality of the Axiom Pro—you can display a total of 4 different apps on the screen at once using splitscreen.
A 12-inch screen also means excellent viewing angles, and you can easily get information from your Axiom Pro 12 RVX from basically any part of your boat. There’s an adjustable backlight so you can keep using your fish finder in any conditions, day or night.
All of the standards you’d expect from a high-end fish finder are here. You can swap through all kinds of different colorways, adjust brightness and contrast, and more. Though this isn’t a true HD display, I wouldn’t blame you for thinking it was—the display is absolutely beautiful.
Here’s what’s wild—the interface is even better! Long-time readers here at Fish Finder Tech will know that we have a love for hybrid touchscreen/button interfaces; even the most reliable touchscreens will stop being responsive when they get too wet. Here, Raymarine pairs a dial and buttons with its touchscreens, giving you two ways to navigate through its menus.
One downside to the Raymarine Axiom Pro 12 RVX—if it can really be called a downside—is that the unit is incredibly feature dense; one of the most sophisticated fish finder/chartplotter combos we’ve ever encountered. The Raymarine Axiom 12 Pro RVX is billed as an MFD—a multi-functional device. There’s a good reason for that; the sheer number of networking options on this device is mindblowing. New users will probably find the number of options daunting—but as you get used to it, you’ll find the menus are easy enough to navigate.
Another thing we absolutely love about the Axiom Pro 12 is the LightHouse 4 Operating System (OS). The incredibly smart LightHouse OS is designed by Raymarine exclusively for use with its marine products, and this makes boot up and loading charts blazing fast. The specs on the fish finder are already powerful enough as it is, with a solid-state drive lending to even faster loading times. Coupled with an OS that’s designed with its specs in mind, you get one of the fastest fish finders we’ve ever used.
On top of all of that, this thing is just fun to use. There are animations every time you select a chart—almost like a little loading screen. Small touches like that add a lot of personality to the unit, and I’m a sucker for a slick user experience.
The Raymarine Axiom 12 gets almost full points for its display and interface—the lack of HD on the screen is the only thing holding it back. The interface is genuinely among the best I’ve ever seen on a fish finder.
There are a number of different sonar options for the Raymarine Axiom Pro 12; there’s even a port for a 1kW transducer, which will basically give you sonar readings to the bottom of the Mariana Trench (not quite, but you catch my drift).
The transducer we’re going to talk about today is the one that’s most commonly paired with the unit: The RV-100. The sonar on this transducer is, in a word, lackluster. You only get two different base CHIRP frequencies (50/200 kHz), and one frequency for imaging (350 kHz). There are much more powerful transducers on the market—and more powerful transducers lead to better target separation, more superior imaging, and an overall better user experience.
The wide range of different transducers you can use with the Raymarine Axiom Pro 12 RVX does give it a bit of a leg up on the competition—there are even through-hull transducers you can pair with the unit, a far cry from the transom-mount only transducers you see with most units.
All in all, the sonar on the Axiom Pro 12 is the most disappointing aspect, in part because Raymarine doesn’t have any exceptionally powerful transducers. Given that this is billed as an MFD, and not a pure fish finder, that’s not surprising—but I hope it comes up with better transducers soon.
With the Axiom Pro 12, you get three different kinds of imaging: DownImaging, SideImaging, and RealVision.
The first two provide the type of imaging you’ve seen from other manufacturers—you get a clear view of what’s going on below and beside your boat. I’m not entirely sure how imaging even came into the picture with a transducer that caps out at 350 kHz, but Raymarine has done a darn good job, considering. The imaging doesn’t hold up against more powerful transducers, but it’s still way better than having a fish finder without imaging.
The coolest feature on the Axiom Pro 12 RVX is its namesake—the RealVision (RV) feature. RealVision basically amalgamates the data from the DownImaging and SideImaging and combines it with 3D elements to give you a very complete view of what’s going on around your boat.
All of the imaging features offer zoom, a variety of colorways, and all of the standard features you’d expect of imaging software.
I like, but don’t love, the imaging on the Axiom Pro 12. RealVision is really cool, and I’ve used it a lot when narrowing down my search for the best fishing spot. With more powerful transducers, Raymarine might have the best imaging fish finders on the market with the Axiom series—but for now, we have to dock a few marks.
When it comes to mapping, the Raymarine Axiom Pro 12 RVX might be one of the most compatible fish finders I’ve ever encountered. The device is compatible with LightHouse, Navionics, *C-MAP Essentials & *C-MAP 4D MAX+ maps. This means the Axiom Pro 12 is likely to be compatible with maps you’ve purchased for other fish finders. I have used a lot of fish finders and a lot of maps, so this is a huge boon for me.
All of the standard features, from setting waypoints, routes, and tracks are here. The waypoint markers are varied and useful, giving you the opportunity to mark marinas, fishing spots, and much, much more.
Raymarine has also added some other nifty features to its maps, including:
You can also use RealBathy, Raymarine’s contour map drawing software, to chart your way through new waters.
The high level of map compatibility combined with the exceptional storage offered by the Pro 12 makes this one of the best chartplotters I’ve ever used, in the strictest sense of the term. I’d like it if Raymarine made it a bit easier to share the maps you’ve charted yourself, but aside from that, I’m extremely impressed with everything being offered here.
Listing what the Raymarine Axiom Pro 12 RVX can’t interface with might be easier than listing what it can interface with. Here’s a list of its networking features:
You can tell that Raymarine has designed the Axiom Pro 12 to be the control center of your ship—another reason why it’s billed as an MFD instead of a regular fish finder/chartplotter. I love to have a ton of different toys on my boat, and the Raymarine Axiom Pro 12 RVX has the best networking I’ve seen on any chartplotter—period.
There are tons of other features available through the Raymarine Axiom Pro 12 RVX—it really depends on exactly how you wire it. You can set up a fuel estimator to get a better idea of how much fuel a trip is going to take—and how much extra fuel you should bring with you. You can use AIS messaging. There are even augmented reality features.
Writing about the other features available is somewhat difficult because it all depends on which devices you pair with your Raymarine Axiom Pro 12 RVX.
Who is the Raymarine Axiom Pro 12 RVX for? I’d venture to say it’s for anyone who already has an extensive collection of fish-finding and marine tools. The display is beautiful, the networking is top-notch, and the interface is probably the best I’ve ever used.
The sonar and imaging, on the other hand, are somewhat lacking. I like RealVision, but the data going into the fish finder from the sonar is disappointing—a consequence of the limited frequencies.
The one caveat to this is the versatility of the transducers that can be used with the Axiom Pro 12—I suspect it’s very good for anyone who wants to do a lot of shallow water and deep sea fishing (I don’t deep sea fish very much myself—I’m more into shallow water fishing).
For anglers with multiple Axiom displays, the smart LightHouse OS 4 and the incredible networking features, coupled with the ultra-fast quad-core processor, make the Raymarine Axiom Pro 12 RVX the ultimate hub for your network of devices.
