Humminbird has an all-new series hitting the water, called the Xplore. Initialy introduced in 9”, 10”, and 12” models, the core concept behind their development is to make it faster and easier to navigate to the hotspots, then spot the fish. An all-new interface stressing ease of use is a key feature, delivered with touchscreen familiarity and a keypad with easily recognizable icons. Another Xplore advantage is the speed delivered by quad-core processors, so you don’t have to stare and wait for redraws and screen changes. Along with the zippy and intuitive use the Xplore delivers some cool new nav perks like a cloud-based waypoint management system that syncs with your phone, and included Lakemaster and Coastmaster mapping that covers an eyebrow-raising 170 million acres of fishing territory.
Xplore units are compatible with Minn Kota trolling motor and Talon anchor systems, the One Boat Network, iPilot Link, radar, AutoPilot, and ethernet, and come fully armed with onboard fish-finding prowess including dual spectrum CHIRP, down scanning, side scan, and compatibility with Mega 360 as well as Humminbird’s also-new Mega Live 2. In fact, the Xplore was designed with a sharp, clear 1280 x 720- or 1280 x 800-pixel LCD screen to display the Mega Live 2’s clearer, more detailed images. Price: $1499.99 to $2699.99.
Note: We've been using a Humminbird Apex for several years on one boat in the FishTalk flock, alongside a Helix on the upper station. Another has the base Helix, and a third finds fish with a Piranhamax. On the whole we find these units easy to use (the simple Piranhamax is obviously a lot easier than the top-of-line Apex), especially when compared to many of the competitors. Still, there's always room for improvement and we think it's great Humminbird made ease of use a priority with this new lineup. Check 'em out if you’re sick and tired of fighting your electronics rather than using them.