Humminbird XPLORE 9 review: the touchscreen replacement for Helix

The XPLORE 9 publishes MEGA Side Imaging Plus with a 200 foot range on each side of the boat and MEGA Down Imaging Plus reaching 200 foot depths, both meaningfully further than the 125 foot published range on the smaller Helix 7 MEGA SI G4N. Dual Spectrum CHIRP is still available for a traditional 2D view, and the 1280 by 720 resolution touchscreen runs alongside physical keypad controls rather than replacing them entirely.

Built-in GPS with the Humminbird Basemap covers more than 10,000 lakes, and this model ships with a LakeMaster and CoastMaster VX map card in the box for United States and Canadian coverage, rather than requiring that purchase separately the way some competing chartplotters do.

The Helix line cannot run MEGA Live 2 forward facing sonar at all, which is one of the more surprising facts on this site for anyone assuming Humminbird's whole current lineup is interchangeable. The XPLORE 9 is one of the three control heads, alongside APEX and SOLIX G3, that MEGA Live 2 is published as compatible with, connecting over the included Ethernet cable with no separate sonar box required. Anyone planning to add forward facing sonar within a season or two should weigh that into the decision between this unit and a Helix.

The XPLORE 9 sits between the Helix MEGA SI line below it and the larger XPLORE 10 above it, and the price gap at each step is significant.

The price gap over the Helix MEGA SI G4N is the clearest downside, and a meaningful share of that gap buys a touchscreen and a larger case rather than fundamentally new sonar technology, since both units run MEGA imaging. A touchscreen also brings its own compromise on the water: wet fingers, polarized sunglasses and boat spray all interfere with touch accuracy more than they interfere with a physical keypad, which is exactly why the XPLORE 9 keeps keypad controls alongside the touchscreen rather than removing them.

The other cost to plan for is MEGA Live 2 itself, sold separately at roughly $1,284.02. Buying the XPLORE 9 for its MEGA Live 2 compatibility and then not budgeting for the sonar module is a common way to spend $1,399.99 and still not get forward facing sonar on the boat.

For an angler who does not need the touchscreen or the extended imaging range, the Helix 7 CHIRP MEGA SI GPS G4N delivers MEGA imaging on a smaller screen for meaningfully less money, without MEGA Live 2 compatibility. For an angler who wants the largest possible screen and has already decided on the XPLORE platform, the XPLORE 10 adds a tenth inch of touchscreen at a further price increase with the same published imaging range as this unit.