Recently, legacy fishing brands Humminbird and Minn Kota made a major announcement: they merged under the Minn Kota name to create a single force in marine electronics. Humminbird fish finders are no more. They are now Minn Kota fish finders with “Humminbird Imaging.” Seemingly, a brand many have known and loved for decades died overnight.
Understandably, that caused some confusion around service for existing Humminbird products and what the future of fish finders looks like for one of the biggest names in the game. I interviewed the team at Minn Kota/Humminbird Imaging to get the full scoop.
A Rebrand Disguised as a Merge
I want to start off by getting one thing straight. This merge isn’t as big a deal as many people are making it out to be. Humminbird and Minn Kota have essentially been the same company all along, owned by the same parent company, Johnson Outdoors. I had always assumed that was common knowledge.
However, after interviewing employees and brand representatives, I learned that very few people in the general angling public knew that. It turns out that what I thought was common knowledge wasn’t so common.
This is entirely speculation on my part, as I couldn’t get a straight explanation on the reasons for the merge, but I think it’s pretty evident as to why this rebrand happened. Garmin and Lowrance both hopped in on the trolling motor market and are able to sell customers on purchasing both a trolling motor and a fish finder that connect flawlessly. While Minn Kota and Humminbird always had that capability, it didn’t look like it to the average consumer because the names were different.
To me, it seems like a no-brainer to swap out the logo to deliver a clearer message to customers.
Did the Humminbird XPLORE Get Replaced by the Minn Kota X-Series?
After the announcement, a lot of people online were pretty mad. The main sticking point was that Humminbird launched the XPLORE fish finders last year, and a bunch of people bought them. Then, with the merge, they were discontinued overnight and replaced with the Minn Kota X-Series. The general consensus was, “You sold me old tech that you knew would be discontinued.”
But, after looking closely at the new Minn Kota X series, I got a sneaking suspicion it might be an XPLORE unit in a Minn Kota-branded disguise. So, I flatly asked if that were the case.
It turns out, I was correct. The team at Minn Kota informed me that, from a hardware standpoint, the Humminbird XPLORE and the Minn Kota X series are the exact same. They just have a different logo on them.
Now, the new X Series does come stock with different software. However, with a simple, free software upgrade, you can turn the Humminbird XPLORE into the Minn Kota X Series. An updated XPLORE will unlock all the same new features that the Minn Kota X Series has. I have a full review of the XPLORE, with the new X-Series software available here.
The Future of Minn Kota and Humminbird Imaging
Moving forward, Humminbird owners will still get the same customer support they’ve always had. You’ll still get software updates and can call Minn Kota with any questions. Both Minn Kota and Humminbird Imaging operate from their own facilities, with the same teams they’ve always had. Nothing changed but the name, and the brand is still innovating with both trolling motors and fish finders.
