Kicking the idea around the idea of getting one to pair with my 360. I know when it first came out it was considered inferior to Garmin. Has the gap closed any? Not looking for the "pro-staffers" to come plug Garmin or Lowrance. I am simply asking if the Humminbird live has gotten better than when it first came out.

Are you thinking of adding another graph too or using the existing graph and alternating between the two? I ended up going with a separate Garmin unit based on feedback from a few Hummingbird pros and dealers. However, I am interested in hearing if they have closed the gap now.

I know Zaldain put a Garmin livescope on his boat for the final three tournaments even though he’s sponsored by humingbird. Said he was tired of being at a disadvantage.

Simple answer is NO.

Take a look at some the footage of Jeff Gustafson at the Classic in Knoxville, TN to get a better feel of the look it has. But to answer your question has it gotten better yes is it up to par with Garmin or lowrance not just yet but it can in certain situations if that makes sense.

Humminbird Live has gotten better with software updates since its release but it is still significantly inferior to Garmin and Lowrance FFS. I have Live and 360. It's functional, you can tell what's going on and see fish but it's just not as refined an image as the other brands right now.

I have two units up front so one will run the 360 and the other will run the Live if I choose to get it. Sounds like Bird has gotten better. I don't need it to be Garmin because I am not going to necessarily use it to go around chasing fish. Sounds like for what I want it for it will be serviceable.

Well I can't answer if it has gotten better because I have only seen mine.


I can get decent imaging out to 80' or so if on a really clear lake.

Regardless of what lake i'm on, I typically have to spend a little time dialing in settings.

I do have to deal with a little bit of noise on muddy lakes if I'm trying to see my lure and detail of the cover. I also have a much shorter range on these lakes.


I still think it its way behind Garmin, but I'm happy with my purchase. I was wanting a 12" Helix on my bow regardless, so when Humminbird offered the $1,000 rebate when you buy both, I took the plunge. I have no regrets. I have definitely caught a couple fish each trip that I most probably wouldn't have caught without it, and its just simply unfair when targeting crappie.

However, I do believe if I add a second unit to my bow, it will be a Garmin.

Below is an example of imaging I got earlier this year, forgive the dirty screen. I was able to cast a 10XD and watch it enter the screen and travel through this school of fish. They would give chase, but never caught a fish.