Confused, looking to purchase new electronics.

Could use some help here from those more knowledgeable than myself. I have had both Lowrance and Humminbird units in the past. My last unit was a humminbird 899? SI unit. It was my first SI unit and for how I fish [bluegill and redear] fishing it was crazy how you could locate beds. So, I had almost made up my mind on a Helix 7SI until I got cold feet after looking at the cover for the sd card slot. Looks like the sd card cover would be very easy to lose. Then I expanded my search to other brands and the confusion multiplied. I looked at Garmin, and Raymarine. Bottom line is that I am looking for a 7-9 inch color unit that does side imaging along with down imaging and internal gps. Garmin looked good but does not support map chips. Ray marine requires a whole separate module for SI. Help me pick a unit. I guess if all else fails I can get the Helix 7SI and put duct tape over the sd card cover so it can't get lost. Also.......is there a big difference in the standard hummingbird SI ducer vs the HD ducer as far as picture quality. Do I need CHIRP??????? Thanks a bunch.

Helix 9 si

Garmin has its own map chips. The only model that does not support map chip is the Striker series. I find that the Garmin Lake Vu HD ultra chip is a great fish finding tool. Hate to see you make a decision based on a false premise. I run both Humminbird and Garmin products on my boat. Personally I consider Garmin overall superior to Humminbird.

Do not think it is an issue. It snaps in to place. I have had no issue with mine. Really like it.

The helix 9 would eliminate my concerns with the helix 7 sd card door. Thanks for the idea. Is not having chirp an issue?

Thanks, I will take another look at the door on the Helix 7.

Thanks. I will look at Garmin further. Will contact the company to try and find a list of the lakes that are on their mapping software.

Have you considered being able to network? Being able to mark and share waypoints is nice feature to have.

Greenwing. Not educated enough as far as networking goes as to it's functionality . I will only have one unit on the boat. Thinking right now the Helix 7 or Helix 9. Leaning toward the Helix 9 for the preset screen options it has. It's nice to toggle thru 2-3 different preset screen selections rather than re-setting everytime like I would need to do with the Helix 7.

Double post