HUMMINBIRD SMARTSTRIKE OR LAKEMASTER OR NAV?

so im kind of confused and looking for some feed back. i need a new chip for my helix fish finder and am wondering how many of you have the smart strike card? do you like it and is it worth the extra money? my understanding is smart strike comes with the lakemaster maps already loaded onto it and also has the smart strike feature? while lakemaster card is just the maps as well as the navionics map chip?

Thanks for the info. I appreciate it.

I just picked up a Helix 10 for the SI this spring after using a Lowrance with Navionics for the past few years. I purchased a Lakemaster Wisc plus and just put it in this weekend and played around looking at lakes maps. After I did that I pulled the Navionics chip out of my Lowrance and put it in the Humminbird and started comparing some of the maps of the same lakes. There was very little difference between them on the HD maps. The biggest difference is the Navionics has a lot more lakes available and have a wider range of area it covers. Some lakes were HD on one chip but not the other. One lake I fish often was on the Lakemaster but not the Navionics. Since I fish a lot of different lakes I will just bring both chips and use which one has the best map available for the lake I'm on. If you fish certain lakes and don't move around much do your research and make sure you pick the one that has an HD map if available.   

Upgrading locators on my boat to helix 10 & 7 GN3N units. I mainly fish Wisconsin from southern end of the state to central part. Castle Rock & Petenwell but occasionally get up to the Eagle river area and Bay of Green Bay a few times a year. Looking for opinions on which lake master chips to link the units.

I'm switching from lowrance units with a navonics chip. So no experience with the lake master chips and all the options. PM if you would like. Appreciate any info, do's and donts.

I will likely be selling the HDS5, HDX5, side/downscan, navonics chip and 80lb thrust 60" shaft Terrova with ipilot & spot lock if it all comes off in working order. 

The Helix internal map is probably just a basic map with no contours. Don't know the answer for sure because I always used the Navionics maps.

Don't the new Helix models have a base map with contours already in the unit?

I also recommend Navionics charts. When you purchase a chart you should first register it with the Navionics website. Next always update your chart before going out fishing or boating so you get the most updated 1 foot contours. You get 1 year free updates with your purchase. Tight Lines. #Navionics

Im not up to date on the Smartstrike but I can tell you if you own a hummingbird unit their would be no good reason to buy a Navionics chip. Only reason i can think of is Navionics has a lake on their card that LakeMaster doesnt have. But 90% of Navionics maps are interpolated DNR contours that they call "HD" without surveying. LakeMaster wont call anything HD without survey data. Also LakeMaster surveys new lakes each year. Navionics hasnt even owned a survey boat for about 8 years now.