Okay, I think I have it narrowed down to the Humminbird 788 CI HD DI or the 597. Please talk me into the 788!!! Here's the next question, where is the best place to get a chip? I want the Navionics. Any used ones out there or where is the best place to purchase one?

Try the usual places, ebay, amazon, etc. You might save fifteen or twenty bucks on a chip, but if you have to pay shipping, you'll be back to near retail price.

What the 788ci HD DI has that the 597 doesn't is the capability of sharing data with another similar capable unit. It has two memory card slots to hold a map card and a blank card for screenshots/recordings/waypoint management/unit updates. You can also just use two map cards if you need that capability. It has a better backgound map with contours for some waters and it has three preset buttons for favorite views.

The rest of the features are the same and both will read the Navionics Hotmaps Premium edition and not the additional features of the Navionics Hotmaps Platinum edition.

I got my chips from Bass Pro. They only had 1 East chip left, and when they brought it out the package was opened. I didnt really want an opened product, but they knocked off $50 and i purchased it.

Trouble with buying a used one you get old data, if you checkout Navionics website they have the Freshest Data and Community Layer programs, what this means is if you get a new chip you get free downloadable updates and a computer app for free, like buying a new chip everytime you plug your chip into your computer

Trouble with buying a used one you get old data, if you checkout Navionics website they have the Freshest Data and Community Layer programs, what this means is if you get a new chip you get free downloadable updates and a computer app for free, like buying a new chip everytime you plug your chip into your computer

I agree with Kirt. I plug in my Navionics at least once a week and everytime i do the chip uploads new data. You only get free updates for 1 year, but it is still nice to have it update everytime you start your computer.