Need help deciding what to buy.

[SWV Coin Hunter]

I'm looking to upgrade from my ACE 350 and I have done as much reading and research as I can but I'm not any closer on deciding which one to get. I read reviews on different detectors and I always find some good and some bad about each one so I'm still in limbo as to what to buy. It will be used for coin hunting as well as relic and I would like to have one that is water proof but its not a make or break if its not. I was leaning toward an AT Pro and the only reason for that is because I have seen so many people using them and I have been happy with my 350. But I just want to make sure that I'm getting my moneys worth, getting one that is not going to give me any problems and one that will work well for what I want to search for.


So,to all of you experienced folks out there. If you had a grand to spend on a new detector, which one would you get?

Thanks and God bless.

 

[sweepdog]

if you are buying new and don't need it waterproof i would say the sefari. if you need waterproof the at pro. if you want to buy used that opens things up for a lot more detectors.

 

[Nauti]

If you are going to spend a grand then most machines in this bracket will serve you well.Most people will give you differing views as they will always advise you to buy the machine that is their favourite.In reality,most of todays machines have very similar performance,just read as much info as possible on the detectors you are thinking about and make an informed choice.
I've never used an AT pro but i'm sure that it will be a good machine if you decide to go with that model.

 

[jackintexas]

Been detecting 38 years. Had about 50 or 60 detectors. Have several now. My opinion is if I could have only one detector, it would be the Garrett At Pro.Because it is an everything detector. Coins, jewelry relic and water hunting...Just my opinion.....Jack

 

[Night Crawler]

Hi SWV Coin Hunter

Been detecting 38 years. Had about 50 or 60 detectors. Have several now. My opinion is if I could have only one detector, it would be the Garrett At Pro.Because it is an everything detector. Coins, jewelry relic and water hunting...Just my opinion.....Jack

I have to agree with jackintexas on this one as well. Great price, light weight, versatile, easy of use, waterproof, fast recovery speed, and not as affected by EMI as other mid priced detectors are. With the AT Pros price point, you can also buy the 5x8 coil which is great to have in certain areas.

Just a thought.

 

[Steve O]

I agree with Jack and NC...AT Pro...best bang for the buck.

 

[Sven]

Lots of detectors to choose from and not all will work as claimed. All depends upon your hunting style and ground conditions and the detectors ability to handle it.
There are some detectors that work superbly in one area and poorly in others. Only way to find out is to buy one. Or better yet see what the local dealers are selling and local club members are using. I am sure they already been thru the spin cycle of detectors and figured out which brands and models are the best to use.
You can save money, buy a used machine from one of the forum members................

 

[D&P-OR]

Words of wisdom & VERY true!-----Only thing I would ad is the fact that (in some cases) you can buy a used machine from a fellow forum member that is still under the detector company transferable warranty (if in fact the individual detector company does offer transferable warranties).----But this is added insurance/protection for you should there be an issue with the detector.----Plus the fact if you find the detector doesn't work out for you or isn't "your cup of tea"----it will be a LOT easier for YOU yourself to sell with the transferable warranty---and without taking a big hit/loss on your investment.

Lots of detectors to choose from and not all will work as claimed. All depends upon your hunting style and ground conditions and the detectors ability to handle it.
There are some detectors that work superbly in one area and poorly in others. Only way to find out is to buy one. Or better yet see what the local dealers are selling and local club members are using. I am sure they already been thru the spin cycle of detectors and figured out which brands and models are the best to use.
You can save money, buy a used machine from one of the forum members................

 

[SWV Coin Hunter]

Words of wisdom & VERY true!-----Only thing I would ad is the fact that (in some cases) you can buy a used machine from a fellow forum member that is still under the detector company transferable warranty (if in fact the individual detector company does offer transferable warranties).----But this is added insurance/protection for you should there be an issue with the detector.----Plus the fact if you find the detector doesn't work out for you or isn't "your cup of tea"----it will be a LOT easier for YOU yourself to sell with the transferable warranty---and without taking a big hit/loss on your investment.

Lots of detectors to choose from and not all will work as claimed. All depends upon your hunting style and ground conditions and the detectors ability to handle it.
There are some detectors that work superbly in one area and poorly in others. Only way to find out is to buy one. Or better yet see what the local dealers are selling and local club members are using. I am sure they already been thru the spin cycle of detectors and figured out which brands and models are the best to use.
You can save money, buy a used machine from one of the forum members................

Sound wisdom for sure. But and there always is. There are no clubs to ask, wish there were and the only dealer close by, only has Bounty Hunter and Garrett so not much help there as well. Honestly. I would rather not buy used because you never know what your getting plus I would rather buy in person. I worked for fed ex and i know how poorly they treat their shipments, UPS is not much better so I hate shipping anything.

Now. I'm not opposed to another Garrett at all, i like Garrett and I was going to go with a GTI 2500 until I was told that the design was 16 years old. Then i thought that I may need a more modern one but then again. After 16 years, all of the bugs should have been worked out by now.

I have also been reading up on the Minelab Safari, not really found any bad reviews on these and they are at the top of my price range.

Thoughts?

 

[Nauti]

Hi again,i looked into getting a gti 2500 quite a bit but after reading many reports decided against it.I don't think its a bad machine but it has a lot of features that I don't need and it's also a tad on the heavy side.I used to own a minelab quattro which the safari replaced and that found me a lot of gear.The safari has a number of improvements over the quattro so it should be a good machine......i know for a fact they are excellent beach machines.
Just to throw another machine into the mix why not take a look at the Whites M6.This machine excels at finding coins and jewelry and is also great at the beach,even on the wet sand.It is also very simple to use and has brilliant ground tracking which helps it cope with tough ground conditions.There is also a large range of coils made for this machine which makes it very versatile.....awesome in the trash with a smaller coil.On top of this you get the best quality of any detector make and excellent back up service,it's a great machine.Don't take my word for it,look at all the reviews about the machine and see what others say also.Just thought i'd mention another option.
All the bbest,neil.

 

[MetalMiner]

I've been using the ML Safari for 1.5 yrs & love it. Its a great all around MDer, great on the salt water Beaches & just as great in the Dirt. Gets good depth.

If you need waterproof, I would say the AT Gold.

 

[Night Crawler]

I think at this point SWV Coin Hunter it would be best to check out the you tube site for some reviews of the detectors your interested in. This is where I made my decision to buy the AT Pro. Which detector you choose to buy will be entirely up to you.

This is Weird, but i just came across these videos from Bear Kat before I arrived here at findmall that he made in his early days comparing different Garrett metal detectors.

- This first one is a comparison with a .1 gram gold nugget in high mineral ground (his back yard) Balanced out at 91:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21gH6H30-Oo

- This second video is comparing the GTI 2500 with the AT pro:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96pAmgMFt8M

- Here is another great site with video comparisons in the real world with different metal detectors. I believe this is made by CarterNY (?):
https://www.youtube.com/user/DetectorComparisons/videos

- AT Pro picking up a nickel at 12'' on the beach with the stock 81/2 x11 coil::
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ObUxfwejik

I hope something above will help in your decision making process.

 

[sparkster]

Compare for yourself and buy what suits your detecting needs. If it's straight parks, yards and sports fields most any detector in the $1000 price range will do fine. Minelab Safari is a great detector, but it is heavy. AT PRO is a great coin, jewelry and relic machine and it's waster proof to 10 feet. Cost way less that $1000. If you want call Big Boys Hobbies and talk to them. They are one of our sponsors. I have purchased a lot of detectors from them. Honest straight shooters with information and pricing. Good luck

 

[SWV Coin Hunter]

It seems like many of you are happy with the AT Pro so I think that's the one I will go with. I have looked on the net at reviews and videos as well as many posts on this site and I have not seen much in the way of negative comments. So with what I want to use it for, I think it will work just fine.

Thanks everyone and God bless!

 

[matthias]

If you are going new my vote is for the Garrett AT-Pro. In your price range you could possibly get all three At-Pro coils and maybe the waterproof headphones (it should come with standard headphones) or a back-up Pro-Pointer and/or digger. Just my two cents. GL and HH. Matt

 

[Pepa]

The new Whites MX5 looks like a nice machine also. (but very few videos being new). Would like to see a side by side test between the two...

 

[sprchng]

I'm going to add to your confusion a bit and suggest the MXT pro and the X Terra 705. Both quality units if you don't over emphasize the waterproof part. I have a friend who is 86 and swings that 2.9 pound xterra all day with out getting tired and she finds lots of good stuff. Google up ' treasure classifieds' , there's always lots of good deals there