The current state of the art water detector

[pelanj]

I have not been watching the market for some time, so I would like to know, which would be the "state of the art" water (wading, not diving) metal detector. I think there are some specific conditions on the beaches
I hunt at. I have a military PI detector by Ebinger, which is quite sensitive and depth is also quite good - but I need to stay out of water. Even though it is a PI detector, the threshold is not stable all the times and sometimes it sound off on kind of black stones and orange-brick-like stones if almost touching the coil. I thought PI detectors were immune to all soil conditions, but I understand that the best ones employ some kind of ground balance as well.

I have used a Fisher 1280 and Tesoro Tiger Shark on that beach knowing they are fresh water detectors (they were all I had last summer). I could find coins a few inches deep, but the performance was really sub-optimal as expected.

The detectors that fit my budget and are quite easy to obtain here are:
Multifrequency: Fisher CZ-21, Whites Beach Hunter 300 (Excalibur is out of budget, there are none second hand in an inland country where I live)
PI: Whites Surf PI Dual Field, Tesoro Tiger Shark, Garrett Sea Hunter (Infinium might fit the budget if found second hand, I have seen some)

I wonder if the multifrequency machines would handle the bad ground better than the PI. It is nice to have discrimination against iron but at the end of the day, I am using PI detectors even in the dry sand quite regularily as there are not many targets left (I cleaned most of the iron already

Is there a new machine being awaited? Would you suggest any other not listed? I am looking for reasonable depth and great detection of coins (and possibly jewellery). Thanks for all suggestions!

 

[John (west central FL)]

Unfortunately the state-of-the-art hasn't improved in about 15 years. I'd go with the CZ-21 if it works well in your area. They can be affected more by ground minerals than the Excalibur. It's important to properly ground balance it to get good target ID. Excalibur would be my first choice if price was not a consideration.

I hope this thread isn't violating the new Findmall detector comparison policy. Always have to be careful here.

 

[pelanj]

Thanks for the opinion, the CZ-21 sounds as a good option.

 

[ROBOCOP]

I use a Detector Pro Head Hunter PI with a 11 inch coil on Florida East Coast beaches.
It runs on two 9 volt batteries hooked in series = 18 volts I guess it makes it powerful.
I dig targets at 18 inches ( length of my arm from the fingertips to the elbow).
I think it's pretty new technology. ( All electronics are in the headphones)
It's pretty lightweight so you can carry a big shovel to dig deep.

 

[pelanj]

Based on my experience with Wader, I will most probably try to get a HH PI - I like the ultra compact design.

 

[ROBOCOP]

I got mine thru Colonial Metal Detectors in Massachusets. They had a nice accessory package. I have since got a good beach scoop from another source. You will need it.

 

[hunt2day]

Don't take the Tesoro Sand Shark out of the mix. It is a PI machine and is very stable here in Florida. You dig everything but miss nothing. I have found it to be very deep ,sensitive and is easy to target the find. The lifetime warranty is nice too !!

 

[scubadetector]

n/t

 

[mickfin]

CTX is over priced$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Garrett AT-Pro, Good 4R fresh water N can keep up or pass the BIG over Priced ones,