XS vs II ?

[Anonymous]

I mostly hunt beach and want to do more. My question is what is the big differance besides price? Is one better than the other?

 

[Anonymous]

I use an XS and it has worked out to the point so far that I really can't justify plopping down that kind of cash again to get an Explorer II. The Explorer II is definitely an improvement over the XS though, especially in the structural area with features such as a built-in stand, a stronger armrest, and a carbon fiber lower shaft. The 1/4" headphone jack is a definite plus also. I use a Sunray stand which not only takes care of the stand issue but also has an integrated adaptor to use 1/4" cans. The stand for the Explorer XS attaches to the coil and, to put it nicely, sucks. It's great on mowed grass but if you get off the beaten path it becomes a weed and brush catcher.
I've tried out an EX II and I like it. On the one I tried I noticed that it resets to threshold quicker. Having a numerical value for BOTH conductivity and inductance is very cool too, although I concentrated more on running it with the IM display up, as I do on the XS. You can also tune it finer than an XS, which has coarser digital adjustments. If you learn the differences with the dual numerical display, you will have a jump over the XS in the ID area.
My take is that I don't need an EX II due to the fact that I already have an XS and I feel that there's nothing that an EX II can find that an XS cannot, it just does it a little better than the XS.
But if I didn't own an Explorer at all, I would definitely go with the EX II
HH,
SgtSki