Weight belt/Weight vest? How do you handle waves !

jesse09

Banned
Jun 25, 2012
118
63
Cancun, Mexico
Detector(s) used
White's PI Dual Field
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
Just curious how everyone else deals with waves, i can't push my scoop down after mid thigh to waist high in water. I just don't weigh enough and these waves knock me around. I could stick to wet sand but i hear the majority of loot is in waist to shoulder deep in water, water that i can't dig in. I'm going to buy a 40 lbs weight vest or weight belt, i wish the ocean would just be calm for once :/

Do you guys use a weight belt? How do you push your scoop down in deeper water? Do you prefer wet sand or deeper water? Where have been your best finds?
 

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Sandman

Gold Member
Aug 6, 2005
13,398
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In Michigan now.
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Excal 1000, Excal II, Sovereign GT, CZ-20, Tiger Shark, Tejon, GTI 1500, Surfmaster Pulse, CZ6a, DFX, AT PRO, Fisher 1235, Surf PI Pro, 1280-X, many more because I enjoy learning them. New Garrett Ca
Primary Interest:
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My best finds are from ankle deep to neck deep. The bottom hardness governs if I need a weight belt but normally I don't like to wear one unless I am diving. A Sunspot Stealth scoop helps dig in.
 

G.I.B.

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Feb 23, 2007
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North Central Florida
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Just curious how everyone else deals with waves, i can't push my scoop down after mid thigh to waist high in water. I just don't weigh enough and these waves knock me around.

Pizza and beer.

I'm fat enough to have extra weight on the scoop while at the same time the upper body fat helps me float if I get too deep.

Kind of a win-win situation~
 

Treasure_Hunter

Administrator
Staff member
Jul 27, 2006
48,454
54,889
Florida
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Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
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If your going to use weights use a belt, you need to be able to drop it quick in case you get in trouble. What does you scoop weigh?
 

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jesse09

Banned
Jun 25, 2012
118
63
Cancun, Mexico
Detector(s) used
White's PI Dual Field
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting

Treasure_Hunter

Administrator
Staff member
Jul 27, 2006
48,454
54,889
Florida
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Minelab_Equinox_ 800 Minelab_CTX-3030 Minelab_Excal_1000 Minelab_Sovereign_GT Minelab_Safari Minelab_ETrac Whites_Beach_Hunter_ID Fisher_1235_X
Primary Interest:
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Mine weighs 5 pounds, it is the beach brute II and I can hunt in chest deep water with it.
 

Hag730

Hero Member
Apr 29, 2012
620
398
Saint Marys Georgia
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Excal II, Garrett AT Pro, Tesoro Compadre
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Drink more beer....it seems to give me my own weight belt.:drunken_smilie:
 

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jesse09

Banned
Jun 25, 2012
118
63
Cancun, Mexico
Detector(s) used
White's PI Dual Field
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
I don't drink beer, i grew up drinking to much soda that when i drink beer its just nasty to me. I drink liquor but i'm not going to get fat off of liquor nor do i want to get fat. I don't bust my ass at the gym which i hate to be counter productive and gain weight.

Treasure Hunter i am buying a scoop since mine is not sturdy enough and is to flimsy. It's homemade and the quality shows vs store bought. A fellow MD'r is selling me his since he is local also, i think the reason i became so discouraged is because digging was such a pain in the ass. With a stainless steel scoop it will be much easier to push down and cut threw the sand!
Plus it will hopefully weigh more, the problem was i just don't have enough weight to push it down. Well my current scoop at least
 

CASPER-2

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Jan 3, 2012
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I use the moon bounce method - I bounce off my my scoop and jump up and down till I get it in to a depth that I think the target is at then pry
you can use the fan method - if you wear dive boots - which I always do - I place my riht foot over the target an fan wildly
you will blow a hole out - recheck - if target is louder - sediment should be looser and you may be able to scoop - if not just fan more
people wonder how I dig with out a weight belt in water over my head - if sand is loose - I will dive under and hand fan
if packed sand I will hover over the target and fan/flutter kick with both boots to blow a hole out - then I will use the "bounce " method
I have used this on about 6 gold rings this year in deep water
I only use a weight belt when I use my snuba or hookah system
make sure you get a quick release belt
 

TENNESSEEGAL

Sr. Member
Aug 20, 2005
485
117
Oak Ridge, TN
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Whites XLT and Minelab Excalabur 11
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
jesse09 said:
I don't drink beer, i grew up drinking to much soda that when i drink beer its just nasty to me. I drink liquor but i'm not going to get fat off of liquor nor do i want to get fat. I don't bust my ass at the gym which i hate to be counter productive and gain weight.

Treasure Hunter i am buying a scoop since mine is not sturdy enough and is to flimsy. It's homemade and the quality shows vs store bought. A fellow MD'r is selling me his since he is local also, i think the reason i became so discouraged is because digging was such a pain in the ass. With a stainless steel scoop it will be much easier to push down and cut threw the sand!
Plus it will hopefully weigh more, the problem was i just don't have enough weight to push it down. Well my current scoop at least

I have the same issue with fresh water searching. The clay bottoms can be very hard here and if I'm out further than my hips and try to put my weight onto the scoop I start floating. I just picked up a soft weight belt on Craig's list and used it for the first time today. The extra 40 pounds it ads does help me stay more solid. Now if I could just sharpen my scoop to a razor edge I would be clearing up these swimming areas. LOL.
 

norbyx

Hero Member
Jun 3, 2012
837
163
San Jose
Detector(s) used
Actual: Whites MXT All Pro, M6 and Tesoro Sand Shark

Ex: BH Platinum, Tesoro Lobo, ST & Tejon, Teknetics Delta, Whites MXT, V3i, Dual Field, MX5; DP Wader, Garrett At-PRO, Fisher Gold Bug 2, CZ-70Pro
Primary Interest:
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Buy a diamond head sand scoop, first it's heavy so you will be able to scoop in the water, second the shape makes it penetrate the sand like a razor.

Sent from my iPhone using TreasureNet
 

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jesse09

Banned
Jun 25, 2012
118
63
Cancun, Mexico
Detector(s) used
White's PI Dual Field
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
I like the diamond head sand scoop! Man that thing is nice, i'm afraid to invest so much money into this hobby and give up. Now i don't have an option if i want to back out, when i'm at the beach i get discouraged an want to go home. When i'm at home i just can't wait to hunt again, its a cycle. My scoop was angled but its just not sturdy and too flimsy. I want a real scoop now like the diamond head sand scoop and an empty beach with not 1 person. I hate the feeling of someone watching me so i'm still not comfortable at the beach.
 

norbyx

Hero Member
Jun 3, 2012
837
163
San Jose
Detector(s) used
Actual: Whites MXT All Pro, M6 and Tesoro Sand Shark

Ex: BH Platinum, Tesoro Lobo, ST & Tejon, Teknetics Delta, Whites MXT, V3i, Dual Field, MX5; DP Wader, Garrett At-PRO, Fisher Gold Bug 2, CZ-70Pro
Primary Interest:
Other
Well you just don't had to worry of other people. When I go out hunting I concentrate in the detecting and most of the time I don't even look my surrounding areas. The diamond head is a great scoop. I love mine. It's build to last for a lifetime and maybe more. Don't be too afraid to invest in a good scoop it will always work for you and if you decide that you want out you will always find a buyer if the scoop is a good one, so your loss will be little.

Sent from my iPhone using TreasureNet
 

search and recovery

Hero Member
May 6, 2011
941
167
Halifax, N.C.
Detector(s) used
Minelab Excal II, Whites Surfmaster Dual Field, Fisher CZ 6a,Teknetics G2,Deeptech Vista Gold, Tosoro Sand Shark, Minelab Sovereign GT, Sunspot sand scoop
Do not sharpen your scoop or you will get a nasty gash from it in rough surf.
 

search and recovery

Hero Member
May 6, 2011
941
167
Halifax, N.C.
Detector(s) used
Minelab Excal II, Whites Surfmaster Dual Field, Fisher CZ 6a,Teknetics G2,Deeptech Vista Gold, Tosoro Sand Shark, Minelab Sovereign GT, Sunspot sand scoop
Everyone with experience on this site will tell you to invest in the very best scoop that you can afford. You can always get most of your money back if you decide that you no longer have any interest in the sport ( addiction ) and they will also tell you that your scoop is at least as important as your detector because if you can detect a target but are unable to dig it then it is a waste of your time. Nothing is more frustrating than to get a good signal and then not to be able to recover it. Every dollar spent on a good scoop is money that will be recovered many times over.
 

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