ATPro debate

[greengold]

It seems to me that people either love or hate the AtPro. I mostly hunt dry land but wouldn't mind hunting the beach on occasion. Thus, I am seriously considering getting one because of all the fanfare on Tnet and also it's somewhat diverse capabilities for the money. However, I also have read a lot of naysayer comments. I have come to the conclusion that for the price tag the AT is hard to beat. Correct me if I am wrong but it seems the naysayers seem to be the arrogant type, who like to be different from the norm or who can actually afford $1500-$2000 on a machine or two.

What say you?

 

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[Uncle Jeff]

All skepticism aside, Yes it is. Although it is only water proof to 10 feet, it is still water proof and that means no worries in the rain at the beach or in a creek, It also has ground balancing which I find priceless in my Iron enriched soil here in Georgia. For the same price you will not find these features on any other machine without doubling the price.

 

[fella]

It's a great detector. Had the magic wand er... I mean the E-Trac & didn't like it. Because I didn't like it, the Minelab drones assume I just couldn't learn it properly. Pffft whatever!
I have owned a couple of Tesoros as well. The Vaquero & the Outlaw and also currently own the Whites Vx3 & MXT Pro. I have more time on each of my Whites than I do my ATP and am quite comfortable with them. However I quite prefer the ATP to any machine I've ever owned.

So I've owned some bigger buck machinery and I can honestly say the AT Pro can hang with with em 99% of the time. It even out paces em in some situations.

It has some design features I'm not fond of but it performs great!

 

[Zodiacdiverdave]

I have said it before and will say it again, There is something to be said about the fact that there are so many camparisons between the E-Trac and the AT Pro. It tells me that alot of people who either have bought an E-trac or sell them believe that this little AT Pro, that costs less then half as much as the E track is their biggest compatition. I think if I were going for a $1500-$2000 range machine I would be looking at the XP Deus which has a lot more features and is every bit as good as any E-trac. Maybe Minelab should look at reducing there price to be more compatitive with the AT Pro.
ZDD

 

[ryaan21]

I cannot afford a high dollar machine and for now my main machine is the AT PRO. I say for now because when I can afford a new detector, I will be trashing this one. It will find the same stuff as an etrac for sure, but my issue is with the quality of the unit.

Sent it in because it was falsing and the speaker wouldnt work. Got it back, speaker still broke and falsing again already. It works with headphones in but with the headphones unplugged it sits at about 10% or less of normal volume.

So while I believe in the machines ability to find coins, I have lost faith in Garrett and will not be recommending or purchasing a product from them again. And before anyone chimes in, I have left emails, voicemails and called repeatedly about getting a fix for this since it is still under the 90 day repair warranty and no one will even take the time to deal with me fair.

I am not a detector snob and the ATPRO is about the top of my budget, but with my experience, I would downgrade price wise to a nice tesoro or fisher.


The coil and head phone connections are in the WORST WORST WORST possible place. If you have larger fingers it is almost impossible to tighten them down all the way. They have actually unscrewed on me mid hunt.

I am not bashing Garrett, I was a huge fan of them for years, but with this situation and another situation with a pro pointer I would not recommend them to anyone.

 

[wvwildman]

i love my at pro best detector that ive every owned havnt had a bit of trouble with it and its easy to learn

 

[NJ Marty]

Get what you can afford and if its the AT pro its a step up from the BH. My hunting partner sells Metal detectors and we have taken the listed 5 machines out and did a side by side comparison on targets on at least 10 occasions and each occasion was about 5 hours.
Teknetics T2- AT Pro- V3I- E-Trac- and the Minelab CTX 3030. The Teknetics out performed the AT pro, I actually really like the T2 and If I buy another detector its on top of the list. The V3I and the minelabs were in a class of their own.

 

[NJcigarman]

This topic gets BEAT TO DEATH!!!!!!!!!! I can afford any detector I want and I bought a Pro. I love it after using Whites for years.

 

[NJ Marty]

Exactly, and you found the best machine for you in the Pro. As I also can afford any detector I found the best one that suits me and so have so many others on here. If all you got is your eyeballs and a shovel and screen and you are finding stuff and it makes you happy that's the best end result. I was suggesting to HIM to buy what he can afford.