Garrett Sea Hunter Mark 2 Vs. all other PI machines

[The-Bone]

looking for some input on the Garrett machine vs. the rest..Garrett is priced the best for a PI but how does it perform compared to the rest..it has several nice features (ability to swap headphones and coils)....how does it rate compared to other PI's.
THanks
John

[The-Bone]

C'mon, there's gotta be someone here that knows about this machine!

[worldtalker]

Don't know about other machines,but I will say this about the MKII EXTREME DEPTH!!!! I use one for hookah diving,after getting frustrated with sand refilling my holes as fast as I could fan it out I ordered a 2 1/2 suction dredge,should solve the depth problem!

[Sandman]

OK, I've use the Mark II but didn't want to jump in because I never used a White's Dual Field or an Infinium LS except for a day so I can't compare it to these. I thought someone else would help ya.

Garrett's Mk II is a very good detector and so are the headphones for it. It is very deep which is what you need where there is lots of saltwater sand. I believe the Sand Shark is deeper or it just might be my lucky detector. Against the White's PI Pro and Surfmaster it is better because both those White's leaked on me which might have been my fault on closing them up. Mainly the White's coils are filled with foam so they want to float on ya so I needed to add a sand filled sock to the shaft. Guys with more muscles than brains say this isn't a problem for them. Why work at a hobby. The JW Fisher Pulse 8 is extremely deep, but I thought it tiring diggin' all them deep holes for tiny iron. It also cost $$$. Luckily a buddy let me borrow it.

[The-Bone]

thanks for the input guys

[Smudge]

Hi Bone.

The Garrett Sea Hunter is a fine pi detector. It is very heavy, but it can be hip mounted which I strongly suggest. The only thing I find laughable about the Sea Hunter is it's so called "discrimination". PI detectors have next to none. And apparently you slaughter your depth the higher you tune the discrimination knob. I honestly think Garrett would do better if they just put an on/off switch on the Sea hunter and left it at that.

A little less expensive than the Sea Hunter is the Tesoro Sand Shark. Now I am going to admit right here that I am a Tesoro loyalist, so you need to take that into account. I find the Sand Shark to be every bit as effective as the Sea Hunter and any other pi detector out there. And try and find one other pi detector that is backed by a lifetime warranty. Oh yes, one other beautiful feature of the Sand Shark is that the volume control is right there at your fingertips. You do not have to open the control box to adjust the volume. You'll be glad to have the feature.

As for the White's. I was unimpressed, I have to be honest. I liked the weight of the detector, but trying to control that 12" coil felt like I was swinging a garbage can lid that wanted to float on the surface of the water. Some people don't mind it, but I sure did. It is supposed to be more sensitive to small gold, but as I didn't find any while I owned one, I cannot say.

Everybody is different and this is just my opinion, which isn't worth more than anyone else's. I hope you get the chance to try a few out before making your purchase. You might feel differently and think I'm completely wrong.

Good luck with your choice.

[The-Bone]

Thanks Smudge...i own a Whites BHID and dislike the floating coil. It makes a potentially great machine mediocre and Whites seems like they could give a crap less about all of the complaints they receive about this. As for the Tesoro, i am concerned about the shape of the coil...it looks almost identical to the 9.5" one on my BHID. This coil really has a tough time in the waves that we have at the Jersey shore(there's too much surface area for the waves to catch on and push the coil around). Plus i like the idea of being able to change coils/headphones(take note Whites). Thanks for the good info!

[Smudge]

The Garrett lets you switch coils too, which the Tesoro will not.

I use the 8" coil on the Sand Shark. Never had a problem.

Good luck to you!

[Sandman]

Those that are lucky enough to have one of the older Sand Sharks with the coil connector are very lucky to be able to change coils for conditions and also be able to use the Clean Sweep Coil for extra fast ground coverage. Garrett should think about adding one of these coils to its PI lineup or even for the AT PRO and keep the resin in the coil please.

[The-Bone]

Thanks for all the input everyone. I went and pulled the trigger and my Sea Hunter should be here next week...maybe i'll swing down the shore on Thursday

[extractor]