CZ-21, Tesoro Sand Shark or Whites Dual Field?

[njnydigger]

Hey Peeps

I've been using the CZ-3D (1021 model) for my land hunting since the start of the year and it is the BEST detector I ever owned. It's supposed to be great on saltwater beaches too, but, I tried it last week & wasn't impressed. It was also WAY to stressful worrying about getting the unit wet, so, decided to take the plunge (pun intended) and purchase a detector solely dedicated to saltwater beach hunting - primarily in the surf, but, also the dry sand from time to time too.

I've done some research and have narrowed it down to the following (3) choices;

CZ-21, Tesoro Sand Shark or the Whites Dual Field

You know what comes next...

Which would you guys go with? I know the reviews are going to be biased based on what everyone uses, however, hopefully I can get a few no-holds-barred, rip-roaring honest reviews from some folks on BOTH the good AND the bad on each of them. BTW, I fully understand the differences between VLF & PI units, so, no worries there. Just want to get a feel for what others would use primarily for wet sand/shallow water detecting & dry sand hunting as well.

P.S. - I'm NOT really a tech-head or one that likes to play with or fine tune a detector for hours in the field. I'm basically wanting a deep seeking 'beep & dig' detector - the water equivalent of my CZ-3D

Appreciate your two cents

 

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[therover]

To me it's a pretty easy answer. Since you mentioned dry sand hunting, and the fact that you use a CZ3D, I would vote for the CZ21.

Been using CZ's since the mid-90's and they are my go to machines. I use my PI's on the beach here in NJ but only on the cleaner beaches, those sanded in, and when in the water. Lot's of beaches here are loaded with iron bits, dune fencing, etc. in the dry and wet sand areas, and a PI would be very hard to use since every 2 inches would be a nail or some small piece of iron.

The only question you would have to answer when getting a CZ21 is what coil size you want to use. If you have both the 8 inch and 10.5 inch coils for your CZ3D, then you have an idea what would be best for you.

 

[tazz1]

If your looking for a turn on and go PI unit then the Sand Shark is the one for you. Its prob not quite as deep as a dual field but it has plenty of power to get the deep goodies. Ive had mine for a few months and very happy. You'll def want the 10.5" coil.

 

[Sandman]

I have used all these plus a few others including the Excal 1000. This is a hard choice too. If depth were the only object the Sand Shark would nail it. The Dual Field has the same floating coil as the BHID and is tiring to use in the surf or anywhere underwater. You can use a sand filled sock to the shaft or coil and take it off for dry sand use, but why bother when the other detectors don't have this problem or leak either.
Many with the Excal II are having various problems with their detectors so I wouldn't try them now.
I love my CZ-20 and the only difference with the CZ21 is the design of the battery door and the metal pinpoint button. I never need to use pinpoint anyway. I mainly hunt in Autotune mode which is all metal and you can also use BOOST which increases volume for deep targets. In regular disc mode of 0, you get three tones to help id the target. The Overload tone is a loud signal when you run the coil over a larger target or very shallow coin or like a watch like the Rollex everyone tells you they lost out there. The CZ20 or 21 is built like a tank and I hang mine from my neck in a Fisher harness.

 

[herb n surf]

I agree w/ Sandman . I own both the Dual Field and a couple CZ 21s both the 8"coil and 10"coil . The PI would give you a hard time in the dry sand just too much trash . The 8" coil around the neck takes the wt. off the shaft and allows you to hunt all day without tiring. The 10" coil does cover more ground but does create more drag in the water and you do feel the difference on land being that it weighs more then the 8" coil. But both the 8" and 10" coil go deep . No need to use pin pt. button as the all metal mode setting acts as a pin pointer and saves battery life. Also my Whites PI PRO similar to my Dual Field leaks like mad .The CZ 21 has a separate battery compartment which does not include the electronics in case of a leak. That's my 2 cents worth.

 

[OBN]

Between all CZ 20 for me, if your going into the water all the time, the DF, but like Sandman said, that coil like freaked me out the first few times...and I still not to keen on it...

 

[Barrell]

Has anyone seen an actual side by side depth comparison on the sandshark vs the whites pi?

 

[Terry Soloman]

Has anyone seen an actual side by side depth comparison on the sandshark vs the whites pi?

Yes, and they perform almost identically! I like and use the Sand Shark because it is easier to use and ALL the controls are outside the box and easy to adjust..

 

[U.K. Brian]

Lots of comparison reports on various forums. Terry then rubbishes whats said. People then come in and say the S.S. is not the best. Terry tries to rubbish again. This gets peoples backs up so they video DF/SS/Garrett/Headhunter P.I.'s being tested together. S.S. doesn't come out very well. Terry comes back saving tests slanted or the he's been "told" by one of his friends that the S.S. was fitted with dud batteries.

As you have a detector with good discrimination for dry sand and wet already I would take the pulse route though if you buy a toy one it will not have enough extra performance to warrant the extra bad targets you will be digging. Or get a discriminating pulse which will help but will not be switch on and go.

Re your disappointment with your present CZ on the wet over here one coast favours the Minelab system slightly, the other the Fisher. I've hammered silver coins off U.S. beaches that the CZ's (any model) pass straight over without a beep. The only way I found round that was to not use the salt beach setting and use it as a land machine. This produced the results but the drawback was that you had one chance to recover the coin, first strike of the spade so to speak because directly you started to dig a hole the hole would sound off. You could also get large round rocks that would give false signals. The trouble with the CZ20 and 21 is you didn't have the option to turn off the salt mode.