What is your favorite detector and why?

DiggerinVA

Bronze Member
Sep 16, 2013
1,666
1,654
Shenandoah Valley, Virginia
Detector(s) used
GPX5000, AT Gold, AT Pro, Whites TDI, Bandido 2 umax, Tejon, Vaquero, Deus 2, ORX and Legend
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
There is no wrong answer here.....i didnt ask which detector you thought was the "best". I just wnat to know what your favorite machine of all time is and why? I'll go first:


I have had a bunch of machines that i really liked, but if i only could have one there is no doubt it would be my Tesoro Tejon. It just fits me like a pair of old shoes. The Tejon is a machine that you have to "learn to like". You wont love it the first day unless maybe you have a lot of Tesoro experience. I have 3 coils for the Tejon: the 9x8 concentric handles most general detecting in mild to moderate trash, in trashy areas i use the 5.75" concentric, and for a lot of my field/relic hunting i use the 11x8dd coil. The tejon is not a featherweight but is far from heavy and is not an arm killer. Even with a larger coil it balances quite well with the batteries being located under your arm. I am first and foremost a relic hunter and this is where the Tejon shines, however it does just fine in an old park looking for deep coins also. With hours of use and a trained ear you can call coins just like your buddy with the machine that has a screen with vdi numbers. The Tejon has good ergonomics, great depth, i like the features it has and i wouldnt trade it for any detector made today if i couldnt buy another Tejon......
 

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ecmo

Hero Member
Feb 28, 2016
937
1,348
Missouri
Detector(s) used
macro racer 2, whites mx5, whites mx sport, trx pinpointer
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
This is a "tweener" for me (between the V3i and the MX5) but I think I'll have to say the MX5.

I like the weight, the speed, and the depth. I leave the Spider coil (concentric) on it because I like the way that coil works - and it pinpoints extremely well. I understand the language it speaks and I still find myself grabbing it more often than my other machines.
Mine is the mx5 also. Have four coils for it, the stock 9" concentric, the 5.3, the 10" double d and the 12" concentric. The twelve although I've had it maybe two years never used it a lot. Past two weeks have used it almost exclusively on a two plus acre area that has light trash and found out it hits real well on small objects deep.

My other primary detector is a racer 2. It also goes along hunting and have done well with it Even though I don't really like it. Love my mx5!
 

pulltabfelix

Bronze Member
Jan 29, 2018
1,006
1,624
North Atlanta
Detector(s) used
Currently have CTX3030 and Vanquish 440.
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Probably the AT Pro. easy to learn, water proof, great with the 5x8" coil, great garrett customer service. But had the Nox 800 since March 2018 and it is slowly becoming my favorite.
 

SouthFLdigger

Sr. Member
Mar 16, 2014
470
344
Pembroke Pines, Fl
Detector(s) used
Beach:Fisher CZ-20, Beach Hunter ID 9.5" Whites DFX, Minelab Safari and Excalibur 2.
Park and Turf: Teknetics Gamma 6000,Teknetics Delta 4000,Nokta Fors Core
Loaners:ACE-250 9x12 and 7x9.
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
For me at the park, Nokta FORS CORE and Teknetics Gamma, beach Minelab Safari, Fisher CZ-20/21.
 

Minelab Matt

Hero Member
Oct 19, 2014
545
603
S.Wales UK
Detector(s) used
Minelab X-Terra Pro
Deteknix Pi Pinpointer
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
My favorite by far is the Equinox 800.

Fast.
Light
Waterproof.
Multi-frequency.

Finds everything.

Matt.
 

Clad2Silver

Bronze Member
Jul 17, 2018
2,052
5,648
Eastern Connecticut
Detector(s) used
Garrett AT Max/ Garrett AT Pro/ Garrett Ace 400/ Garrett Pro Pointer 2 / Garrett Z-Lynk AT Propointer
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
My all time favorite was the White's Eagle II that I bought in 1989 and used until 2014. I found tons of good things with it and it never had any repairs. I decided to treat myself to a new machine in 2014 and bought White's M6 and that machine has also found a ton of stuff. In October 2018 I won a Garrett AT Pro at a seeded hunt and have been using it on my hunts. So far I like it, but the jury is still out if I'll like it more than the White's machines.
 

cudamark

Gold Member
Top Banner Poster
Mar 16, 2011
13,171
14,457
San Diego
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
3
Detector(s) used
XP Deus 2, Equinox 800/900, Fisher Impulse AQ, E-Trac, 3 Excal 1000's, White's TM808, VibraProbe, 15" NEL Attack, Mi6, Steath 920ix and 720i scoops, TRX, etc....
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Like others who have detected for decades, my favorites have changed over the years. Each "upgrade" improved my quantity and quality of finds, and usually ergonomics and enjoyment of using it. My first machine, a cheap BFO unit, found me lots of silver and made me more money than my job back when I was a teenager making $1.65hr doing it. Once I got a real good machine years later (White's Eagle 2 SL90) I didn't think anything could do better than that, until I tried to hunt salt water beaches with it. Enter the Excalibur. What a difference! It opened up a whole new world of detecting and became my favorite for that venue. That was my first Minelab and got me thinking.....what kind of land machines do they have? Once I got the Etrac, it became my favorite and the Eagle stayed in the closet. Now with the Nox, with it's speed, light weight, and versatility, it's becoming my best friend. There were many other machines in between the ones I mentioned, but, these ones stick in my mind the most.
 

luvsdux

Bronze Member
May 16, 2007
1,767
690
Lewiston, Idaho
Detector(s) used
Multiple Tesoros and Whites
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Like your reference to "Tesoro Experience". After many hours I finally reached a point where I can often predict a coin find just from the nuances of the single beep. Don't think a description would help a newby, but once you experience it, the light comes on and you realize "aha, that's what it's all about."
luvsdux
 

haxor

Jr. Member
Aug 23, 2015
94
88
Raleigh, NC
Detector(s) used
NOX 800
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Same answer as for camera; The one I have with me at the time
 

IowaRelic

Sr. Member
Jul 29, 2018
360
584
Alabama from Iowa
Detector(s) used
Makro Multi Kruzer
Teknetics T2 SE
Teknetics Omega 8000 V4
Fisher Gold Bug Pro
Tesoro Vaquero
Tesoro Compadre
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
My vaquero is responsible for more displaced dirt than any other.
 

marjam

Sr. Member
Nov 17, 2012
491
440
My etrac. I love finding old coins, and it has produced for me for years. I only have 2 detectors currently, the etrac and fisher F70. Good detector also, love the fast recovery.

I know you said favorite lol but I like both and depending on what I'm hunting for, then that is my favorite detector at that moment. I'm not brand loyal, whatever works for the given situation is what I will use. But since i like to dig old coins the best, the etrac is my favorite. F70 finds them too, but i use it for relic hunting, and it is really good when fast recovery is needed.
 

Toecutter

Bronze Member
Nov 30, 2018
2,433
7,443
🥇 Banner finds
1
🏆 Honorable Mentions:
1
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
my AT pro has bounced of rocks so many times im scared to try anything else, being waterproof and super roughed oh and MADE IN THE USA im stuck with this beast for awhile and happy with that...
 

Silversmith45

Greenie
May 16, 2009
15
0
Wichita, Kansas
Detector(s) used
Whites XLT Tek 9000, Tek G2, Tek Delta, Garrett 2500, Tesoro Sidewinder, Fisher CZ-6, Fisher ID Edge ,Original Silver Sabre
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
90002.JPG My all time favorite detector was my old Teknetics 9000B. It still works but could use a tuneup since it has lost depth over the years. I met it's creator George Payne at a hunt in Tulsa and he took it back to the factory and had it converted to a hipmount. 14 AA batteries can get heavy during a long hunt. I found over 200 silver coins with it in the first year. Of course silver hadn't been discontinued for very long back then.
 

Tpmetal

Silver Member
Jan 4, 2017
4,406
7,506
Western ny
Detector(s) used
equinox 800, Whites mx sport, Garrot carrot, bounty hunter time ranger
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
My favorite has been the whites mx sport. Truly underrated machine. But the equinox 800 is growing on me.
 

Junkironkid

Full Member
Mar 23, 2012
128
260
MS
Detector(s) used
Minelab Etrac
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
First detector had was a fisher f5. I tried to like it but we Just couldn’t bond. Got rid of it less than a wk. Then I bought a whites mxt. That detector was deep and found some good finds with it. I sold that one like an idiot. I bought a minelab Etrac. It took me awhile to learn the language. But once I did it was on like a chicken bone. This will make my third Etrac I’ve bought. I sell them before the warranty runs out. But I’m keeping this one and thinking of buying another mxt. In general I think the best detector is the one you know how to use. All of them will find coins or relics. You Just have to have you’re coil over it.
 

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