Seeking Input From the Non-Garrett Crowd

[CASPER-2]

i feel you hand me any brand and give me time to learn it and i will do good
lot of guys that got into hobby because of me - tried to teach them and help them -but
they figured its so easy - just turn on and go - machines sitting in closet or sold it within the year

[silversurfer1111]

The AT works good but I had so many problems..and so many people have had problems..its just not made very good... bad coil , bad camlocks , bad armcuff, box braking off,, box leaking coil jack coming loose from the inside of control box.. screen separating...static wire coming loose inside box.....I think its the worst metal detector ever made...but it works good ,,,, when its working lol... I will never go back to garret... even the there pro pinpointer is crap!

[Salty]

So I have had the same question. I grew up on Whites. I had a little baby Whites with the little box and separate coil. My whole family got into detecting. I moved up to the Coinmaster series, etc. and metal detected for years. I still had an old Whites I used here and there, but didn't hunt hardly at all in the late 90's-early 2000's. About 4 years ago I missed it so much I decide to get back into it. I did some research and seen all these videos with these guys doing literal cartwheels with their finds using the Garrett AT Pro. So I bought one. I do not like it. I have learned to use it, but I am moving to the coast of SC this year. When I have taken it down there (I currently live in NC) it sucks. It hates the salt water beaches and relic hunting drives me crazy. If your close to the coast it's noisy, and the difficulty it has deciphering from iron makes me want to quit at times. I have detected with friends who used a Minelab EQ800 and it blew my AT Pro away. We check the same signals. His detected goodies and mine couldn't make up it's mind even when settings were changed. My other bud has a Fisher. It also was clear on signals compared to mine. That has convinced me that the AT Pro may be decent on some things, but I will be buying an Minelab ASAP. Garrett will be riding backup. I really feel for the money I paid for the AT, it is not worth it by a long shot. So much for the drama dudes and their cartwheels! Lol!

[cudamark]

To be fair, the AT series are good detectors. In soil and dry sand without much in the way of mineralization, and targets that aren't too terribly deep, they work great. It's just that there are better machines for about the same money that do more and are better at it.