Metal Detector Review POLL

[Michigan Badger]

What do you look for in an online REVIEW?

 

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[aa battery]

Theres good and bad about every metal detector.....aa

 

[rmptr]

Badger, I was embarrassed to make my entry into your poll.

I hate to waffle and vacillate. There was no option for my opinion...

But I posted on the fence, then, when showed the results saw it was only a few polled so far and they all had voted as I, though perhaps for many reasons.

Personally, I look for substance in a review.

Any poll could be swamped with shills quite easily.

New here, I'm reading through as many posts as I can.
Tnet is an excellent resource with an outstanding group of members.

I will admit to being easily attracted by baubles and bangles, and coaxed by a glib sales presentation of whiz bang bells and whistles...

All told, some are better than others, yet no matter which machine, persistence is king.

R M P T R

 

[hollowpointred]

i agree, i want to hear both the good and the bad so i can make up my own mind. thats one of the reasons i hate the detector reviews in the detecting magazines. every single one of them makes the machine in question look like the best thing since sliced bread. i have never once read in a magazine how a detector didnt cut the mustard. a review that isnt brutally honest is a waste of time really.

 

[Michigan Badger]

i agree, i want to hear both the good and the bad so i can make up my own mind. thats one of the reasons i hate the detector reviews in the detecting magazines. every single one of them makes the machine in question look like the best thing since sliced bread. i have never once read in a magazine how a detector didnt cut the mustard. a review that isnt brutally honest is a waste of time really.

Yes, I agree 100% Those magazine reviews are all a bunch of "yes men" comments.

What I personally look for in a review is a mixture of positive and negative without using the review to promote some other brand/model.

When someone posts a review and starts pushing some other brand I figure that was their whole purpose in the beginning.

When I read a review I want to know the person actually owns (or has owned) that machine and he (or she) has actually spent a reasonable amount of time using it in the field. One exception to this would be if by a simple depth test he discovered it wasn't worth taking into the field. Now, I'd be interested in reading that also.

The reviews are great and I'm glad people are doing them.

But I need also to mention that usually those posts that tended to be totally negative turned out to be nearest the truth.

Badger

 

[WV Hillbilly]

Honest , unbiased reviews are about as scarse as hens teeth . I simply can't understand why people can't just tell the truth instead of bashing certain brands & letting on like they own the holy grail of metal detectors . HH WV HILLBILLY

 

[Michigan Badger]

Honest , unbiased reviews are about as scarse as hens teeth . I simply can't understand why people can't just tell the truth instead of bashing certain brands & letting on like they own the holy grail of metal detectors . HH WV HILLBILLY

I think most people believe they're telling the truth. The very real problem could be that their "test" was flawed but they never knew it. In any review there are so many variables.

What I have discovered is that reviews come in 3 types.
1. The Pollyanna review where everything is wonderful (dream world)
2. The obvious biased review that's meant to bash a brand (holds elements of truth)
3. The sincere review that's designed to deal with the facts as perceived by the reviewer (subjective more than objective)

This last 2 types are the only types worth reading.

Here's one review I found to be true but most people probably just ignored it:

"It gets 5 inches on coins if that tells you anything."

On testing that machine with it's stock coil I found this to be exactly correct and all the other reviewers with their 9-10 inch reports were way off.

Sometimes the shortest reviews are the best.

Badger

 

[thompy]

i like to read many reviews of a machine, to get a idea what the machine is about, but then im pretty biased on my reviewing of reviews

 

[Steve G.]

Hi Badger,
I tend to read it all. But I put my money, as it were, with the folks that have the experience. After a time, you get to know who's who on the forum and you naturally give them a bit more credit because of their experience. But I learn things even listening to people argue about their favorite brands. Everyone has their bias' but I would hate to lose anyone's opinion. This is the best forum I have found and the people are great! They all tend to make you think and/or look at the topics from different view points. The more I learn from everyone, the more I can sort through the good and the bad info. The reviews on here have given me a much more critical eye than when I started. It's all good!
Steve

 

[Michigan Badger]

Hi Badger,
I tend to read it all. But I put my money, as it were, with the folks that have the experience. After a time, you get to know who's who on the forum and you naturally give them a bit more credit because of their experience. But I learn things even listening to people argue about their favorite brands. Everyone has their bias' but I would hate to lose anyone's opinion. This is the best forum I have found and the people are great! They all tend to make you think and/or look at the topics from different view points. The more I learn from everyone, the more I can sort through the good and the bad info. The reviews on here have given me a much more critical eye than when I started. It's all good!
Steve

Right.

Until there's an unbiased agency setup to accurately test machines, the best we have is each others opinions or "facts."

I guess the thing is to find the best fit. No detector is perfect and all have their pros & cons.

But like I've always said, I'd trade all reviews and comments for the map to a hot hunting site.

Badger

 

[deepskyal]

Ill admit to being biased, but I still spent several months reading everybodys experience and opinions on a detector BEFORE forking over the cash.
I don't care much for the brand bashing but do appreciate a good, honest, experienced opinion, good or bad, on any machine.

I do want to hear the cons, especially when I have my specific goals for detecting. I don't need a beach machine, but like one that is versitile enough to go between relic and coin. But...I do go on vacations and taking one to the beach would be fun...so that helps knowing from people to what I should expect.

I tend to think there is some exaggeration when someone talks up a good storm about having the best machine. Mine was saying dollar at 2.5 inches and after digging 10", I gave up. There's a downside, but it's all a learning experience.
Would I pass up a dollar signal again because of this experience...Not likely...but I did learn something.

I know everyone gets screwy signals sometimes....they just dont want to admit it. I found 14 coins and a little car today...I thought that was a positive and I actually, for the first time in a while, didnt dig more trash than coins.

But...I wouldn't have bought this machine if all I saw was negative and I did know it has a learning curve that can be tough if you're impatient.

But my experience with a couple other machines, I'd tell whoever the pros AND the cons of them. I'd hate to be the one that talks someone into something they dont want or need and doesn't suit their purpose.
Al