I used to be one of the guys saying "never saw the point of using one at the beach" but I found that was an error, I see the point now and yes it can be a major time saver. In fact sometimes all I carry [dry sand] is the pinpointer and a 5 in 1 tool for digging, can find 90% of targets in seconds vs scoop, shake [if able, wet/compacted sand does not shake], rescan hole, scoop again, wheres the target ?, rescan, scoop, kick sand around ect.
As far as how you take it out with you, thats on you. I usually have pants or shorts I clip it to. If you detect with Speedos you might have to improvise.
For guys that can't/won't bend over, obviously not an option.
I don't bend, I crouch, same as if I'm at work. Crouching is somewhat of a relief after alot of walking, to a guy who can't or won't crouch, sounds to me they are on their last legs and probably should not be out forcing themselves to walk and lug around a heavy sand scoop.
So to summarize, if most of what I am detecting is pure dry sand, I may take the scoop. If its likely i'll get into wet sand, I'll use the pinpointer and leave the scoop in the truck. Scoops can be a major pain to lug around on dry land after a while, not so bad in the water. Have never used the pinpointer in the water, you'd basically have to snorkel to do that. It is small and light enough to take along even if you think you won't be using it - And a genuine Garrett [as opposed to one of the made in china ripoffs] sell quick for close to what you paid for it, so no need to fret about possible wasted investment.
Be advised, pinpointer may or may not interfere with your detector, really an annoyance more than anything, as the pinpointer is not on until you are looking for a target with it, but the chattering detector will annoy you quick. You'll have to find your own work arounds if this is the case for you, they tend not to interfere with other Garrett products but most others do. Simplex went so far as to introduce a software update which allows you to mute the detector just because of this issue, and it works good, so long as you remember to unmute it when you are done.