Hybrid detector?

[ufester]

I am looking to purchase my first detector.
I have done a bit of research but cannot come to any conclusion.
I live in Houston and have access to beaches (gulf coast), but generally I would basically search on land.
I am wanting a detector that would allow for beach detecting either in dry sand or up to 2 to 3 foot of water, and be able to take it to the park.
I was eyeing the following:
Minelab Excalibur
Minelab Explorer SE
Whites DFX
Can someone point me in the right direction?

 

[G.I.B.]

I would like to point you towards bowling.

Metal detecting is highly addictive. The machine you have is always one little bit less than the one you need. If you would have only dug one more hole. The diamond ring was just outside your swing. Just 10 more minutes and you would have hit the mother lode. If you just had a longer rod, a deeper machine, a sharper shovel walked a little faster or slower or went deeper into the surf... Scuba gear, yea, and a boat. That is where all the treasure is!

aieeeeeeee....

Bowling.... yep... nice and relaxing.

 

[finderzzs]

I would like to point you towards bowling.

Metal detecting is highly addictive. The machine you have is always one little bit less than the one you need. If you would have only dug one more hole. The diamond ring was just outside your swing. Just 10 more minutes and you would have hit the mother lode. If you just had a longer rod, a deeper machine, a sharper shovel walked a little faster or slower or went deeper into the surf... Scuba gear, yea, and a boat. That is where all the treasure is!

aieeeeeeee....

Bowling.... yep... nice and relaxing.

I Love that reply! How true is that. I mainly use the White's PI Pro,(and look at my posts with loads of fabulous finds), but now I'm thinking I want that new Infinium LS.. Yes, lets all go bowling.

 

[kevino1960]

Never cared much for bowling but, I love my Tesoro Tiger Shark.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Hello,

My lowly 2 cents worth,

Minelab Excalibur
Yes one of the best for water. Fairly heavy for land.Hear great things on the Aquasound, but the cost of it is about twice the Excal.

Minelab Explorer SE
Whites DFX
Not if there is any chance at all of a rouge wave, you tripping, slipping or falling in anything deeper then a couple inches. They will become very expensive boat anchors when they hit the water. Great for land and wet sand, but I would not chance it in 2 foot of water myself.

PI's are great, but be prepaired to dig every single tiny piece of iron, bobby pin, fish hook and lead weight that has ever been lost since the dawn of time. Me, I'm too old for that and my time is too precious so I choose the ML Excal and Sovereign GT.

I have hunted with 3 other hunters who had PI's and they switched to Excal's after hunting with me a couple times. I would check on them ever so often to be sure the pit they were digging hadn't caved in or that they didn't need a ladder to climb out. I would scan their target with my excal and told them "iron". They kept digging because they "wanted to be sure".

If I lived in Hawaii then I might reconsider the PI due to the amount of tourists and jewelry being worn to impress other tourists and then lost.

There are several other models that you can consider that are good for both. My Beach Hunter ID worked good in the water, waterproof to 20 feet and it work find on land and you had dual freq and leds to help you.

 

[Sandman]

I was going to reply, but Treasure_Hunter said it all best. You should really decide on which envirement you will hunt the most and get the best you can afford for that type.

Good Luck

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Sorry SM.

 

[The Bulgarian]

Excalibur 1000 it is the best for you.

 

[spez401]

I am going to reccomend also that you take up bowling. Wait...you're down in texas? never mind... that's too far away to be competition

Excal it is... If there's any chance that you're going to detect in or near the water. My only complaint about the DFX... it isn't waterproof. If it was, I'd be hard pressed to figure out what machine to take out

steve

 

[ivan salis]

the whites M6 is a bit of both while there are better sea / beach only or land only machines ---the M6 will work in both areas ---and the price not too steep ---plus its made by a well known "name" player in the metal detecting game not some cheap wantee be company overseas (china)---just my 5 cents---because of the way stuff is going up --2 cents don't cut it anymore---Ivan

 

[Dinker]

I was in the same dilema about this time last year. I looked searched and researched. I wanted a detector that could beach hunt as well as relic hunt. I settled on te DFX. I am more than happy with it. I feel like I can spend years learning the little nuances and fine tuning. If the cost desn't scare you away at the outset, I would highly recommend the DFX.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

DFX is good on wetsand, but one wrong step in the shallow water and it will become an expensive paper weight. If want to detect in any water get a waterproof detector.

 

[dahut]

I solved this problem the easy way - by tossing money at it!

I got a Tesoro Tiger Shark to go along with my land detectors. I picked this one because I live 150 miles from the sea coast, but there are lots of lake beaches nearby. It does offer SOME salt capability for when I do go to the shore and I can live with that compromise. but in the fresh water, there are few better.

I also like the FISHER 1280X, for the same reasons.
I suspect the Minelabs will work well in both environments, from what Ive seen

However, it comes down to the fact that there really is no substitute for the right tools. When it comes to water, there is no truer statement.

Now that Ive said that lets make one more comment. The Tiger Shark and The 1280X are VLF units and can be used on land, although they are bulky and have only the most rudimentary of DISC features. If I were to employ them ashore it would be the TS, because it can be mounted under the forearm for better balance.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I use to use the Excal on land at the local parks, it worked great, the only problem was it was kinda heavy for the land, so I picked up a used Whites 6000 Pro XL. (Analog) it is a coin and jewelry magnet.

I also just traded my BHID and $$$ for a new Sov GT, they tried to deliver it today but unfortunately no one was home so I will pick it up from Post Office tomorrow. A 15 " WOT is on the way from Coiltek.

Wouldn't you know it, just by coincidence I'm hunting the beach this weekend too.