I have an AT Pro as a backup to my ETrac... one of the 'many' backups I have & had including an Xterra 705, F2, T2, and a few others.
I have also used a lot of detectors with other people out hunting.
The 'feel' of it is a lot like 90% of the detectors out there but Fisher, Garrett, White's, Teknetics, Bounty Hunter, Tesoro, Minelab. They all went 'lightweight' on their entry-to-midlevel detectors and fight for the ounces besides the pounds. Kind of like a lot of other electronics today...
Does the AT Pro feel like my ETrac or a V3i a friend of mine has and I have used?..... absolutely not!
The good thing about these really light (plastic-ee... if that's even a word?) is that you can swing them for a long time and if you have shoulder/arm issues, they are for God-send for metal detecting.
I use the AT Pro here and there and it takes some time to get used to, just like most detectors. it's fun in standard mode, but better in Pro-Mode. Pro-Mode is absolutely impressive, unique, and fun to use with the rolling tones.
I think the DD coil it comes with is perfect for a stock coil. It gets some great depth and never go by anyone's depth meter... just like you can't go 100% by a machine's TDI numbers.
The pinpointing is NOT spot-on. I have pinpointed with the AT Pro, then went over with my ETrac (which is spot-on) and found it off a little, or maybe the AT Pro is just not as 'simple' as the ETrac to pinpoint(?)
For the $$$, you get a deep detector, waterproof (yeah... I tested mine... and it kinda makes you say 'I hope this thing doesn't fry'...but keeps running), iron audio, Pro-Mode, very fast recovery speed(sounds like a slot machine on silver), a just-under the AT Gold frequency that lets you pick up gold very easily, and Garrett really backs up their detectors PLUS THEIR GEAR well! (my headphones adapter cord I bought didn't work right, I emailed them, Garrett shipped me a new one 11 hours later with a return label, and trusted I would send the old one back so they could see why it failed). It was an accessory and NOT even the detector they backed up, no questions asked, and fast!
Everyone has their favorite brand, detector, swing speed, sounds, weight, feel, audio and visuals of their ultimate detector, but the AT Pro fits a niche, and I think it does it well. Just my opinion...
I am not brand loyal... I am performance loyal... and unless I have a sponsorship, I tell it the way I see it...
Viddy