I also live in NJ, near the shore, so I thought I’d mention my thoughts on the MMK.
I haven’t used/owned either the Anfibo or the Nox 600/800 so my input on those models would be limited to parroting what I’ve read or seen on videos; therefore I’ll let people with experience tell you about those machines.
I do own the MMK.
I find it to be light in weight, easy to swing, and very well made. Mine came with wireless headphones that work very well. The included headphones are not waterproof though, so if going under the water is planned you would need to purchase the waterproof headphones. The Multi Kruzer is waterproof to 16 feet and features a vibrate mode for those times you’re in the water or otherwise can’t hear the speakers/headphones.
The battery is internal and rechargeable. It seems to last quite long so far for me anyway. I did purchase the add-on battery holder for down-the-road use in case the on-board battery takes a dive. I have not used the add-on battery holder.
The screen is set up well – no need to dig deep into menus and sub-menus. There is a good amount of adaptability to the machine (modes, tone breaks, discrimination, etc..) and it has the ability to change the frequency.
Recovery speed ranges from fast to really fast (depending upon how the machine is set up) and depth ranges from decent to impressively deep (again, depending upon how it is set up). Unmasking is impressive as well.
I mostly hunt for coins (targeting silver) and that is mostly in fairly heavy trash (combination of old and newer trash). The Kruzer does a very good job of picking good stuff out of a bed of trash, but it can get fooled at times (as is the case with all machines that I know of).
If you’re a person who watches the screen a lot and digs according to the number shown, you will get fooled by bottle caps at times. Listening to the tones helps to discern (usually anyway) a bottle cap from a quarter – the bottle cap has just a hint of an iron tone at the beginning/end of the tone. Lifting the coil (while swinging) usually makes a bottle cap sound worse.
The VDI numbers sometimes jump around a bit, but usually not too much on good targets. At times the VDI number is rock solid. For me – if it sounds right I dig the target. I frequently find some sort of trash in the same hole that the good target came out of – explaining the somewhat jumpy VDI numbers.
If you choose the MMK I would highly recommend getting the 7 inch concentric coil with the machine. That coil is nearly as deep as the stock coil and separates even better. It’s also easier to get in close to fences/trees/etc and it balances very well. I do prefer concentric coils (over DD coils) though.
Part of what makes the Kruzer so amazing is its ability to hunt in salt water. It does quite well in the salt – much better than is typical for a single frequency VLF machine.
If salt water hunting is going to be a large part of your hunting, it might be a good idea to look more at specialized salt water machines. But for occasional salt water hunting I think the Kruzer is a great choice.
For park hunting and elsewhere, given the trash that is typical in New Jersey, I believe the Kruzer is one of the more capable machines available.
If possible try out all the machines that interest you. See which machine speaks your language. See which machine swings best for you. Factor in the type of hunting that you’ll do the most. Then choose your machine.
Good luck and have fun.
New Jersey
