Hi Stephen and welcome to the net. You will learn alot from here. To answer your question, I prefer the garret because it has that little drop in the bottom of the pan that helps hold the gold in the corner. Also it just feels good in my hands. The other pans are good also but this is my reason for the garret.
Thank you guys I live in Michigan where gold is very scarce but I'm wanting to find some of Michigans placer gold. And have a good time with my dad, uncle, and cousin.
I like to have a 10" cleanout pan to recover the fine gold. I often work the big pan to produce concentrates and look for bigger pieces then save the cons to pan later at home when I'm bored. That is when I'll use the small pan.