interesting question being as i own both machines(my BHID is the older model with the 950 coil on it, other than that same unit)..here goes my take:
IF you are primarily hunting fresh water the Whites wins hands down....its fairly deep, has great tonal responses to ID gold or coinage and nulls over iron. In fact, IF
Whites would pull their heads out of their butts and make 3 simple modifications on this unit it would command the brand loyalty of the Minelab water machines...It is a decent machine as is but here are it's shortcomings: 1. the coil floats like a cork so you have to either weigh it down with a sand filled sock or shorten the shaft to get more leverage on it. 2. the coil is not interchangeable; it is hardwired in. A 12" coil is too big for detecting in the waves imho. 3. it has a manual ground balance instead of an automatic one....
I have the most experience on the whites but it is a real bear to use in the saltwater waves...a lot of falsing and the floating coil issue ...onto the Garrett
i bought the Sea Hunter last year primarily for hunting the salt water waves....It is good for that, the coil doesn't float, is interchangeable and it is DEEP...that said, the discrimination on the unit is a joke...it is a dig all machine!!! you will come back burned out!! I only use it for salt water hunting....
In short: the BHID is good for fresh water, dry and wet sand and acceptable for salt water hunting if you hunt an area without a lot of wave action....the SH2 is good for salt water hunting but too tiresome for fresh water
hope that helps
