I was just getting getting comfotable with the AT Pro, when I switched to the Deus. The AT Pro is an awesome machine, the guys on Diggers wouldn't use it, if it wasn't! I don't have a lot of experience with different machines, but for the price, the AT Pro really worked well for me.
The Deus cost me more than twice what the AT Pro did... so, we would assume that it is twice as good... right? Sorta right? Maybe...
Here are the pros:
The Deus is light, the lightest of all, it is really easy to swing. No elbow or shoulder fatigue. You have to try it to believe it.
The Deus is wireless, one of my biggest gripes with the AT Pro is that there is a wire between the headphones and machine, for me, that wire was a nightmare. Too long and it gets caught on everything imaginable, too short and the headphones are getting pulled off when you go to the ground to dig. You can use earbuds, back phones or head phones... all wirelessly with the Deus.
The collapsible shaft is pretty cool, you can "shrink" the length down to about 30" in 2 seconds. It gets into and out of the car with ease.
The Deus is fast, you can really cover some ground, because the recovery speed is so fast.
The cons:
The Deus is not waterproof. I am always scared of getting the thing "too" wet.
The Deus is light... I am a bit heavy handed and tend to break things that are not robustly built.
The Deus is kind of expensive.
All in all, I like the Deus. It has found some good stuff, however, I am rarely satisfied... and always wondering.
Thanks Old Dude. Hope all is well, and you keep that little CJON on the straight and narrow!