What is your favorite detector and why?

[DiggerinVA]

There is no wrong answer here.....i didnt ask which detector you thought was the "best". I just wnat to know what your favorite machine of all time is and why? I'll go first:


I have had a bunch of machines that i really liked, but if i only could have one there is no doubt it would be my Tesoro Tejon. It just fits me like a pair of old shoes. The Tejon is a machine that you have to "learn to like". You wont love it the first day unless maybe you have a lot of Tesoro experience. I have 3 coils for the Tejon: the 9x8 concentric handles most general detecting in mild to moderate trash, in trashy areas i use the 5.75" concentric, and for a lot of my field/relic hunting i use the 11x8dd coil. The tejon is not a featherweight but is far from heavy and is not an arm killer. Even with a larger coil it balances quite well with the batteries being located under your arm. I am first and foremost a relic hunter and this is where the Tejon shines, however it does just fine in an old park looking for deep coins also. With hours of use and a trained ear you can call coins just like your buddy with the machine that has a screen with vdi numbers. The Tejon has good ergonomics, great depth, i like the features it has and i wouldnt trade it for any detector made today if i couldnt buy another Tejon......

 

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[dhog]

AT Pro love this machine, tough and reliable

 

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[ecmo]

This is a "tweener" for me (between the V3i and the MX5) but I think I'll have to say the MX5.

I like the weight, the speed, and the depth. I leave the Spider coil (concentric) on it because I like the way that coil works - and it pinpoints extremely well. I understand the language it speaks and I still find myself grabbing it more often than my other machines.

Mine is the mx5 also. Have four coils for it, the stock 9" concentric, the 5.3, the 10" double d and the 12" concentric. The twelve although I've had it maybe two years never used it a lot. Past two weeks have used it almost exclusively on a two plus acre area that has light trash and found out it hits real well on small objects deep.

My other primary detector is a racer 2. It also goes along hunting and have done well with it Even though I don't really like it. Love my mx5!

 

[pulltabfelix]

Probably the AT Pro. easy to learn, water proof, great with the 5x8" coil, great garrett customer service. But had the Nox 800 since March 2018 and it is slowly becoming my favorite.

 

[SouthFLdigger]

For me at the park, Nokta FORS CORE and Teknetics Gamma, beach Minelab Safari, Fisher CZ-20/21.

 

[Minelab Matt]

My favorite by far is the Equinox 800.

Fast.
Light
Waterproof.
Multi-frequency.

Finds everything.

Matt.

 

[Clad2Silver]

My all time favorite was the White's Eagle II that I bought in 1989 and used until 2014. I found tons of good things with it and it never had any repairs. I decided to treat myself to a new machine in 2014 and bought White's M6 and that machine has also found a ton of stuff. In October 2018 I won a Garrett AT Pro at a seeded hunt and have been using it on my hunts. So far I like it, but the jury is still out if I'll like it more than the White's machines.

 

[cudamark]

Like others who have detected for decades, my favorites have changed over the years. Each "upgrade" improved my quantity and quality of finds, and usually ergonomics and enjoyment of using it. My first machine, a cheap BFO unit, found me lots of silver and made me more money than my job back when I was a teenager making $1.65hr doing it. Once I got a real good machine years later (White's Eagle 2 SL90) I didn't think anything could do better than that, until I tried to hunt salt water beaches with it. Enter the Excalibur. What a difference! It opened up a whole new world of detecting and became my favorite for that venue. That was my first Minelab and got me thinking.....what kind of land machines do they have? Once I got the Etrac, it became my favorite and the Eagle stayed in the closet. Now with the Nox, with it's speed, light weight, and versatility, it's becoming my best friend. There were many other machines in between the ones I mentioned, but, these ones stick in my mind the most.

 

[luvsdux]

Like your reference to "Tesoro Experience". After many hours I finally reached a point where I can often predict a coin find just from the nuances of the single beep. Don't think a description would help a newby, but once you experience it, the light comes on and you realize "aha, that's what it's all about."
luvsdux

 

[haxor]

Same answer as for camera; The one I have with me at the time

 

[IowaRelic]

My vaquero is responsible for more displaced dirt than any other.

 

[marjam]

My etrac. I love finding old coins, and it has produced for me for years. I only have 2 detectors currently, the etrac and fisher F70. Good detector also, love the fast recovery.

I know you said favorite lol but I like both and depending on what I'm hunting for, then that is my favorite detector at that moment. I'm not brand loyal, whatever works for the given situation is what I will use. But since i like to dig old coins the best, the etrac is my favorite. F70 finds them too, but i use it for relic hunting, and it is really good when fast recovery is needed.

 

[Toecutter]

my AT pro has bounced of rocks so many times im scared to try anything else, being waterproof and super roughed oh and MADE IN THE USA im stuck with this beast for awhile and happy with that...

 

[Silversmith45]

My all time favorite detector was my old Teknetics 9000B. It still works but could use a tuneup since it has lost depth over the years. I met it's creator George Payne at a hunt in Tulsa and he took it back to the factory and had it converted to a hipmount. 14 AA batteries can get heavy during a long hunt. I found over 200 silver coins with it in the first year. Of course silver hadn't been discontinued for very long back then.

 

[Tpmetal]

My favorite has been the whites mx sport. Truly underrated machine. But the equinox 800 is growing on me.

 

[Junkironkid]

First detector had was a fisher f5. I tried to like it but we Just couldn’t bond. Got rid of it less than a wk. Then I bought a whites mxt. That detector was deep and found some good finds with it. I sold that one like an idiot. I bought a minelab Etrac. It took me awhile to learn the language. But once I did it was on like a chicken bone. This will make my third Etrac I’ve bought. I sell them before the warranty runs out. But I’m keeping this one and thinking of buying another mxt. In general I think the best detector is the one you know how to use. All of them will find coins or relics. You Just have to have you’re coil over it.