Which One? Minelab E-TRAC, Garrett AT Gold, or The XP Deus?

If you know me and followed some of my adventures from my YouTube channel, you know I am a big fan of the Garrett AT Pro. I've been using it now for a couple of years with no complaints. Well maybe a few complaints in the wet sand but for the most part the AT Pro has been rock solid and I would still recommend it to anyone for both land and "fresh"water use. I even considered the AT Gold at one point as well but I couldn't see myself buying something very similar to the AT Pro again.

However, I've been looking for a new machine to try and the Minelab E-TRAC caught my attention earlier last year. I've read a lot good reviews about and talked to some folks who love the machine so my mind was almost made up. Almost!

Minelab's E-TRAC

Then during a hunt in upstate PA this past fall (2015), I got my butt kicked by a completely different machine that totally blew me away. The area we were hunting had a lot of iron in the ground and the AT Pro had no issues telling me there was iron in the ground! In fact, it was ridiculously hot with iron to the point it gave me a headache. On the other hand, my newly introduced friend from Ohio (Ted) brought his XP Deus with him and I watched him as he dug 3 coins that day from areas I had already hunted and hunted HARD! with the AT Pro. At the end of the day, he ended up digging a V nickel right next to a hole that I had dug earlier that day but all I got was iron scrap. There was just so much iron that I couldn't hear what he was hearing. The Deus was able to cut through the iron signals enough to hear that high pitch that we all love to hear but with amazing separation.

On the positive side, I did walk away with a bunch of really nice axe heads and so did Ted but he also found a large cent, V nickel, and an Indian head penny while his friend Lonnie (also using the AT Pro) and myself didn't find any coins. (If you want to see the video of our hunt here is the link). 

XP Deus

Prior to this hunt, I had heard and read about the Deus from a few forums and my local distributor had one and I looked at it but I wasn't quite sold on it at that point. It was strange being all wireless with the guts all packed into the coil itself. It's a completely different concept but one that has slowly started to win me over. Then to top it all off, Aquachigger comes out with a new video based on the metal detectors he uses and why he uses them. Close to the end of his video he pulls up the Deus and talks about it but then he makes a statement that completely shocked me. He said he is probably going to switch over to the Deus for his water hunts this year because it discriminates that well. What! I watched and learned from this guy for the past couple of years. That was a pretty bold statement. If you don't believe me watch it for yourself.

Regardless of his video, I was already heading down the Deus path but if he likes it then that basically confirmed what I was thinking and the way Ted kicked my butt late last year, it was only a matter of time. The Deus is that good of a machine. To further justify my decision here is a link to a field test done by John Lynn that's a little dated but very good and covers the Deus in various conditions such as wet and dry sand, fields, woods etc. His article came out of Treasure Hunter magazine.

Will I bet getting the Deus at some point? You betcha but I need to dig up some more clad to pay for it unless any of you distributors out there want to loan me one to try ;-)

If you have a Deus I would to hear your thoughts. Drop a comment or email me mentalmetal314@gmail.com.

Thanks for reading!
-mm314