Hello,
I am in the same position as you are...torn between the Safari and the AT pro and have been trying to gather as much information as I can. AS luck would have it a buddy of mine got a AT pro and I have had the chance to use it. He actually let me run a full day with it!!
My observations on AT pro:
DEPTH- Good, where I live the soil is highly mineralized with lots of iron in the ground. So far the deepest coin with at pro for me is 8 inches on a penny and the signal was very clear with no distortion.
RECOVERY SPEED- Very fast, the faster you swing the deeper it goes with great target seperation which surprised me for such a large coil.
LEARNING CURVE- At first I only ran it in standard mode...all the noises from pro mode where a little intimidating. After aquiring a target I would then double check it in pro mode and hit the iron audio....Once I got used to it (about an hour) I never left pro mode. It becomes very easy to ignore the trash and only dig solid targets once you get used to it.
PINPOINTING- Not good. One of my first detectors was the ace 250 and I did not like how you had to make it p.point effectively. That being said, I like the ace 250 pinpoint mode better than the at pro. If you are digging a deep hole pinpointing is VERY important otherwise you will start digging trenches. After a while I just ignored the pinpoint feature and would X my targets and dig.
TRASH ID- Amazing!! With this machines audio I have not dug any pulltabs or standard bottle caps and very little other trash. The only thing that fools this machine on a consistent basis is the longish screw on bottlecaps (like on a quart of beer or from old large soda bottles) First half of the day I dug all targets to get a comparison. After you learn to trust this machine and you are not in a "good" target rich environment you will almost get bored ONLY because you are not digging trash
LOL< amazing!!
DURABILITY-great!! This is a well built machine and I have not experienced any of the falsing problems as others nor did I have any difficulty with any of the connections as others have.
BALANCE/WEIGHT- Poorly balanced unit!! It hardly weighs anything BUT after using it for an extended period you will hate it. I know they sell an aftermarket (fixit) for this and I hope it works well. I am in good physical condition and have swung heavier detectors all day long with no arm fatigue...this thing?? I had to switch arms periodically throughout the day just to continue.
FINAL THOUGHTS- I tested it on gold...Incredible depth and response. This unit is waterproof which is very nice as it rains where I am all the time and you could also go water hunting which sounds fun to me. If I get the safari, I will miss more gold and have to get a enviro cover for the rain. The safari weighs more but is better balanced I hear and is deeper on coins. Only other consideration for me is I enjoy listening to the flute tones more than at pro in pro mode, I actually like the bell tones in standard mode but it not efficient to hunt that way and keep switching modes. I would dig more trash with the safari also BUT I have heard its pinpointing is very good which would mean quicker retreivals. AND the safari while on sale now is like still 300$ more.
Bottom line, I like alot of the features the AT pro has but I am about willing to forego them until garret produces a later model and adresses some of the issues. The innovation on the at pro is amazing...water proof with a LED display..AND not digging trash!!? Incredible...but my frustration with balance (and arm pain) and pinpoint mode is leaning toward a safari.
Sorry, long review and everyone has a diff experience on this machine..just wanted to give you the benefit of my insight to help since we are both looking at the same machines.
HH,
Monolyth