Garrett Ace 350 advice

[eninja67]

Hi, Eric here. I'm just now getting backinto MD, and would like advice on the Garrett Ace 350, and maybe the Fisher F2. Anyone out there have any advice on these two MD's? I'm looking to get started back up on the hobby, and was resarching these two detectors. My price range is about $400.00. I live in Corpus Christi Texas, by coastal waters. I'm looking at detecting more land than coastal beach areas. Any advice out there would be greatly appreciated. Regar

[DigginTexas]

hi eric, welcome from fort worth! check the "all about detectors" thread. i am fairly new to the hobby myself but i can tell you i have the ace 350 and a bounty hunter 505. i went back and forth using one a few days then the other, did side by side air tests, coin garden tests, in the field tests. i much prefer the 350 but thats just my opinion and i am by no means an expert.

[new jersey andy]

I use the Ace 350 and it is a pretty good machine. I love the dd coil it comes with... It rocks!! The only cons I have on it are the slower response times between targets ( something I hear the F2 does better in with quicker times). But otherwise I think you can't go wrong with either choice.

[eninja67]

Thanks for all the replies! Keep them coming! I need as much advice and feedback as possible. The help is greatly appreciated!

[SkiWhiz]

Hi & welcome to the forum. If a display isn't a must check out the Tesoro Cibola http://metaldetectorreviews.net/dete...orocibola.html No display, no multi-tones, but a great get er done detector from the best company in the business.

[CDNsilver]

You will find we all have our favorites on here. Mine is the F2 here is
why.

1-The price.

2-Very fast recover response time for an entry level detector (amazing)
this is very important for target separation and will help in the trash.

3-Very lite and well balanced unit (not nose heavy) due to the lite
coil up front, you can swing it all day.

4-From my air tests no real depth loss to speak of at full discrimination
which is also amazing.

5-Great discrimination with no signals running into each other, also
most bottle caps ring up as a low tone not as a high tone, machine
is not being fooled by there size (like a quarter)

6-Great audio tones (pleasant) when listening through headphones,
Garrett easy stow headphones work great will the F2.

7-The signals fade off kind of like (analog) when starting to get out of range which is nice for finding deeper targets.

8-Stock coil is cheaper than most to replace if damaged.

The only nits with the F2 is it takes two 9 volts, I use
no name alkaline and get great battery life when using headphones.
Also the F2 at least mine anyway it is not a big fan of EMI, (overhead wires) etc, I don't go into those
areas anyway.

The Ace 350 will have an edge because of its 11" dd coil,

1-better performance in highly mineralized soil
2-better target separation and coverage
3-a little bit more depth

PS The F2 has VDI display but I don't use it, the audio tone IDs are more
important to me.

Take care,
CDNsilver

[Dan30Cal]

You have $400 to spend this is how I would spend it
Get an ace 250, a garrett pro pointer, easy stow headphones, and a a good digger tool
All that comes to just under $400 and you have a great detector, a pinpointer, and a couple of very useful accessories.
This will be all you need to buy for a long while, it would be a great start in my opinion...
Good luck and happy digging!

[robby4570]

Originally Posted by Dan30Cal

You have $400 to spend this is how I would spend it
Get an ace 250, a garrett pro pointer, easy stow headphones, and a a good digger tool
All that comes to just under $400 and you have a great detector, a pinpointer, and a couple of very useful accessories.
This will be all you need to buy for a long while, it would be a great start in my opinion...
Good luck and happy digging!

I agree! After you've scored some finds, then get a DD coil and you'll almost have a 350!

[jberzins]

I just got the F2 and the garrett pro pointer and although I have only found some scrap metal it has worked great. The pro pointer from garrett is awesome and I am so glad I spent the money on it. I decided on both after reading many reviews on this forum.

[new jersey andy]

Originally Posted by Dan30Cal

You have $400 to spend this is how I would spend it
Get an ace 250, a garrett pro pointer, easy stow headphones, and a a good digger tool
All that comes to just under $400 and you have a great detector, a pinpointer, and a couple of very useful accessories.
This will be all you need to buy for a long while, it would be a great start in my opinion...
Good luck and happy digging!

That is a pretty good idea!

[emoryjim]

Originally Posted by robby4570

I agree! After you've scored some finds, then get a DD coil and you'll almost have a 350!

I can attest to this. I bought an ACE 250 and I had over $100.00 in change not including the 5 silver rings and a silver necklace I found too the first month using it.