Rawkfist
Full Member
Looking at upgrading for my son who is 13 and I would like something that can hunt saltwater and inland. I heard these do decent at the beach in wet sand and water. Anyone know or have advice?
Bought my son a Go-Find 66 for Xmas. I was disappointed, he was disappointed, it was just bad all around. That's coming from a huge Minelab fanboy too. I'm team Minelab but I can't believe they even put their name on this line of junk. I know it's supposed to be a low-end detector but it feels so cheap and the programming is so cheap that it really feels like it's something that was a 30$ purchase at the dollar store. When I bought it I was torn between a Fisher F2 or the Go-Find 66 and after reading that they supposedly made it better, more sturdy, updates, etc I decided to give the 66 a try and now I regret it. For $200 the Fisher F2 is a great little machine that will actually find coins consistently down to 7-8". The GoFind, not so much. Haven't actually used an F22 before, not sure if it's better than the old F2 or not. Kid ripped up the box on the Go-Find so I threw it away but if anyone wants it for $160 shoot me a pm. Only used for 1 hour.
Only used 1 hour? Not sure how you learned the GoFind that quick.
Yes, the GoFind initially seems cheaply built, but I've been using mine as a scout detector for almost 2 years now and it still looks and operates like new. Once you learn the machine, it's a pretty darn good little machine. It's been great for my grand nephews, easy to learn and easy to handle. It's not an Equinox or Etrac, but if you give it a chance, it works as advertised. IMO most people just aren't willing to put in the time to learn a new machine.
If insulting my intelligence makes you feel better about that turd of a purchase, go right ahead, but it doesn't make it any better. What exactly are you referring to when you say "learn the machine"? It's not a CTX with 100 user changeable settings guy, there isn't nearly any changeable settings. You quite literally turn the machine on and it shows you a picture of a coin if you're coil is over a coin. The only thing you can adjust is to take out iron and foil. If an adult with nearly 2 decades of detector experience can't figure out a Go-Find in an hour then I don't know, they must be an EXTREMELY slow learner. Just read some of the reviews around the net from SEASONED detectorists and you'll see the majority of them say the same thing. The only 5 star reviews on it are from ladies who purchased it for their husbands or kids and say they "love it" or from guys who have never swung any other detector before. Just take a look at the claim they make on this thing to sell it and tell me you honestly believe this information -
"Step up to the power and performance of the Minelab GO-FIND 66 metal detector. With precision control and maximum depth, you’ll be an expert in no time. Start searching for treasure today! It searches deeper and recovers the treasures other have missed. It’s great value with advanced features!"
Do you really believe any line of that to be true other than the "great value" part? I don't. If it's working satisfactory for you then great, but I would not recommend this thing to anyone when the Fisher F2 and F22 are in the same price category and actually performs like a detector should and with better depth.
I recently purchased a Go Find 22, and, couldn't be happier with it. That being said, I feel it is intended to be a supplemental machine, not a primary machine. It is highly portable, takes very little storage space, and handy to keep in a vehicle for quick hunts. It packs along easily on a bike, in a backpack, small enough for airline travel, stashed in your trunk, or behind the truck seat. It's also great if you have little space for storage. If you need a detector for those reasons, I would say get one. However, at the price point, there are many better machines for primary use, if you don't need the portability, and small storage footprint.