The pistol probe seems structurally sound to me and not fragile at all, and is plenty sensitive so there is no need to poke or prod or dig through the dirt with it simply gently wave it over your target area to locate or for a more precise location simply pump the probe tip in an up and down motion over the target area. Being a Pulse unit it requires a little motion to work. There is three adjustments knobs located under a hinged door. I like being able to adjust the depth via the threshold knob, and if you get a little interference with your detector you can simply adjust the frequency knob thus eliminating any interference with your detector, "except minelab e-tracs." The final adjustment knob you can choose to have the probe always on, or press and hold the button down while locating and when the button is released it turn the probe off. You can also choose silent search which only a red led lights and flashes when a target is located and finally you have two choices for volume high and low. The Pistol Probe is not as loud as the Garrett is even on high volume.
The Garrett Pro Pointer is defiantly well built no structural difficulties at all, I like how the sound intensifies the closer you get to the target. The Pro Pointer is not as deep as the Pistol Probe however the Garrett has the ability to Super-tune, adding another 1-2 inches of depth as well as De-tune, allowing you to decrease the sensitivity when needed. The Pro Pointer is also wash proof allowing you to gently rinse away any dirt that you may want to remove, the Pistol Probe is not water proof. The Pistol Probe has more bells and whistles but the Pro Pointer does what it's supposed to do well and is smaller allowing you to carry it more easily.
All total I would say both work well the Garrett is louder the Pistol Probe is deeper, build quality I would give an edge to the Pro Pointer, I would give an edge to the Pistol Probe for it's adjustments, it's really a matter of preference IMO. Hope this helps, good luck and happy hunting.
