Xterra 70 on the beach?

majesus · Jun 16, 2008

Good day,

My first post

I want to get into relic, coin and precision metal detecting. I have been reading the book called "The urban treasure hunter : a practical handbook for beginners" which gave me some awesome tips.

I am now deciding which metal detector to buy. My criteria in a detector are:
1) Good learning curve, with lots of potential.
2) Lightweight is a bonus (not a big assest, but a bonus) because I will be taking it with me when I travel
3) Money is not the most important factor

I live next to a popular beach in Vancouver, so many times I plan on grabbing my detector and just going down to the sandy beach for an hour or two hunt. As well, when the tide water is low. I would like to go out onto the sandy wet slit/sand... So I would like it to work well in salty wet conditions (not underwater thou). I want a all-round detector because I will also be taking it to do some relic and treasure searching in the woods, parks, etc...

After reading and doing my research I am probably going to buy the Xterra 70. I was also deciding on the MXT and DFX. They are all great detectors, and I know it is opinion based, but I've read many comment and reviews from members that have positively recommended the Xterra saying it is solid and very good all-round detector. It is is very light, lots of great features and has a excellent depth detection. A lot of members claim it detects deeper than the MXT.

However, for salty/sand and even high mineral conditions, I'm curious to know what people think as I've read someone in another forum was disappointed with its performance in salty wet sandy conditions.
http://www.treasurequestxlt.com/community/minelab-metal-detectors/9451-xterra-70-question-print.html

Someone suggested I use the Explorer SE. They said a multi-freq metal detector for beach and land use is much better than a VLF detector.
Has anyone used the two models on the beach and or high mineral soil and can comment on the performance?

The explorer SE is a higher end detector... (about $400 more.) Any cons on the SE when comparing the two?

talosiv · Jun 16, 2008

Welcome to the forum. You will prob get more answers than you want. :lol:

sectshun8 · Jun 16, 2008

Haha, people are probably reseraching their answers to give you as we type...

I have no clue how to answer your question though sorry,

majesus · Jun 17, 2008

Haha, no Sweat.

I found a pretty interesting place I want to do some metal detecting...

I am a bit gong-ho on the Xterra 70, I was watching some of the You-tube vids on it... Lots out there and very interesting.

I just want to be sure I won't be disappointed when I take it down to the beach and get into wet sand during low tides

billiard rich · Jun 17, 2008

The SE is not a light-weight detector. It is a VLF detector which uses multi-frequencies. The X-70 is lighter than the SE, but I'm not sure it would be considered light-weight either. It is easier to learn than the SE, and you can select different operating frequencies by buying coils tuned to different frequencies. Don't know how it likes the wet salty sand.

One other Minelab you might consider is the Sovergn GT. It is not light-weight, but it goes deep. It does not come with a visual display, but I think you can buy one as an option. Again, I don't know how it would work in the wet sand.

Might be good to ask this question in the Beach/Surf section.

Welcome to the forum.

billiard rich · Jun 17, 2008

Check your PM's.

sectshun8 · Jul 1, 2008

Anybody come to any conclusions if it was any good in the wet sand? I'm guessing I can expect the same performace from the 30. If anything, I'll just find out when I get it!

UK Brian · Jul 2, 2008

There's two answers to your question

First the 70 is not bad on wet sand for a single frequency detector but bear in mind that single frequency machines don't get on with wet sand.

Second a P.I. has no problems with salt nor do twin or multifrequency machines. Any of these detectors should kill the X-Terras depth wise.

The X-Terra design fails in that its nose heavy, especially if larger coils are used, they should have put the battery pod under the armrest to counter balance the weight.

P.I.'s are limited in where they can be easily used due to the lack of discrimination. Not to much of a problem on wet sand where the amount of rubbish is less and hole digging is easy.
Explorer is expensive, long learning curve to get the best out of it.
Sovereign has similar performance on the wet to the Explorer, is far cheaper, a little heavy but the control box can be detached and hip or chest mounted which also gets it out of the rain if need be.
Drawback with multifrequency is the slower sweep speed required for maximum depth.

Re the 30 (or the 50). The 70 is better than either on the salt.

sectshun8 · Jul 2, 2008

UK Brian said:
There's two answers to your question

First the 70 is not bad on wet sand for a single frequency detector but bear in mind that single frequency machines don't get on with wet sand.

Second a P.I. has no problems with salt nor do twin or multifrequency machines. Any of these detectors should kill the X-Terras depth wise.

The X-Terra design fails in that its nose heavy, especially if larger coils are used, they should have put the battery pod under the armrest to counter balance the weight.

P.I.'s are limited in where they can be easily used due to the lack of discrimination. Not to much of a problem on wet sand where the amount of rubbish is less and hole digging is easy.
Explorer is expensive, long learning curve to get the best out of it.
Sovereign has similar performance on the wet to the Explorer, is far cheaper, a little heavy but the control box can be detached and hip or chest mounted which also gets it out of the rain if need be.
Drawback with multifrequency is the slower sweep speed required for maximum depth.

Re the 30 (or the 50). The 70 is better than either on the salt.

Very informative reply, thanks Brian!

Xterra 70 on the beach?

majesus

New Member

talosiv

Elite Member

sectshun8

majesus

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billiard rich

billiard rich

sectshun8

UK Brian

Senior Member

sectshun8

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