Let me share my experience with the AtPro in Michigan waters...I hope you find this helpful.....
You want to hunt in Michigan lakes Huh? Well...Yes, Marge, you and anybody else considering must avoid the AtPro at all Costs! Everything you have heard about the Garrett Co and specifically about the AtPro is correct! Shyster Company, Texas I believe, (you know what that means)...ElCheapoChapo! Dumping massive dollars into ignorant gringo marketing for an inferior and basically worthless tinkertoy rig...Like Ford...
Shoulda been Obvious to me from first glance, but I bought into the hype!
Tiny little LCD TID screen, washes out in the sunlight and fogs up in the dark,...cheapo S shaft design, heavy and uncomfortable to swing, not ergonomically balanced at all, strenuous to the point of serious tennis elbow injury...cant hunt the dry sand and for sure dont want to take this rig into the water!
When used in Inland Michigan Lake water, the 'special Garrett camlocks' get jammed with silt so bad they are unusable, in about 4hrs....Stupid proprietary headphone and coil plugs makes you a slave to their components...Arm cuff will snap off even! ...Three tones? 'Iron Audio' on or off? Doesnt retain settings upon shut down? Rated to hunt in 10' depths? WTH?
I shoulda known better! FWIW, My stock Garrett blue headphones took a dump once..I called up Garrett and talked to somebody named 'Mary'...I dont know if she is from Bangalore or what, hard to understand what she was saying, possibly from Austin, Brownsville, or Nacogdoches? I Said: 'my phones took a !!!!'...All I know is I had a new set of headphones sitting on my porch in less than 72hrs!...so good job there UPS! America! Hell yeah!
You have heard rightly from your Facebook friends!....Avoid this machine and the Garrett Company in general!...You cant tell a dime from a penny audibly or visual Tiddly a zinc penny from a bottlecap! Pretty much a worthless rig unless you intend to hunt for pulltabs..yeah, it hits the hell outta pulltabs, if thats what you are after, but the AtPro is generally a worthless rig otherwise......
I'd go with a Minelab ExcalII if I were you, proven platform, pedigree, good to 250' depths...Or may I suggest a Tesoro SandShark?...looks good, sounds cool!..."I'm running a Sandshark!" " Good to 250' depths!" How cool is that?....