I could have gotten either but I am lucky enough to be able to afford the more expensive one so I went for that.
Why...it is to have more options of which I might not use them all but I might.
At this point I don't know exactly what I can use or what I don't need that might make a difference.
I hunt in some very difficult dirt and I have been successful using other detectors but the most success I have had entails using my F70 and some very strange out of the box settings and learning a different language and behavior patterns...none of which have yielded obvious, in your face info and indicators.
Here I might not ever need the gold settings because I don't hunt for nuggets but you never know if some of those gold settings might help combat the issues I have and help me find more until I try.
There are also a few more adjustments in some of the features, the entire range might be there on both models but again...I don't have a clue if any of those finer adjustment levels will or will not matter.
Those "what if" nagging feelings you can get in this hobby about many things that happen out there can bother forever you if you let them, I would sure hate to feel that way about not having all the setting combinations possible at my fingertips if needed knowing I could have had them but chose not to.
I might not end up using more than 1/10th of possible setting combinations in my lifetime, if that, but in my mind it is better to have them and not need them then need them and not have them.
All my detectors have paid for themselves eventually, I have no doubt this one will too even if it did have that higher price tag.
If I hunted in great soil and normal conditions I might have thought differently but since I am not that lucky I feel the more ammo I have the better my chances will be to find success.
Plus, I love to tweak and experiment with many different settings, that is a big part of the joy I have doing this hobby, so more features equals more fun for me as far as I am concerned.
But that is me and I am weird.