$250 Budget - White's Prizm II or Ace 250?

[alienbogey]

Here's the deal:

I have some experience nugget detecting and have recently been doing some coin shooting. I know more than a newbie about detectors but far less than experts here.

I would like to get a detector for my father-in-law who has been showing an interest. In fact, his wife got him one of those super cheap plastic jobs from costco or somewhere that can barely find a nail in and is essetially useless.

As much as I would like to get him a new DFX, there is perhaps $250 in the budget to get him a new detector, and my wife's sister will then get him an accessory or two.

It would be used for coin shooting at least 90% of the time - the usual parks, campgrounds and perhaps old houses/foundations in the woods. He may on very rare occasions get to a saltwater beach. If he ever wanted to chase nuggets he could use my MXT or GMT. Relic hunting is not a factor - not a lot of Civil War battlefields in the Pacific Northwest.

Ease of use is important, although he's one of the handiest guys I know - can fix anything - he's not a big reader or modern technology guy. Also, discrimination is important as, being in his 70's, there are a limited number of times a day he can get down and dig.

The stock coil is important - they're on a very limited budget, so he won't be able to go out and buy a number of different coils or other performance enhancers - at least until he decides whether he really likes the hobby or not.

Those are all the factor I can think of.

Okay, so I've been all over the internet and have pretty much narrowed it down to a White's Prizm II or Garret Ace 250. I'm a White's guy, but the Ace 250 seems like it might fit the bill a little better.

What do you guys think?

P.S. I'm posting this on the White's and Garrett forums, we'll see which crowd can sell me on "their" brand. ;D

 

[awhitster]

For coins I would go with the Ace. Of course, that is all I have ever owned.

 

[John-Edmonton]

ACE 250 ACE 250 ACE 250 ACE 250 ACE 250 ACE 250 ACE 250 ACE 250 ACE 250 ACE 250 ACE 250 ACE 250 ACE 250 ACE 250 ACE 250 ACE 250 ACE 250 ACE 250 ACE 250 ACE 250 ACE 250 ACE 250 ACE 250 ACE 250 ACE 250.

Thousands have been sold, and yet so few come up for sale used. You can get a sniper coil for the ACE, but not the Prizm. All Garrett coils are reasonably priced too!

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[pizzacoil]

No offense, but "hunting for dummies" is exemplified by the ease-of-use of this machine. Still, it requires some time to learn those pesky bouncy signals that oftentime result in good deep coins (sometimes the coins is on edge).

I've no complaints with this machine, and whether you're hunting playgrounds, or fields and cellar holes (like me), you can be assured you've got a great machine with an above average edge for the money. I got a GTI 2500 recently, but still take the 250 out for spins when my arm gets tired, or I simply want to reconnect with it and its simple language.

Be sure to invest in the 9x12 coil and the sniper for the most versatility.

Check out some of my best and recent finds with the Ace 250 at:

http://www.thetreasuredepot.com/cgi-bin/top/topfinds_config.pl

Good luck, and happy hunting!

 

[Uncle Willy]

The 250 all the way. The reason it is the top selling detector in the country is because Garrett produced a detector that has features like and performs like a machine costing $700-$800 for a little over $200.

It is simple to learn and simple to use and will go as deep as the expensive machines. Has lightning fast response and recovery, good target separation, good discrimination, light as a feather, uses only four simple to change batteries. IF your father-in-law has never used a detector then the 250 is the way to go. A lot of Prizm owners have switched. If you should get one and use it a bit yourself you may find your White gathering dust in the closet. I have several high-end machines including an X5 and they are all getting dusty.

Bill

 

[khouse]

I use the 250 and have used all the Prizms and the 250 beats them all.
Ace over the P2
12 zone target ID
True notch discrimination
5 modes of operation all can be adjusted
depth indicator
Always on battery gauge
2 accessory coils at reasonable prices
Runs on 4 cheap AA batteries
Stock coil will cover more ground per sweep
SunRay pinpointer is available

P2 over the Ace 250
Pinpoint button can lock on for all metal hunting
That's all I can think of.

 

[Mick in Dubbo]

I found myself looking very closely at both the Whites Prism's and the Ace 250 about 12 months ago. The main argument for the Prism, is the fact that you can put the Bigfoot coil on it. But that is where it ends. I watched a video clip of it being used, and notice how hard that it was to pinpoint with. That plus comments on the Whites forum seem to confirm that point. On top of which, it only has 8 notches of discrimination as opposed to the Ace's 12.
The Ace on the other hand, I have found to be probably the easiest and most accurate pinpointing machine that I've come across so far ( I have played around with a Tessoro last Christmas in a shop, as they seem to boast about being the best pinpointing machine around, but I find that the Ace is equal to it). The Ace over all, is a very simple machine, yet capable and inspires confidence in a new user. It will still take time to get to know, but has a fairly short learning curve. I'm not a fan of the bell tone sound, however, despite this, I still tend to grab it first most times, over my X-Terra 30 and Explorer, as it is so user friendly.
Mick Evans.

 

[khouse]

http://www.adventurequestusa.com/introduction.html
There's just a lot of cool stuff here to do and read. Let me know how you like it?

 

[Uncle Willy]

I like the sound it gives over quarters and larger coins - like a phone ringing. When it does that you know what's under the coil without even looking at the display.

Bill