First I'll address your question specifically. You asked about a coil for hunting a beach, and asked for a pick between White's 6X10 and new 10" DD, but you didn't specify what beach or type of beach. On a Florida coastal beach, or any other beach that is neutral to low mineralized, the 950 concentric cil can work fine. You didn't mention which model detector you're using and that, too, might have a little bearing on the decision.
If searching a coastal beach that also has a high iron mineral mix with the salty content, or an inland beach that is highly mineralized (and we have them here in NW Oregon on a number of river and lake sites), you can see a pronounced improvement in ground handling with a good Double-D coil. The 6X10 does fine, but I get the same or better depth with a 5.3 Eclipse. I have found the 10" D[sub]2[/sub] Double-D coil from White's to be superior to the 6X10 for most applications, and this includes land hunting where I want a little better depth of detection. It's superior to the 6X10 or stock 950, in "bad ground'.
As for beach hunting, I haven't had the opportunity to use it much at the beach (coastal) since my only trip there with White's 10" DD was on an anniversary weekend get-a-way last month when it snowed right down to the beach and the winds were nasty cold and strong. I have used the new 10" D2 on some freshwater sites that are quite mineralized and it worked better then the 950, as expected, and much like another good 10" DD coil I once had.
A few years ago I had one of the Excelerator 10" DD coils, and what I enjoyed about it first off was the lighter-weight balance and feel compared with the stock 950 on both the MXT and DFX I had. I did use it on beaches and tried it against the 6X10 DD, also, and preferred the round 10" DD by far. For the past few months I have also had a10X12 SEF Double-D coil, also an Excelerator class coil, and I have found it to work well also. I get very good depth and coverage with it and when White's 10" DD was released I also got one of those.
Now, I will tell you I like the two 10" DD and 10X12 SEF coils over the 6X10 for most applications, to include beach hunting and open-area searches where I can take advantage of some improved depth they provide. Of these three, the 10X12 is heavier and while it works fine, I favor the White's 10" D2 coil I have because the lighter weight design is much kinder on my bad back and right shoulder.
Others have mentioned preferring the solid-bottom 6X10 for hunting in short, stiff brush and weeds to eliminate hang-ups and certainly there are times when the open coils can be a chore to work with. But you asked about beach hunting and I'd suggest looking the 10" D2 White's coil or the 10" DD Excelerator or 10X12 SEF coils.
Monte
.............arguments are always welcome Ken. Set up properly, the D2 should out perform the 6X10 on depth by at least a couple of inches. To back you up though, the Bigfoot is MY beach favorite where coverage is wanted more than depth.
