My response is a bit late but, I have owned/own and used many land/water detectors over the years. Pulse and VLF. Water/beach hunting is in my blood and for in the water use, I rely on Excaliburs. When I want to find gold in the water, I reach for an 800 or a 1000 and mostly use the 800.
But, I too am looking for the best beach machine and one that can be used for other forms of treasure hunting. I have an MXT for land use and gold prospecting and just purchased a used Fisher CZ6a and am impressed! But the MXT is not the best choice on the beach and the splash-proof CZ not the best on gold nuggets- although, I must say it seems hot on nuggets!
Now to your question- I personally feel price wise, the best beach/land detector is the Minelab Sovereign GT. It is like an Excalibur and can be hip/bag/chest mounted. It comes with a straight shaft for better balance. It has a frequency shift for electrical interference and it goes deep on the beach! Plus it can be used as a land detector and in the gold fields!
Now for the best part. I think often while beach hunting ground coverage can be very important. The 10 inch coil on my Excalibur is OK, but not quite big enough for that task. For the Sovereign GT one can purchase the DD Sun Ray 12 inch or even 15 inch Coiltek WOT! Talk about depth and reasonable ground coverage! Plus still have sensitivity to small items! I have worked with a WOT coil and loved it! Then lets say you hit a trashy area. Switch to the Sun Ray 8 or 5 inch coil. They work great!
Yes, check out the Sovereign GT and hip/chest mount it. Then learn the detector and stick with it. Later on get the meter and WOT coil. You'll have lots! 17 BBS frequencies Discrimination, All-Metal with ground balance, depth, ground coverage, after market coils. Then later if you ever get an Excalibur for underwater, you will know it too!
Wow, I have just talked myself into a new GT! Happy Hunting! CC.
