Haven't had it outside yet. Has the 8.5" coil. Is better than my Coinstrike when a rusty nail is near coin. (I have a 20 pound bag of non-clumping cat litter to use as a test garden in my cellar.) Would the 4.5" coil do much better where a lot of rusty nails are. The 8.5" coil goes quite deep and it does pretty good in nails. I like this detector, especially because it has the needle meter. Any info about the 4.5" coil is appreciated. Thanks, Jabbo