CZ-21 or Minelab Excalibur II ?

[foxtrot]

Hello all


I am new to this forum but I am amazed at the information that is on your Forums so far. I am in the market to replace my Garret At Pro with one of the two Detectors that I mentioned in the title. I have read both forums and still cant decide which one fits the bill both seem to be good at what they do. I am in Maine so the beaches are full of items to find. I would like to get some advice from you guys on both units.

Fox

 

[SWMO Mark]

Both detectors are great salt water detectors. But the CZ21 has the best history on reliability. They are built like a tank and hardly ever break down.

 

[icurabeachguy]

I have used a CZ20/21 for the past couple years, with several hundred hours of use on my current 21 and it has only failed me once...a quick trip to Felix and it was fixed in 3 weeks at minimal cost. I was curious about an excal and wanting to know if it really did do better than a CZ so I bought a good condition second hand unit that lasted about 3 months of my regular use (same treatment as my CZ in my hunting conditions) before the coil cracked. Granted, it paid for itself 1.5x over, but I was down a machine...so what did I do, I went back to old faithful and it hasn't skipped a beat.

The Excal is a good machine, but I didn't find anything at depths my CZ couldn't easily pick up, it was heavier than the CZ, and the build quality is just not up to par as the CZs are in my opinion. I'm in the process of hard-wiring a new Sunray S-12 coil and doing the Pelt0r mod on the excal, so hopefully it stays in service longer...maybe I'll have better luck (I also bought my CZs used). One thing I really liked about the excal is how you can distinguish targets before you dig. After I learned the tones, I pretty much knew what I was digging beforehand...something not as discernible on the CZ.

Long story short, I wish the Excal were as bullet-proof as the CZ and if I were to choose only one...I would choose the CZ because a machine that is down means less time to hunt.

p.s. I have a CZ 20, CZ 21 and an Excal 1000 with a Sunray S-12 and I snorkel detect 100% in saltwater beaches.

 

[PowerDetecting]

CZ-21 is 3 tone and has 2 ranges 5 khz and 15 i beleieve where the excal has multi tone and 1.5khz-100 range i think it is 28 different freq?
CZ-21 has CC coil Excal has DD coil
Both come in 8 and 10" coils
Excal nulls on iron CZ-21 doesnt. I like to hear the iron unless there is alot then i will use disc
CZ-21 is bulky but very strong I do not like the design of the Excal IMO

I have found alot with my cz-21 and i know a few people who use the excal and they do great too. Both are good machines it is just personal preference.

 

[Reeseb]

I have been hunting with an Excal II for two years now, but just recently bought a CZ21. The reason why I bought the CZ21 is that you can hear iron and still have tone ID. This, at least to me, is important in spots where there is a lot of iron because recovery delay is reduced when you don't have a constant null like the Excal is locked into. Often good targets are hiding in iron, so I wanted to be able tell where the iron began and ended so I could work around it and pick up adjacent targets. So far the CZ21 is doing just what I need. When hunting a spot where iron is not prevalent, I'd give the CZ21 only a slight edge and that's only because it is a bit deeper than the Excal.

 

[therover]

In my years of learning and using both, I have come to the conclusion that performance wise for both is neck and neck. The main differences between the 2 units, in my opinion, are what a hunter prefers and what conditions the hunter will be using it in.

Do you want a concentric coil or DD ? There are pros and cons to both.

Manual or automatic GB ? The CZ does have the ability to offset the GB due to it being manual, which can be a plus in certain situations.

3 tones or a variety of tones ? CZ easier to distinguish gold targets due to the mid tone which is very different than the low or high, making cherry picking easier.

Threshold based or silent search in discriminate mode ? In all metal mode, the CZ can give you a bit more info on the target ( but you have to have learned the all metal language of a CZ to use this as an advantage).

Do you want to null on iron in discriminate mode, or hear it ?

As far as sensitivity to small gold, the 8 inch coils have the advantage over the bigger coil. Easier to swing in the water, and easier to pin point with the smaller coil, but sacrifice coverage.

Being a mutli frequency unit, the Excal may have an advantage in highly mineralized sand, but I do not have first hand knowledge of that since the salt water beaches I hunt are not mineralized like those in CA for example.

Sweep speeds for both units are pretty close in terms of what speed you need for optimal performance. Excal is probably a bit slower. Recovery speed is a bit faster on the CZ.

I roll with the CZ's because I know them the best.....which is probably the number one asset a hunter has...knowing his/her machine.

 

[2wheeldevil]

I was told that for divers the CZ-21 is buoyant and you have to hang on to it in the water, not a problem
with the Excal.
Do any of you divers have any experience dealing with this?

 

[2wheeldevil]

Sorry, just read the post below.

 

[2wheeldevil]

No problem if you hip or chest mount it.

 

[tvr]

... and a little bit of bouyancy can be readily corrected with a little ballast.

In high concentration of iron trash at the beach I have a little bit of a preference for the Excal swept slowly. I've not got quite the same depth with the Excal that I've gotten with the CZ in most conditions. The Excal DD coil sweeps more ground volume than the CZ concentric coil does. I have found the CZ to do better in the heavier areas of black sand I've found on the Atlantic Coast than the Excal does.

I have both and plan to keep both. I've had the CZ-20, bought used, for several years and not had to do anything except change batteries. The Excal was also gotten used and have had to replace O- rings and had a battery pod develop hairline cracks and had to get a new one. The CZ is built like a tank, the Excal isn't.
tvr

 

[OldBeechnut]

Therover....In my years of learning and using both, I have come to the conclusion that performance wise for both is neck and neck. The main differences between the 2 units, in my opinion, are what a hunter prefers and what conditions the hunter will be using it in.

I'm a excal lover and swear by them, but I love my CZ's..Each gets use just as therover stated.....for me........slow water..lakes, the bay, the cz20's. The excalibur atlantic beach's. On the duribility of each, CZ hands down..tank. Excal..Old Jaguar...............

 

[Bleaver]

I have used the CZ 20 and 21 both 8 inch coil and 10 1/2 inch coils. I have a friend that uses the Excalibur and has a CZ-21 too. Both are great detectors. Its our opinion that the CZ's are the deeper machine and the Excalibur more responsive to small gold. That said there has been to clear winner in gold count or weight. Sometimes I win, some time he wins.

I will say that some times I use one of the the CZ-21's (10 1/2 inch) that I have now on land sites where I hope to find real deep targets. It works just fine. No meter but the descrimination sellection is the same as on a CZ 5 or 6. Of course It is heavy as all get out, but I can take it for an occational outing. My normal land machines are a Vaquaro or Cibola.