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E-Trac vs. Safari

W

wcorney

New member
After a long time away from this hobby, I'm close to buying a metal detector. I will be using it mainly in parks for coin hunting (Cincinnati, Ohio). I've narrowed down my choice to either the E-trac or Safari - mainly due to the fact that these machines seem to be the latest innovation (and good comments on sites like this).

My question is what is the difference between these two machines (other than the USB port and ease of saving a number of settings). The spec's seem about the same in other areas. If the E-trac is just a few additional bells and whistles (that I probably won't use?), the Safari seems the better deal. However, I don't want to buy a detector now and within a year feel I should have bought the best(?). The E-Trac weighs over a pound more - what did they pack into that pound? It can't be just a few extra circuits.

Has anyone tried both of these machines? Your comments are appreciated.

Thanks,

Wayne
 
I haven't tried either one but don't forget the Explorer. Since you are considering the Etrac, the Explorer would be a logical one also, at least in my way of thinking.
Both of those you mentioned are brand new with the Safari probably not many have got one yet.
Still it is your choice, good luck in your selection process, maybe some who have those models can reply here.
HH.
 
I believe the E-Trac and the Explorer are the best machines out there right now. I know there are guys in Cinci who have been using Explorers for years in the awesome parks you guys have down there. This alone would make me lean towards the E-Trac... if it gives me an edge over those guys who have been there before, I'm all for it. That said, what kind of hunting are you wanting to do? Are you an old coin hunter or a clad and tot lot hunter? If you're not hunting old coins, you really don't need the Explorer or the E-Trac, it's overkill. Are you concerned about the weight of the machine? If so, the Xterra 70 is a nice unit and SUPER lightweight.
 
Its just that the explorer has adjustable features with target ID. I have the older sovereign xs and I'm can get and have gotten old coins between 9"-12" deep and that was with the 8" coil. I do use the 550 meter If it wasn't for the meter There was some good targets I would not have dug. The explorer is a great machine bar none! I happen to learn my sovereign with the numeric ID. Many sovereign users refuse to use the numeric meter Thats crazy. It like usin an explorer with a piece of duct tape over the the target ID. Get my point.
However u decide u can't go wrong. have fun.
 
mcorney
I just bought my first Minelabs,a Explorer SE with the Pro coil and a Sovereign with a meter.Both machines were a little intimidating the first hunt,different sounds than I'm used to.I pulled deep old silver coins out of hard hunted areas the first hunt.My next purchase is an Etrac.The Explorer guys I know that have purchased them have taken off hunting and never looked back,glad they got them.I don't know where you hunt but I have dry,mineralized gumbo clay and the Minelabs handly this ground way better than my Fisher F 75.Bill
 
Wayne,
I had the same problem deciding between the Safari and the E-Trac. Both machines are pretty much turn on and go. The E-Trac has a more adjustable discrimination with its auto latch, auto accept, and auto reject functions. I am the kind of person who likes to play with discrimination settings. I like E-Trac's sizing mode on pinpointing. Both have a visual pinpointing bar. This feature is a great improvement over the Explorer SE. The Explorers are also good machines. While buying my E-Trac last week the dealer weighed both the Safari (with out batteries) and the E-trac (without batteries) and to my surprise the Safari was just a tad heavier. The Safari takes 4 batteries and the E-Trac 8 but I don't think 4 batteries weigh a pound.
If you want to keep it simple go Safari. You can start simple with the E-Trac and have room to expand as your knowledge grows.
The deciding factor for me was after reading Andy Sabisch's book.

Doug
 
DoGold said:
Wayne,
I had the same problem deciding between the Safari and the E-Trac. Both machines are pretty much turn on and go. The E-Trac has a more adjustable discrimination with its auto latch, auto accept, and auto reject functions. I am the kind of person who likes to play with discrimination settings. I like E-Trac's sizing mode on pinpointing. Both have a visual pinpointing bar. This feature is a great improvement over the Explorer SE. The Explorers are also good machines. While buying my E-Trac last week the dealer weighed both the Safari (with out batteries) and the E-trac (without batteries) and to my surprise the Safari was just a tad heavier. The Safari takes 4 batteries and the E-Trac 8 but I don't think 4 batteries weigh a pound.
If you want to keep it simple go Safari. You can start simple with the E-Trac and have room to expand as your knowledge grows.
The deciding factor for me was after reading Andy Sabisch's book.

Doug
Click to expand...

Doug if you go to the Minelab website, they list the Safari as using 8 batteries like the Etrac and Explorer.

Neil
 
Got a Safari in Feb 09, was finally able to get out with it 4 or 5 times now. I hunted parks, ballfields, my own yard, and just today a colonial age property. I had been using a whites spectrum xlt for the last 9+ yrs. I can tell you the Safari so far has impressed me, it's only draw back for me is the recovery speed, in my opinion its fairly slow. Like any new machine you have to get to know the sounds and the icons/bar/numbers. It is a deep machine, I recently (yesterday) found a silver eisenhower 8+ inches deep it read 40 and never deviated from silver. This was a ballfield I had hunted many times with my White's.
I think the target was just too deep. Still like the White's as it has a fast recovery. I'm starting to love the safari the more I learn it. Still snow in Nothern Ma.
Some of my old hunting grounds have recently been posted as watershed land and now are inaccessable, crying shame found some nice stuff in the past years. My favorite factory setting on the safari is coin/jewelry. I find it very reliable and stable after performing noise cancel, which I think is important to do.
I have slowed my swing speed way down and targets are a lot easier to locate and pinpoint, pinpointing takes some pratice. A real good add on is the pocket pinpointer which has really helped me alot. Hope some of this info was helpful, I'm looking forward to a prosperous season.
 
Would be nice if there was a side by side comparsion. I have a list of all the features of each.
 
If you want a side-by-side comparison, (SE Pro VS E-Trac vs Safari), pm me
 
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