I am just getting into beach/water hunting and I at first bought a cheap Chinese unit and thought it was great.....Until I met a fellow detectorist at a local beach using a Garrett Sea Hunter MarkII. He let me swing it for a brief time and I fell in love with it. We were at a freshwater lake and I had just gone over a certain area the day before and found a few pieces of clad. Almost immediately he picked up 3 pieces of nice jewelry, one being a gold mans band. That was all the proof I needed and I sent my Chinese detector back and traded it in on a Mark II. I don't know how it would do in salt but I have read several good reports from users. Whatever you decide on don't go for the really inexpensive "bargain" units. You will get what ou pay for I guarantee! JIM