Today I received a text from my husband: “Can we get the DeepSeeker?” Of course, he was referring to the Garrett ATX DeepSeeker Package–the one with the whopping price tag. Rather than just smack him upside the head with a reality check, I gently reminded him that we just sold a car to buy an XP Deus. I mean… technically the car had been rusting in our driveway for close to two years but I’m not about to throw the house on the market for an ATX–regardless of how much I love Garrett.
Now granted, I made the mistake of spoiling him with the XP Deus for his twenty-sixth birthday. Like many hobbyists, I started out with the Ace 250 and worked my way up to the AT Pro. Maybe I should have just handed him the Ace 250 and declared, “Happy Birthday.” No… instead, I gave him an XP Deus and he wants to conquer the world with an ATX. I’ve created a monster!
Before I pulled the trigger on the XP Deus, I took to social media to ask friends and fellow hobbyists which machine I should gift him. You would have thought I had publicly declared my deepest appreciation for our president… Everyone and their mother chimed in with an opinion. I came to realize that asking which brand of metal detector someone would suggest was a bit like asking which breed of dog someone preferred. (Personally, I’m the proud mama of two rescued hound dogs.)
Everyone who responded to my post would defend their brand to the end and I admire that. I really do. My readers know that I love Garrett. I stand behind my AT Pro and Ace 250. They are both great machines, but the user determines which machine is best for them. If you hand a beginner an Garrett ATX, they would have no clue where to begin. If you hand a relic hunter a Fisher Gold Bug… what are they going to do with that? Kind of like dog breeds… metal detectors have different qualities to offer.
I came to the realization that I needed to break down the situation. My husband is a coin collector. So naturally, he would want a coin shooter instead of a relic hunting machine. Secondly, the ground here is highly mineralized and produces a lot of chatter. Thirdly, he has about ten hours experience metal detecting… but he started with an AT Pro. All these factors helped narrow down the options. Obviously, Billy would not be satisfied without VDI. He had learned to identify objects based on VDI.
Instead of looking to fellow hobbyists to help identify the right machine, I went to the professionals–the dealers whom I trust and have built a relationship with. Originally, I had it in my head that I was going to buy a Whites. In my experience, anyone who owns a Whites is crazy about their machine. Heck, Dominique even named her Vx3! I knew there had to be something about Whites that makes their users so astoundingly loyal. Since my usual dealer doesn’t sell Whites, I spoke with someone who does. This someone cautioned me against getting my husband a Whites. He gently reminded me that the machine was for my husband not me… good call.
He suggested that since my husband is a coin shooting kind of fella, that I look into the CTX3030 and the XP Deus. Personally, I think I would have loved the CTX3030. I’m tech savvy, I’m a quick learner, and I’ve heard great things about MineLab. My husband–on the other hand–is the kind of guy who refused to get a smartphone until they stopped selling flip-phones. He hates technology. I knew that if I bought him a MineLab, he would get frustrated. And after finally getting him hooked on the hobby, the last thing I wanted was to get him frustrated.
So that was it–I pulled the trigger on the XP Deus. My husband even let me take it for a test drive. In the first ten minutes I popped out a key, a copper wire, and a 1993 nickel. The recovery speed on this thing is insane!
Now, the assembly instructions were a little hard to follow. I had to make a quick call to Mark Tomczyk to figure out how to charge the darned thing. Unlike most detectors that run on batteries, the XP Deus plugs into the wall. The wall charger has three ports–one for the coil, one for the remote, and one for the headphones. So essentially, the whole detector is wireless. Can you imagine that? There’s no wrapping your cord around the shaft and worrying that your wrap is too loose or tight. The XP Deus has no wires.
I must admit that the pinpointing function sounds a bit like a dying giraffe, but boy is it accurate! Whenever my husband set it down to recover an item, I pounced on the darned thing and started swinging. The Deus is light, I could swing all day without getting a cramp in my shoulder. I know some MineLab users have had to use a sling to preserve their arm. That’s not the case with XP Deus. I’m in love with this thing.
Don’t get me wrong. I will always recommend the AT Pro to someone who is looking for a mid-grade machine that offers bang for the buck, but if your budget has a little wiggle room… go for the XP Deus. Robert Wyatt at Quality Metal Detectors just started carrying them… even though their site doesn’t have them listed. (Someone needs to get on that! Oh, wait… I design their site. Hah. I’ll get on that. In the meantime, call Robert (770) 560-8814. He gives awesome deals when you mention yours truly.)
So that is my opinion on the XP Deus. A lot of my readers have been asking, so I thought I would share my experience with the machine. If you want to shoot me any questions, don’t hesitate. You can find me on facebook and I don’t bite.