Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Everybody has these things (Garrett Pro-Pointer AT - the Garrett Carrot), and everybody likes them - a good many people love them. The Whites Bullseye TRX has it beat on range/depth (and price), and is the "Carrot's" most worthy competitor (from what I can tell).. I'll leave a complete review to others (there are plenty), and comment on something that I've not seen discussed very much - though it may be out there in an Amazon review, YouTube, etc. The Garrett Pro-Pointer AT is sensitive along the length of its probe (up to and past the 4" mark), and you'll see some people map that out on YouTube. This "wand" of sensitivity can be swept horizontally to survey a dirt pile, vertically to search the side of a deep hole, or horizontally on the surface seeking a shallow target. This is useful, but is not uniformly sensitive along its length. Garrett even remarks in the manual that maximum sensitivity to small targets is obtained a little above the tip, and from the side. To get maximum pin-pointing precision from it, try testing how it reacts to typical flat targets (coins, rings, pull tabs, etc.), depending on their orientation. I'll leave you to experiment and get a feel for it, but here is an example of what I am talking about: Think of laying the Pro-Pointer AT on its side and sweeping it across the surface, looking for a shallow coin. Most coins are buried flat, so the coin will be facing the side of the pin-pointer. You'll find that there is a "dumbbell" of sensitivity in this case, peaking at around the 0.5 inch line and the 3.5 inch line. A weak signal is probably near the tip or near the LED area (4" mark). Try it in the air. Now think of sweeping the Pro-Pointer AT into and around a hole that missed the coin. The Pro-pointer will be close to vertical and the coin will be "co-linear" with the shaft (facing down, and the shaft is pointed down). In this case, the sensitivity pattern is reversed. The sensitivity drops at the ends (near 0" and 4") and peaks in the middle (near 2"). If you get a moderate signal in the wall of a hole, the target may not be down by the tip, but two inches higher up along the shaft, because that is where the most sensitivity is for a target oriented that way. Try it in the air. You'll notice that a coin edge-on to the shaft, with the edge parallel to the shaft, is very weakly sensed, but has the "dumbbell" sensitivity pattern encountered in the first example. Experimenting in the air with this pin-pointer and commonly found items will help avoid issues in the field with targets that seem to move around as you orient the pin-pointer differently. We are all familiar with detecting "moving targets" from nails, long screws, bobby pins, and pieces of wire, and issues detecting targets buried on edge. Pin-pointers can suffer from similar issues on a smaller scale, and in a worst case this can slow recovery or cause an unnecessarily large hole to be dug. By reorienting the pin-pointer, and knowing its sensitivity pattern, we can avoid being mislead. Other brands of pin-pointers have different sensitivity patterns, with potential advantages or trade-offs.