I'll Have Two Scoops, Please! Beach Scoops

[F350Platinum]

Well it's my birthday, I can get hands on my new beach scoop and show it here. My fabulous wife bought me a Dune Titanium beach scoop, I have a great CooB stainless scoop too but wanted to try and build the lightest scoop I could but the most unbreakable. We will see how this plays out.

A couple weeks ago I finally cracked the PVC shaft for my CooB scoop while digging at a local beach with notoriously heavy sand. @Jeff McClendon was right, but the laminated bamboo insert saved the day, and it's still not broken. However, the shaft flexes a lot more so I retired it.

I've had great luck with @steveg's Detector Rods, I have one for the Deus 2 and my Equinox 600, they're excellent, so I figured he'd also make a heckuva shaft for a beach scoop. Since I got a new scoop, I ordered one for both. I was not disappointed.

Here's the scoop, I sent pics of the welds to a friend who has welding experience, he said it looks good. 👍

For those of you who don't know, Titanium is extremely light, strong, and corrosion resistant. The grayish look is what you want to see, it's an oxidation that helps prevent corrosion. Water only makes it better. That's why you see airplanes that have been underwater for a long time still intact.

The only downside is that using pure titanium is expensive, I hope this one is, it will cost you $250 for even a small one, and the price goes up to $600+ for other name brands. That's just the scoop, the shaft is additional, so expect to pay a minimum of about $400 for one. Expect to pay about $300 for a large quality stainless scoop and shaft.

Above is my new dynamic duo, CooB stainless on the left, and Dune on the right. Both are 2mm metal, very strong. I've used the CooB for 2 years now and it still looks new, I just rinse it after it's been in the water. I was pleased that the Dune was the same thickness.

On both of them I add a Raptor handle, they're cheap and really strong. They come with rubber inserts, and I install them just forward of the balance point (toward the shaft cap) once the scoop is attached to the shaft using a 2" 14/-20 stainless bolt with a stainless Nylock nut. Steve puts a plug in the bottom of his shafts to make that point strong, drilling a 1/4" hole made me a bit nervous, and he told me not to use a retaining screw that ships with the Raptor. You could use it on a wood handle but the torque would crack and split carbon fiber.

The tough rubber inserts prevent slipping and cracking the handle, do not overtighten the bolts! Steve's shafts are 2.5mm CF so they're a little heavier, and would be less prone to crushing, but I can see that easily happening.

Weight? The assembled CooB rig weighs 4.5 pounds, and the Dune 2.9. the Dune is also smaller.

The Dune is a 6.5 inch scoop, and the CooB is about 9 inches. Each will have its use, and backs up the other.

An expensive project but fun, I hope they will last a long time now. 

[strick]

Nice... I'd like to try  titanium but have three ss scoops with CF shafts one I don't use any more. I really like my Starve the best as it's light for a ss scoop. I will add one thing if you have habit of placing your scoop over your shoulder while detecting the pointy edges of the Raptor grip can dig into your shoulder which is annoying. Also the bolts want to rust on the one that I have.  I prefer this instead. They can be hard to find. Happy B- Day!

https://sitoscoop.com/product/motus-t-grip-lift-handle/

strick 

[midalake]

33 minutes ago, F350Platinum said:

My fabulous wife bought me a Dune Titanium beach scoop,

Awesome>>Let me know how that puppy works for ya! 

[F350Platinum]

2 minutes ago, strick said:

Nice... I'd like to try  titanium but have three ss scoops with CF shafts one I don't use any more. I really like my Starve the best as it's light for a ss scoop. I will add one thing if you have habit of placing your scoop over your shoulder while detecting the pointy edges of the Raptor grip can dig into your shoulder which is annoying. Also the bolts want to rust on the one that I have.  I prefer this instead. They can be hard to find. Happy B- Day!

https://sitoscoop.com/product/motus-t-grip-lift-handle/

strick 

Thanks man! 😀

I looked for the Motus handles when SteveG mentioned them, and see that they're still out of stock 😵 if anyone knows where I can get one I want to try it. I have no problem with the Raptors due to where I mount them. I carry a beach scoop differently than a shovel, but I know what you mean!

I wanted a 62" shaft, but getting one is expensive. I'm talking $500+ expensive, so I'm happy supporting Steve, he's been really good to me. 2.5mm CF and custom widths make his easy to consider. Less work, more fun 😀

[mn90403]

Happy Birthday!

[F350Platinum]

9 minutes ago, mn90403 said:

Happy Birthday!

Thanks man, metal detecting is such a big part of my life now that it opens the door to some great presents with help 😉 she also got me this journal. I blurred it a bit to keep it clean:

🤣 A bad hip and two bad knees keep her from hunting with me, so I take her to dinner every time I find silver or gold, and she usually gets the gold too 😀 sometimes the silver if it's a ring. Wish I could fill her jewelry case up as fast as you would! 👍 if she liked relics as much she'd be rich 😎

[mn90403]

Has anyone bought and used the MDNYC scoop?  He had a long discussion about wanting to make the best sand scoop ever.

[CPT_GhostLight]

Thanks for the great write up, F350, and Happy Birthday! 😎

[PI-Man]

F350 great review!

I just got my hands on my new Xtreme Ti AllTerrain Plus setup.  Cuts through the sand like butter.  Only had it out 2 times since I am dealing with some health stuff.  Only thing I need now is to hear the ‘clunk’ in the scoop from a monster gold ring to pay for it or it’s going to take a pile of Pennies.  Probably about 68000 should do it.  Wow 68000 holes I need a back hoe instead! 😝 

[F350Platinum]

23 hours ago, mn90403 said:

Has anyone bought and used the MDNYC scoop?  He had a long discussion about wanting to make the best sand scoop ever.

Never heard of it, going to look it up. 👍

It would be cool if true, as long as it's affordable 🤔