Manticore - 900 - D2- Other??

[mntnflyr4fun]

Thanks to all  for chiming in. I had a serious lean towards the Manticore and you all helped solidify my thinking and today it is Manticore all the way, however I think Cudamark is right on the $$ and I can wait a day or two to see what the big news from Garrett might be.... 

Thanks Again

Kerry

[Rattlehead]

I've owned both and ended up sticking with the Deus 2. For the type of hunting I do, I found the performance to be very similar. Strengths of the Manticore in my opinion are the menu structure/ease of navigation, nicer screen in general, 2D Disc, Target Trace and it was ever so slightly deeper. Strengths of the Deus 2 would be the ergonomics and more nuanced audio (again IMHO). I chose to stick with the Deus 2 mainly for those two reasons, as those are big ones for me. Having said that, I've been considering adding another Manticore to my arsenal after trying out the new M9 coil. It seemed to perform really well and was very lightweight due to being so thin. I'm just waiting to see what this new Garrett looks like before making any decisions.

 

[Zaj56]

Hey...maybe the updated 900 deserves to be in the conversation now???

[Chase Goldman]

You can't go wrong with either D2 or Manticore, having used both.  I tend to agree with Rattlehead above on the D2 audio advantage, especially in thick iron, but am learning to integrate the Manticore 2D display to fill that audio gap. The addition of the M9 coil narrows the ergonomic advantage between D2 and Manticore AFAIC and the lack of having to deal with water hunting antenna claptrap is also attractive for beach hunting.  Right now I don't have a compelling reason to choose one over the other, other than having A LOT more swing time on the D2 giving me more confidence and trust, and the D2 being more compact (especially if I use the WS6 Master configuration) and easier to pack in when hiking to a site or when I need to have both a PI and VLF with me.

[mntnflyr4fun]

8 hours ago, Chase Goldman said:

and the D2 being more compact (especially if I use the WS6 Master configuration) and easier to pack in when hiking to a site or when I need to have both a PI and VLF with me.

That is a big consideration as I am an off the beaten path guy, so while I wait for the Garrett information I can keep thinking about the direction I should go....

[Chase Goldman]

11 hours ago, mntnflyr4fun said:

That is a big consideration as I am an off the beaten path guy, so while I wait for the Garrett information I can keep thinking about the direction I should go....

D2 is the most packable detector I own and can be easily carried in a day pack.  I also have a Rhinowalk Bike Vest I use when I don't want or need to carry a full blown pack and I can fit the D2 in the bladder pocket in back, the coil just sticks out the top and the back of the S Rod stem hangs down the back. I secure it with the bladder top flap and strap.  The key is the collapsible S rod.

Despite being very compact when the shaft is collapsed, the control Pod handle on the Manticore makes this arrangement more awkward to strap up, but it is do able as I have done it.  I just prefer the D2 if I am packing in a detector.

[Steve Herschbach]

12 hours ago, mntnflyr4fun said:

That is a big consideration as I am an off the beaten path guy, so while I wait for the Garrett information I can keep thinking about the direction I should go....

Something tells me you can handle a Manticore with either M8 or M9 coil, 27" fully collapsed and 2 lbs 9 oz. You could get it smaller if you pulled the rods apart, but why bother? 

You will have the Garrett info in hand by end of day so not much longer.

[Rattlehead]

1 hour ago, Chase Goldman said:

D2 is the most packable detector I own and can be easily carried in a day pack. 

 

That's one of the things I really like about it too. My other hobby is riding motorcycles, and the compact size of the D2 lets me enjoy both hobbies at once. With it collapsed all the way down, I can easily carry it in the saddle bag of my Ultra Limited. It allows me to ride and explore new areas on the bike, then detect while I'm there. At first I had a little trouble figuring out how to carry a long handled shovel, but the Excalibur Merlin solved that problem, as it breaks down into two pieces.

[Steve Herschbach]

17 hours ago, mntnflyr4fun said:

That is a big consideration as I am an off the beaten path guy, so while I wait for the Garrett information I can keep thinking about the direction I should go....

Looks like Garrett opted out of being part of the conversation - proceed........