Garrett AT Gold
Price: $800
Avg. Score: 
4.37
Based on 19 reviews
4.37Based on 19 reviews
Avg. Durability:
4.06
Avg. Ease of use:
4.24
Very pleased
April 08, 2015
I've been prospecting for years and I can say that the Garrett AT Gold
Metal Detector is a fine piece of gold prospecting equipment. It's great
for coins, relics, and jewelry, etc. While it does have restrictions, it
works in a wide variety of terrains. They're in popular demand but I've
always found great deals on them at goldrushtradingpost.com
Overall Rating
Durability
Ease of Use
Would you recommend this to a new user?
Yes, absolutely!
Karlgrath from
Oregon
195
Nice machine...
December 18, 2014
I have used the At Pro for several years and also have the AT Gold. In
testing I would say the ATP with the 8.5x11 stock coil is about 1/2 inch
deeper running in pro mode than the ATG is with it's stock 5x8 coil running
in it's discrimination mode. In all metal mode I would say it is deeper
than the ATP but you lose high tones.
With All metal mode I turn on iron audio and set the iron level at 34-36 or somewhere around there which does then give low tones for target below the set iron level and mid tones for everything else. Although you hear everything it does provide greater depth which is something we all want.
The learning curve between the ATP and ATG was not bad, some of the features are different but the basic principle is the same. Having a threshold on the ATG is a nice feature as well. The ATG does not have adjustable notch discrimination like the AT Pro but mode 2 is preset to what you would want for coin hunting and mode 1 has nothing notched out both provide the mid/high/iron audio low tones. I prefer not to discriminate anyway so all metal or mode 1 suits my needs well.
The stock coils between the ATG and ATP are interchangeable which is nice as well. I have used the 8.5x11 coil on the ATG. I would estimate it added an inch or so depending on the target. I like both machines and would have a hard time picking one over the other. I suppose the ATG would win strictly due to the True all metal mode and threshold features. My depth comparison is strictly depth in which I received a valid ID number with the signal, targets can be heard beyond that but the number would be inaccurate or non existent only audio beyond that but repeatable.
Max Depth: 9 inches on US quarter
Overall Rating
Durability
Ease of Use
Would you recommend this to a new user?
Yes, absolutely!
Mechvillian from
Virginia
295
Powerhouse in bad ground!
October 23, 2014
After mastering the ATpro I took right to the gold. It far exceeds the pro
for depth here in our bad VA soil. I slapped on the big coil from my ATP
and instantly began to find civil war bullets my other machines had missed.
To obtain this added depth you must use the all-metal mode and know that on
the deep stuff the vdi numbers will jump around some. I am very pleased
with this machine!
Overall Rating
Durability
Ease of Use
Would you recommend this to a new user?
Yes, absolutely!
Josh from
Virginia
287
Disappointed also
May 19, 2014
After trying 2 AT Gold's in the Rocky Mountains, sold them both. I liked
the design and the features it offers, but the VDI's were eratic. The
numbers would lock on coins OK, but everything else, the numbers and curser
would jump around. That defeats the purpose of having a VDI. In the
mountains, they were even worse, couldn't handle the mineralized soil here
in Colorado.
Max Depth: 7 inches on US quarter
Overall Rating
Durability
Ease of Use
Would you recommend this to a new user?
No, not really.
Hal from
Colorado
1723
At gold review
December 18, 2013
I like my At Gold even though I haven't completely mastered it yet but it
takes time with ANY detector! In response to the first review about it not
being a good machine for wet, salty-sand, the AT Gold wasn't made for salt
water but the AT Pro is made for both salt and fresh water. The AT Gold
states in the description that it's no good in salt water, because of the
high frequency 18khz which is designed for highly-mineralised soil where
gold is found.
Anyway, this is a great machine if you're looking for a machine that finds gold as well as coins, relics, caches, AND you can walk into any fresh-water pond, lake, or stream if you want! I think that's a pretty good deal! For trashy areas like parks etc., you should stick with the med.(5" x 8")coil and the Lg.(8.5" x 11") for farmers fields or any place you know won't be filled with trash. And if you're out hunting nuggets, use the little sniper coil.(if you have it)
Overall Rating
Durability
Ease of Use
Would you recommend this to a new user?
Yes, absolutely!
RI_JEFF from
Toronto, Canada
306
Grand gold machine - not for the beach
October 06, 2013
Coming to a gold detector from a coin machine many may have a bit of
learning curve ahead of them. Most assume that all detectors should just be
“turn on a go” simple. Nothing can be further from the truth.
Searching for gold is all over the map in terms of the changing ground conditions, finds are never a consistent size, or at the same depth. New detectorist have a hard time dealing with the ever changing threshold sound buzzing in the ear. This is a subtle, yet very important element that helps find what you are looking for. As for the AT Gold, it rivals and exceeds the Fisher Gold Bug, in my opinion in may respects.
The auto ground balance window feature gets you to a concise balance in the toughest ground conditions. The advantage of being able to go from land base searches to the water without skipping a beat is just incredible. The stock AT Gold 5x8 blunt ended Double “D” coil is a sweet spot size for working around brush and bedrock. I have used the 4.5 inch super sniper coil also underwater with great success. I strongly recommend that whichever coil you use, install a cover. Knowing what the manual says, I tried to giving it a go on the coast anyway. I was able to attain ground balance in the dry sand and found many target, some were even coins. Garrett was right on the money, the AT Gold not a beach machine. It really struggles with the salt water/wet sand combination. Water detecting there was just out of the question.
For its price range, features, and true gold detecting ability, this is a great machine. This unit is light, easy to learn and understand, and just plain fun for both beginners and seasoned detector users.
Max Depth: 8 inches on US quarter
Overall Rating
Durability
Ease of Use
Would you recommend this to a new user?
I have no clue...
Mick from
San Francisco, Ca
236
Not impressed
July 29, 2013
I took my AtGold to the San Gabriel River to look for gold. Some guys used
MineLab and the signal was good. San Gabriel is filled with minerals and
iron. In fact - the whole mountain has a lot of iron in it. My AtGold went
crazy - I was unable to discriminate iron at all. False 77 signal went all
the time when I was above trash - mostly aluminum cans. One time AtGold
gave me clear signal in all modes - and I found an old can of spam. Most of
the time the depth is wrong - AtGold shows 8" and the item is on the
surface. I think this is not a good detector for highly mineralized areas.
Max Depth: 8 inches on US quarter
Overall Rating
Durability
Ease of Use
Would you recommend this to a new user?
No, not really.
Geo from
LAX
1441
Best I Have Ever Owned
April 14, 2012
I have been metal detecting since the early 60'sAnd the AT Gold is the best detector I have ever had in my hands. I know all of you have heard this before (I hunted one of my sites that has been pounded to death with other detectors)
Well it is true. With in a 50 ft area I pulled 12 coins and a silver ring and I thought it was hunted out. NOT
Overall Rating
J Drake from
Southern Oregon
9616
Coin shootIng with the Garrett AT -Gold
December 18, 2011
On December 15th 2011 I took my new Garrett AT -Gold to a local Chicago
park to test out this machines ability to find coins. The temperature was
approximately 40 degrees and the ground was moist. The unit performed
wonderfully. Even though I did not recover any silver coins, I did find
about 35 various clad and copper coins including 12 wheat pennies. The clad quarters and dimes were all less than 4 inches and the AT -Gold's numerical readout was very consistent. Quarters registered a value of 86 and the dimes 80. Zinc pennies came in at between 77-79 and the wheaties at 80-81.
Some of the wheaties were as deep as 6 inches and the unit gave solid tones. I encountered a few aluminum pull tabs which in discrimination 2 gave clearly broken signals that made them very easy to identify as trash. Even on the deeper wheat pennies the signal remained solid when I lifted the coil higher to test the function of the depth reading. I experienced almost no fatigue after hunting for more than 4 hours.
I am very impressed with this unit. From the quality of the construction and materials to the design and ergonomics. Garrett has a real winner here. I own several other high quality detectors and this one holds it's own with any of them.
I also air tested the machine against many others at the metal detector store and it blew away the competition on coins, rings, and a small gold nugget . To the best of my knowledge, this unit boasts more features than any other detector I've run across. How many water capable machines have removable headphones and coils, digital readout, multiple frequencies, 40 hours of operation on 4 AA 's, and auto ground balance with adjustable iron discrimination.
The proportion audio response is also great for identifying deep targets just by the sound level. The small double D coil is also so light I can barely feel it. Although I used the larger double D coil on the first park hunt. This detector can do it all with no compromise.
You will be very satisfied if you get one. I will be posting more results as time goes on. I can't wait to use it again. Good luck hunting !
Overall Rating
Ron galiene from
Illinois
31527
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