Garrett GTI 2500

Second top of line garrrett.

Allan Brounstein in Regina,Saskatchewan,Canada -
I had the older version of this forget the number..1000?? I wanted to get back into the hobby so went with the 2500.
I am in Canada and our coins are pretty close to junk so its discrimination is not as spot on as it would be with american coins.I dig some trash but better to dig some than to miss some good stuff.
I am getting more used to the detector. Found a buddy last week that had same one from another city staying at my lake and he really helped me out. We had a lot of fun finding things. Had a decent day .Each found a ring. My ring was not that great but day before found a nice gold ring. Didn't find really old coins but we weren't hunting really old areas.
The pinpointing works very well. The voice is great I really like it. The imaging is usually very accurate for depth and size of the object.
Detector is a bit heavy. Bought this accessory called swingy thing and going to try that out. Also think I put a gun or guitar strap on my old garrett detector. Could always do that. I am gettting used to the weight though and hunting for several hours is no big deal. Taking off the battery pack can help a bit. And you can play with what hole the rod is in as well.

I don't understand some of the really bad reviews. They must have had dud detectors. Mine is working great. My old one also had no problems with it. I had a minelab something or other think excalibur and that thing was super heavy. Not very easy to use either. Basically no discrimination from what I remember.

I may try the other non imaging coils out at some point. I don't understand why garrett can't make the sniper coil image.That would be great.

The only real improvement I can see over the 2500 would be if you could get actual xray type imaging of the object in the ground and that technology is likely a ways in the future.

I really don't see any cons for this thing.Its pricey but like the features. Voice to me is not a gimmick. It keeps me company! LOL
Just wish could change the voice like on my gps. And even sexier australian accent girl like on my garmin would be even better.

Aug 16, 2008

27 Yes
3 No

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Finally got a good one

Richard in alltown America -
After going through two of these and a bad 10x5 schorcher coil Garret finally sent me a good detector! How amazing, pretty good service from garret but I should not have had two bad detectors in the first place. Garret needs to look at there quality control more closely. But the service dept. replaced all of my bad equipment, now that I have one that is working properly I am fairly impressed with this green machine, it has really good depth better than my fisher coinstrike but they are both very good detectors.

I think most all high end detectors work about the same it is just the features that are different, this green unit really discriminates out the trash very well, one thing about a more expensive unit is that they will pickup much smaller targets at greater depths, just the other day I found a piece of metal at over a foot with my five year old bounty hunter 505, but the green unit will pickup a lot more targets that the B H will miss if your unit is not doing better than your bounty hunter then send it in for a retune. I have read reviews about the green one not detecting very deep, mine does very well to my surprise, after all the initial problems I had with Garrets machines I am now very satisfied with there product.

Aug 11, 2008

15 Yes
2 No

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absolute junk

Dean in Pasco ,Wa -
After owning this unit the GTI 2500 for a two month period it would not function very well form the day I opened the carton so I sent it in for service to garret, instead of repairing it they sent me back a new unit which works very poorly to, this unit has no depth detection in any mode, cannot dicrim. between aluminum and iron, and if anyone out there thinks this is a good detector then you obviously have have never used another detector in your life, I could do a better job of detecting with a magnet on a string.

That was a $1000 poorly spent, I think the FCC should investigate their claims about there over priced junk,e ven my really old Pioneer 505 Bounty Hunter works better than the GTI 2500, it has lots of bells and whistles but that is just to keep you distracted from its poor preformance...I should have bought a whites mxt my mistake...

Jul 19, 2008

1402 Yes
640 No

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GTI 2500 - Three years after...

Julio "Jules" Razquin in New Hampshire -
You newbies looking for a fast-response, easy-to-use machine better stick to the Ace 150 or 250 (if Garrett is the brand you're considering). If you're brave newbie, then go ahead and read...

For those seasoned hunters and rookies willing to put in field-time looking for relics and older coins, this is the machine you want to learn.

I often say to people that hunting with a Garrett machine is the equivalent of "Hunting for Dummies"... Why? Because once you assemble the thing, and read the manual, you are well on your way to finding coins, and relics.

Okay, the TID feature takes some learning. Don't expect the GTI 2500 to always tell the absolute truth (what machine does?). Proof of this is my collection of 200 year old ox shoes. But, I've learned the machine's language, and now can tell exactly what to dig, and what not to.

Iffy and jumpy signals? This is not due to a flaw in the machine, rather than the items's size and orientation in the ground (coin on edge, for example).

The rule of thumb seems to be: If it rings sweetly in both directions, dig it.

I hunt for Colonial relics and coins in New Hampshire, USA. After nearly three years with the blasted thing, I can say it performs rather well. After you learn it, all you have to do is put yourself at the right place, and you'll clean up.

Pros:

-Good TID on old and new coins up to 7-10 inches' depth.
-Long battery life (use lithium batteries for upwards up 35 hours' hunting!)
-All Metal mode goes DEEP!

Cons:

-Heavy machine. Older people, or those with weak arms (or arm/shoulder injuries) should consider another machine.
-The "Treasure Talk" feature is a fancy redundancy. It is just plain confusing.

I'm waiting for Garrett to pack the same power an features into a lighter, more ergonomically balanced machine. Hopefully, this will happen soon!

Julio "Jules" Razquin

Jun 19, 2008

120 Yes
32 No

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GTI YA YA

The Prospector in everytown,USA -
This a much better detector than my minelab eureka gold, it is heavier but I would rather heaft around my Garret GTI 2500 with loads of usefull features than use the minelab with no features the search coil is not even waterproof, after swinging the 2500 for 2 1/2 hours I had no problem with the weight, still one of the best detectors on the market,you can purchase six different coils for this guy I have four, I will purchase the large dual coil for the garret next, now that is some real depth 15-20 feet that no one else can match that with a hobby detector. Garret just has the best options that no one else has, it seems a little klunky when you first pick it up. But this unit found some very small targets that I did not think that it was capable of, it suprised me with its preformance!!!!

Jun 09, 2008

46 Yes
2 No

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the Garret GTI 2500

Dennis Levon in Boise,Id -
I have been using this 2500 for a while now,at first it felt a little clunky and old fashioned but after using it in all of its different modes and settings I am very happy with its preformance, this guy picked up very small pieces of galvanized metal,the area I was working in had almost no coins and lots of construction debree, so I expected to find lots of screws and nails but not as small or as deep as the detector found them, also it picked up very small pieces of galvanised wire, for some reason all the detectors I have used with target ID thinks that galvanised is a coin.

The thing that is really great about the garret is that you can switch between all of its modes very fast and set up a custom mode to switch back and forth with, this machine can cope with any ground any where in the world, it is very easy to learn and use, I swung this guy for 2 1/2 hours with my left arm with a pulled muscle in my forearm and had no problems with its weight,I don't know why people are crying about its heft, it is easy to get use to.I own a minelab eureka gold and the targets that they find in all metal mode are the same except the Garret has alot more features to find or reject the target, the eureka has almost no features, it is a much better detector than the minelab, and it has six coils available for it, that are waterproof, the minelab coil is not waterproof, all in all this Garret is a great Detector, if you are looking for very versital unit then this it!!

Jun 06, 2008

59 Yes
3 No

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The greatest detector made

Les in California -
This thing works great, very good depth not over priced, a little heavy, so what. The biggest problem this detector has is operator error not the detector, it sees and sizes every target correctly, if you are having problems then you need to read the manual again. The most versital metal detector ever made!!!!! And the best.

Jun 02, 2008

21 Yes
3 No

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Review; Pro's and con's

Eu_citzen in Europe, Sweden -
Having used the GTI 2500 for a year here are some thoughts:

Pros:
Good depth (yeah coins at 8" is nice..)
Fair battery life

Sizing is nice
(helps the newbie, can use pinpoint to "size" a target as well)

Big LCD screen (helps those who have poor sight)
Good pinpoint

Con's:
Heavy

Over priced (yes, really only basic adjustments)

Sound "quality" is bad
(sounds are almost the same)

The headphones that come with sucks

Discrimination is not good for Europe/Sweden
(only practical for USA/North America??)

Coils are heavy.(9.5" and 12.5", epoxy filled?)

Note: it is more suited as a relic machine as it SUCKS for coins.
(you almost have to dig everything)

May 31, 2008

168 Yes
70 No

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8 stars

John Nelson in Battleground,Wa -
Garret makes great detectors the GTI 2500 is one of the best you can buy, with tons of features that other machines simply do not have!!! So what if it is a little heavy it is very well built, and works a lot better than other VLF units. I love this machine, when and if this guy ever breaks down I will be buying another one, I am very glad that Garret is in business.

May 11, 2008

46 Yes
5 No

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I will be needing more display cases for relics and coins

Jimmy Baldwin in Johnston county, North Carolina -
Owned it for two weeks now. This is an awesome detector. Maybe a little tough for beginners but so are most detectors, My first day I was skeptical when I first tried it. After about 4 trips and a lot of backyard digging I knew Garret would never fail me. My last trip yielded 3 mercurys, a 1952 roosevelt. 5 wheats and a 1930s Chevrolet pinback badge. All from a well hunted field where an old putt putt course was, Ive always thought very well of my bounty hunter but I think I might better take the batteries out of it, If you know how to metal detect I think you will like this machine. Ive only got about 3 years experience and still have a lot to learn. However I know that metal detectors dont see under the ground. You have to do that part,

Apr 19, 2008

39 Yes
1 No

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