Garrett GTI 2500
Price: $1000
Avg. Score: 
4.03
Based on 89 reviews
4.03Based on 89 reviews
Avg. Durability:
4.63
Avg. Ease of use:
4.25
Great unit
December 03, 2009
I was reading the Dave in Canada review, the reason the GTI displays your
coins as bottle caps is that they are JUNK DUDE I can pick them up with
magnet now that is cheeseball, nothing wrong with the 2500 excellent green
machine, this guy works great everywhere. I have tested your coins with all
of my other VLF detectors and all of them display your coins as trash and
that is the definitive answer!!!
Overall Rating
Tech unit from
Omaha Neb
3621
No good for Canadian coins
November 27, 2009
I just bought the Garrett GTI 2500 and was disappointed to find out after
doing a test on Canadian coins, that detector does not identify Canadian
coins at all.For example the detector should tell me when it detects something like let's just say 5 cents, the detector should tell me that it could be 5 cents on the display screen; instead the detector shows the 5 cents as well as all Canadian coins as junk or trash like a bottle cap or a pull tab, but of cause the detector will pick up all metal.
The Garrett GTI 2500 is only set up to detect coins in the USA which is very disappointing considering how much the unit costs, you would think that for the price you paid a feature would have been available on the unit to change the country you live in or city because ever countries coins I'm sure is made for a different metal.
I am very surprised that Garrett didn't think of making a universal unit that would work anywhere, Garrett should have mentioned this on there web side and I would not have gotten this unit, any unit would have worked the same way in my opinion, if I lived in the USA this detector would rock you would never need another detector ever, it has all you need.
The detector is a little heavy but you will get used to it, I don't mind it been heavy that tells me that it's built well.
But having said all of this, there are some good things to say about the unit.
(1) The pin pointer on it is very accurate
(2) The imaging display to show you size and depth works very well too but around 12 inches it does not work well.
I hope this helps.
Overall Rating
Dave from
Canada
4628
Pennies at a Foot, and a Dime at 11 inches!
November 20, 2009
I don't see how anyone could complain about its depth! I took my new
Garrett GTI 2500 out in my front yard the first day it arrived, and it
found two pennies at 12 inches, right next to my concrete driveway. They
were from the sixties, probably backfilled there when the crusty old
concrete was poured. Later I took it to a solid black sand, far northern California beach, and dropped a thin clad dime in the thin surf. That one half inch, thin shiny dime looked so forlorn all by itself on that immense, solid black sand beach!
I kept raising the 12-1/2 inch coil, and it kept detecting it and ID'ing it. The last time she detected it, she consistently said it was a coin sized object at 11 inches! And the ID stuck right on a dime, with absolutely no false signals at all! And this was on a black sand beach with salt water running over the dime! I was awestruck, doing the happy dance!
I'd been detecting for 48 years. I've had multiple top of line detectors during those years: Whites, Garretts, Technetics, Compass X-100, Bounty Hunter, Big Bud Pro, Gold Mountain, and finally, my second Garrett, the 2500. I'd had several top of line detectors in several of those different makes. But NOTHING BEFORE ever came CLOSE to detecting the smallest normal coins we have, at a foot deep!
I usually find up to 20 coins an hour with my GTI 2500, sometimes more. It always finds its share of the nickles and jewelry too.
I don't understand why some reviewers have said the sizing feature is not needed! It is so easy to use, and once you learn what to pay attention to in the sizing and ID'ing areas, you almost NEVER have to dig up any trash, ever again! This feature alone is worth the price of the detector!
It DID take a while to learn to use it, and I'm still learning. But the GTI 2500 is the most awesome metal Detector in my whole lifetime of experience! Its the best detector of its kind that money can buy!
It also has the versatility that allows you to detect down to 18 feet deep, in search of large relics and caches. No other standard detector can do that, for just $200 more. Now that's DEPTH! I rate this detector at least TEN stars - More than any other detector!
Overall Rating
Dave from
Far Northern Calif. and Southern Oregon.
9113
Not happy in Washington
August 15, 2009
My gti 2500 is about to go into the shop for a 2nd time, never had a
problem one with my 2 bounty hunters. I like the features on the gti, but
twice in the shop....makes me wonder about the quality.
Overall Rating
Earl from
Marysville, wa
2511
The gti 2500 after 4 years of use
August 07, 2009
My gti has been working 5hours a day for 4 years. The only thing that broke
was the battery holder. And I bought a new one for 20.00 dollars. Other
then that I love it. I find all kinds of coins in parks boat docks. The gti
2500 can even find buried well pipes and septic tanks. That sure helps put
bread+butter on the table. So buy one and learn how to use it good luck and
don't forget cover up them holes.
Overall Rating
Dan from linesville pa from
Linesville pa usa
217
Lots of "Bells and Whistles".
May 24, 2009
I bought my Garrett GTI last year as a package with the 9.5" and 11.5"
imaging coils. I will say it is solid and well built. In "All Metal" mode
this thing detects deep!!!. Where it lost me was in discriminate mode. It
just seemed the depth died when I put it in disriminate. For me and relic
hunting I am all about depth. I was detecting in a very old field at a club
function and had someone following me pick up a nice old button after I
went over the same spot that was using an old Whites 6000 Di After about 9
months of using it I sold it and replaced it with an F75. This is a nice
high end detector for a novice as it is very user friendly. But I can
pretty much guarantee that in discrim...you're missing the real old stuff.
Overall Rating
Jamison from
SC
356
Garrett GTI-2500 -haven't found a damn thing with it!
April 26, 2009
I really wanted this detector to be as good as they say it is. I read the
book 6 or 7 times and viewed the video several times. I have yet to find
anything more that four or five coins. I am experienced with a metal
detector. I had one when I was a kid back in 1970. My first detector was a
Bounty Hunter Quickdraw I bought in the early 1990's and I found a bunch of
relics. Then I switched to a Fisher CZ-5, wish I still had it. I got the
Garret in 2007. I don't want to stop anybody from getting this machine but
I have done everything I can to find good relics or coins but this think is
just JUNK! After two years I gotta give the machine up, sell it and move
on.
Overall Rating
Rick Rogers from
New Orleans Louisiana
3533
Most versatile detector out there-period.
February 19, 2009
For all of those who just purchased a GTI for the first time, do us all a
favor and don't comment until you have used one for 6 months-1 year; it
takes time to understand what it can do. Good, accurate imaging from
6-12", depending upon soil conditions, excellent depth in "All-Metal" mode
(not for beginners,) good versatility with multiple coil choices available
(2-3 coils std. from the factory w/ the right package.) For coins, relics,
moderate beach hunting (prepare to dig trash-one of the joys of MDing,) I
feel that this is the most versatile detector out there and one that you
can buy to enjoy for years to come.
Overall Rating
THer from
Wyoming, USA
5313
GTI 2500 better than I thought!!
January 15, 2009
I have owned my 2500 for about 7 months now and I was wondering why
everyone was saying what a great machine it is, I was having just the
opposite experience until I purchased an older white 9.5 imaging coil after
that the performance improved by detecting faster deeper and smaller
objects now it really does live up to its advertising claims, it is
surprisingly fast and accurate with the imaging feature, I also like the
voice in low light situations by hitting the TI button you get size and
depth of target info announced to you. It also picks up placer gold very
well great for nugget shooting, it is a very good detector. It also detects
deeper than all of my other VLF detectors.
Overall Rating
Josh from
Portland, OR
378
Great machine but takes a bit of time to understand it.
November 20, 2008
I'm a seasoned hunter have been for many years. I've almost always used
Garrett Machines but have had several others. I must admit like many others here that you have to read the book and DVD as well as experience what the machine can do. I'm hunting in Europe right now and for those who say that this machine is not good for European coins I say go back to the book and do some dry testing of the coins you want to find.
If you do you will quickly see that most European coins are low on the conductivity side unless they are big and made solely of conductive material.
This was my first mistake coming from the US. Second if you pay attention to the manual and CD you can even discriminate in the All Metal Mode with a little experience.
At first I thought the machine did not operate right and was frustrated. Why because I thought I was a seasoned hunter and didn't need to go step by step in learning how to operate it.
I was wrong and when I took the time to do what I was instructed, eureka! Coins started to fall into my lap.
I really like the Identification capabilities because the relics I'm finding generally have such and I can quickly weed out the nails and other junk iron most of the time.
Of course hunting in the All Metal Mode finds you all kinds of different objects but switching to the various useful discrimination modes is easy and faster than any other machine I have ever used.
It's also easy to change most all of the other settings within a few seconds once you get use to what is available for your use. I do recommend that you get the smaller coils and also wish it was had a TI capability.
I use the 9" most of the time but in trashy areas the 4" is a must. Even there you have the surface elimination function that will help get rid of those things you don't want to dig.
I've hit most coins here from 4 to 8 inches the smallest coin "Roman" is a mere 5 to 6 mm and sounds off just as well as the other's at the same depth.
The machine finds metal that's for sure,sometimes it finds to much and this characteristic needs a bit of experience to overcome.
If you hit a lot of targets you have to pay attention to the TI and Discrimination sounds and once you learn this you can even work in these areas with a high level of confidence that you know what's in the ground.
I like this machine and really happy with it now. But, like I said it does take a bit of work on your part to understand what it can do for you. That's why I rated it a 4. Otherwise it's a five in my book.
Overall Rating
Mirin123 from
Europe
587