Which of the cheapest pinpointers to choose? (Deteknix XPointer or Mars MD Pointer)
The detecting season will start soon and many of the diggers will face a dilemma of pin pointer choice. Some good finds are already sold, probably, but you don’t have a lot of extra money to spend on expensive equipment, so take a look at what are the cheaper alternative to the amazing Garrett PRO Pointer AT (really good pointer) and XP MI-6, which will soon appear in stores (there are even cheaper pointers- homemade or quite cheap Chinese crafts which I do not recommend).
We will have a look at 2 low-cost pin pointers, which are now present on the shelves of many stores – the Deteknix XPointer (China production) and Mars MD Pointer (Ukraine production). Both these cost about $ 90 and they both equally weigh 134 grams (without battery). And here many people start to wonder, which of these pointers are better, if they cost the same?
Equipment
To decide which of the two pinpointers are better, let’s compare how and with what they are sold.
The Mars MD Pointer is sold:
in a box
with a cheap cover of pressed leather
a ring with a hole for the safety leash, which is not included. Sometimes they sell with a ring under the clip, but it is an old version
It is marketed in three colors.
Deteknix XPointer is sold:
in a box
with a fine cover of thick fabric with an embroidered name of the pinpointer and an additional ring for attachment
safety coiled cord, which is provided for fastening on the body
protective caps on the nose
a ruler in inches on the pointer itself
It is marketed in six colors.
As you can see, the best equipment comes with the Deteknix.
Functionality
Let us now consider the technical capabilities they have. If the XPointer has best equipment, then maybe the other one has better functionality?
Mars MD Pointer:
one control button
It offers a choice of two modes: vibration sound or vibration only
Static mode of operation
“lost” mode is activated after 2 minutes;
Water-resistant
Needs 1x9V battery
Deteknix XPointer:
two control buttons
It offers a choice of three modes: vibration sound, only sound, only vibrating
4 levels of sensitivity
Static mode of operation
“lost” mode is activated after 3 minutes;
signals low battery
LED flashlight
Water resistant
Needs 1x9V battery
And what do we see – again the XPointer is better.
Test
Now we are going to carry out a test for the detection range of different coins. Maybe there the pinpointer MD from Mars will show its best side.
As the Pointer is sensitive to the amount of charge in the battery, the test is carried out on one single battery.
Target depth in MM
| Target | Deteknix pointer | Mars MD pointer |
| Silver Denarius | 55 | 43 |
| “Scale” coin | 29 | 22 |
| 5 Kopeks Catherine | 61 | 55 |
| 1 Kopek 1926 | 44 | 38 |
| 5 Kopeks 1961 | 67 | 56 |
As you can see, the Pointer from Mars MD unfortunately showed a very weak result.
Conclusion
Comparing packaging, functionality and range of detection, we can see that in the selection of the two cheapest pinpointers Deteknix XPointer and Mars MD Pointer, the best one was the Chinese one.
When choosing a pointer for the new season be sure to make a good choice.
The season will start soon, and therefore it is useful to read reviews on different detectors and pointers, we collect them all here! And all about our favorite pinpointers we collect here.
Good luck!
you state a cheaper alternative to the excellent garrett biased much,the garrett has poor build qaulity falses like mad break very easily and has alot poorer performance than the mars md, which by the way not only outperforms the garrett in both depth – reliability – no falsing even on wet beach and is built like a tank, as stated it is alot cheaper to and oh it is more sesitive to small items aswell. and is with out a doubt one of the best pinpointers money can buy, and no i have no vested interest in mars md products and would personally never buy a garrett pinpointer fullstop.
Interesting opinion. Did you receive payments by Mars MD in UAH or USD?