Vulcan 360 pinponter review - The Good, The Bad, and the Really Ugly...

First off, I want to say the performance of the Vulcan 360 is a big step up performance wise for Chinese made-for-Kellyco stuff. This is a much better product than Kellyco's Automax line of pinpointers.

Since I've loved the Garrett Pro-Pointer the past 5+ years, and lots of other people have too, I'm comparing the Vulcan 360 to it. The actual selling price between the two units is similar. Like the Minelab Pro-Find and White's amazing new TRX, the Vulcan 360 design is obviously inspired by the Pro-Pointer.

First, the things I like better about the Vulcan than the Pro-Pointer: It's deeper. At the highest level of sensitivity my Vulcan 360 was stable and 1/8" deeper than my newest Pro-Pointer in the air on a clad dime. I couldn't tell any difference in the ground. And it has a bright orange base. That helps if you accidentally leave it behind. And that's it for what I like better.

What I don't like as well: The audio and vibration modulation. The Pro-Pointer modulation has a nice smooth linear progression in intensity. The Vulcan 360 progression is way more jumpy.

I don't like the feel of the Vulcan 360 as well. The Pro-Pointer plastic is textured and the feel is solid. The Vulcan 360 plastic is slick and feels cheap. Where the Pro Pointer is one solid piece, the Vulcan 360 has a seam running horizontally across the length of the unit. I would imagine the Vulcan 360 won't hold up as well, but I'll never know. Not from experience, anyway.

I don't like how easily the Vulcan 360 on/off button pushes on. More than once in the almost two hunts I used it the button accidentally got turned on when I wasn't using the pinpointer.

I don't like that the Vulcan is Chinese made. I've got my share of Chinese junk like most of us, it's pretty much impossible to avoid. And to be honest, it's not all junk. I'd prefer to buy US made products, but I'm not fanatical. In many cases, Chinese products are at least reasonably good in quality and very good on price. But not when it comes to metal detectors and metal detecting equipment. I like that I can support US made products since a good percentage of quality detectors and detecting equipment are made in the USA.

What I really don't like about the Vulcan 360 is you have to use a jeweler's screwdriver (supplied, along with extra screws) to remove the base when you replace or check the power level of the 9V battery. The Pro-Pointer just unscrews. And that's a big help because with both the Vulcan and the Pro-Pointer, when the low battery sound goes off you're done with that battery. You might get a few more retrievals by turning the unit off for a while, but you won't hunt for long without replacing the battery. I have a cheap little battery tester I bought for a few bucks online so I can periodically test the battery before I go out to detect. I carry extra batteries too, but in my gear bag, not on my person. I'm not always close to my gear bag, so I'd rather not have my batteries crapping out in mid-hunt.

The really ugly, the absolute dealbreaker, was the Vulcan 360 "3 second automatic start-up sequence." It was actually closer to 4 seconds. The bottom line is every time you turn the Vulcan 360 on, you have to wait about 4 seconds to use it. 4 seconds may not sound like long, but when you're used to having your pinpointer in the hole a split second after turning it on, 4 seconds seems like an eternity.

One final note. I bought the Vulcan 360 second-hand but in new condition from someone who got it but never used it. I assume he had gotten it as an add-on in a Kellyco package deal. I had seen multiple people on the forum who had bought it and were happy with the product so I thought I'd give it a try. I used it twice and sold it. The guy I sold it to emailed me the second day after he got it that it had broken. The battery compartment had come loose. He did say he was able to fix it except for the light. He told me that Kellyco told him it was a design flaw and he'd just have to be more careful with it...

Thanks for the report Marcomo the wand blade on the Garrett is a nice feature for durability, went through couple of cheap Kellyco & Harbor Freight models before I purchased the Garrett, think it will last a while! HH

Lets worry about when a new detector is coming out pin point is not a big deal but I use the uniprobe and garrett

LowBoy

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Funny you should post this marcomo, I just got a call from Garrett regarding the ProPointer I sent them. The news was bad, $100 bucks to fix it (bad switch) since its out of warranty.

Good news is it lasted for 5 yrs and I have a backup ProPointer.

I'm not familiar w the new Whites one though.....

Aaron

Lawrenzo - An improved pinpointer is a big deal to me. I'm all in when it comes to this hobby, so I'm always interested in learning about new detectors. But I'm pretty darn happy with the units I have now. So I'm not at all "worrying about when a new detector is coming out." The Pro Pointer improved my detecting and made it more enjoyable than any detector upgrade ever did. Then again, I wasn't detecting when VLF took over. I used the TRX again today and performance-wise it's the next generation in pinpointers. Double the depth (or a little more) of the Pro Pointer with stability and the ability to ground balance.

Aaron - Kudos to you for getting 5 years out of your Pro Pointer, that's way better than I ever did with one. Needless to say, it would be crazy to spend $100 on fixing a Pro Pointer of any age. You might want to consider getting the old unit back if possible and put it up for sale as is. There seems to be some demand even for non-working units.

My buddy purchased the new Whites pin pointer from K-Co. It's very sensitive. It doesn't feel quite as sturdy as the Garrett. I used it for a couple holes and thought it was fine. The range is further than the Garrett, at least 2 inches maybe more at the highest setting. I didn't play with it so no info there...as far as settings go.

That's the most impressive thing about the ProPointer to me is it's durability, it's just bullet proof. I dropped it untold times on concrete, soaked in water to wash it ect.

If I didn't turn it off and on so much I wouldn't have wore out the switch. I'll be more care w my back up one. As far as the Whites TRX, $160 is ALOT of bread, you could by a Compadre for that much, not that I want one.

Aaron

The TRX doesn't seem as solid as the Pro Pointer, time will tell. Interesting that it's made so the entire outside shell can be easily replaced. And Whites is widely praised for good customer service, so you know you're good for the 2 years of the warranty anyway.

The TRX will set you back a bit more than the Pro Pointer, but you should be able to get a better price than $160.

And don't underestimate that little Compadre, Aaron. It's the oldest detector I have and I doubt if I'll ever give it up. It's no depth demon for sure, but it's great around posts, fences, metal playground equipment, etc. And does darn well in iron to boot. Not to mention that it's the perfect extra detector for kids or anyone who has no detecting experience. Letting someone in the household use the Compadre has gotten me on several properties and the Compadre has provided a good time for the kids in my extended family. Never had a problem with it either, but if I do as long as Tesoro is still in business, it's under warranty.

Hey marcomo, the thought has crossed my mind to pick one up for my kids, as they express interest in it from time to time. Might just do that for my eight year old this year, she's always been facinated by it. She always refers to it as: "metal-buh-tekting".

Aaron