A few years ago I got into water hunting a little after the weather warmed up and I could no longer relic hunt in the fields and woods. I purchased an aluminum scoop for around a hundred dollars and it seemed to work ok in the dry sand where I was mostly hunting.
Present day, I have a Tesoro Tiger Shark and Sand Shark on loan to me from Tesoro. Excited to get out and hit some of the swimming holes at the local lakes, I grabbed my scoop and both machines and headed out. I found myself quickly disappointed! The lake had no beach area, the gravel swim area goes right up to the grass bank. I was able to hunt a few spots right up against the bank where over time the water had pushed the gravel up against it and kept it pretty loose but even out a foot I couldn’t penetrate the gravel. I knew I needed something much better if I was ever going to get through the gravel.
After doing some research and hearing a lot of good things about Stealth sand scoops I decided I had to get my hands on one. In all honesty I didn’t think anything would be able to penetrate the compacted gravel, my aluminum scoop was absolutely no match! The day I got the scoop in and opened the box I have to say I was very impressed. First out of the box was the carbon fiber handle. Very light weight and I would quickly learn just how strong that handle is. Next out of the box was the scoop itself and being someone who has done some welding and fabricating I was more than impressed. From the welds, layout of the holes, design and bracing are of superb quality and very impressive, you can really tell a lot of work and thought has gone into making this incredible tool. I was also impressed to find instructions and even an Allen head to put the screws in.
I put it together in a few minutes, grabbed my machine and headed out the door. This lake gave my Aluminum scoop so much trouble I really didn’t know what to expect. I got in the water and the first thing I did was walk out a few feet looking for a signal to see if I could penetrate the gravel. I found a signal pretty quick and went to see if I could get it. Surprisingly and easier than I thought, the scoop didn’t struggle at all. When I went to bring my scoop up it was a real struggle, it wasn’t just gravel. Below the gravel was like a hard packed clay. I’ve never hunted coastal beaches but I have heard some of them can be tough digging, I can’t imagine anything harder to dig in then this lake and the Stealth scoop passed with flying colors!
I know have many hours on the scoop and not one of those hours was easy digging in the gravel and clay. I’ve kicked it to get it through the gravel, stood on the scoop, twisted it and put it through the paces and more. I must mention I’m not a small guy, 6ft 3 330 pounds jumping on this scoop is a real testimonial to just how strong it is. The handle is a must as well, it is much lighter than a wood handle and as tough as the scoop. For testing purposes I really used it hard as well from twisting it in the gravel and clay bottom to prying up large stones. Both the scoop and the carbon fiber handle passed with flying colors!
Pro’s
- Perfect design
- Front coming to a point really lets you dig into any material
- Great welds
- With all the bracing I can’t image it ever breaking
- Stainless steel, no rusting and strong
- Light weight yet as strong as they come
Cons
I have only done one review with no Cons and I actually went back and revised it after finding one thing I wasn’t in love with. I think no matter what, every metal detector and every piece of equipment has a con. After many hours of using the scoop and carbon fiber handle, hours looking it over and trying to find a con I am just not able to do it.
If you need a quality scoop that will hold up to someone my size abusing it, trying to find a weak point and not able to, I highly recommend this scoop! Maybe because I have a background in welding/fabrication, to me it’s a beautiful piece of art yet designed to be a true work horse!
The Stealth 920iX– as Tough as They Come The “Stealth 920iX
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