A Detailed Comparison of The Fisher F22 vs The Garrett ACE 300

Frequency   

The Garrett ACE 300 has an 8 kHz adjustable frequency whereas the Fisher F22 operates on a 7.69 kHz frequency.

There’s barely anything in it. This frequency means both machines are best suited to coin and jewelry hunting and neither fare well on wet sand.

Display

The ACE 300’s display has power, mode, and sensitivity buttons plus a numeric target ID scale that scores your target on a scale of 0-99 depending on what metal it’s found. On the vertical side of the display is a depth indicator so you know how far down to dig.

The F22 has 2-digit numeric target identification from 1 to 99 that’s similar to Garrett’s and has power, menu, pinpoint, and mode selections too.

Neither are backlit and both are very easy to navigate.

Ground Balance

The ACE 300 and the F22 both have non-adjustable factory pre-set ground balancing.

Target Identification and Discrimination

The ACE 300 has five search modes which are coins, jewelry, relics, custom, and zero discrimination. It also has eight sensitivity adjustments and pinpointing whereas the F22 has four search modes of coins, artifacts, jewelry and custom with ten adjustable sensitivity levels and pinpoint.

In short, the ACE 300 has one extra search mode – zero discrimination.

Iron Audio

The ACE 300 has no iron audio but the Fisher F22 has adjustable iron audio. This is a great feature on such a well-priced machine.

Waterproofing

Both metal detectors have submersible search coils but the control boxes are not waterproof.

Audio

The ACE 300 has three audio tone ID levels to help you figure out what metal you’ve found without looking at the display. Low tones mean low conductivity like iron and high tones mean high conductivity metals.

Fisher has pretty much the same set up but uses four-tone audio.

Coil

The ACE 300 comes with Garrett’s excellent 7” x 10” concentric PROformance coil and the Fisher F22 has a 9” triangulated concentric coil.

There’s not much in it. They’ll both cover roughly the same amount of ground and depth.

I do think Garrett’s coils have an edge though – they are excellent quality.

Length and Weight

The ACE 300 measures from 40” to 53” and has three parts for easy storage and travel. It weighs 2.8lbs. The Fisher 22 adjusts from 40” and weighs 2.8lbs so there’s barely any difference.

Cost

The costs are comparable but the ACE 300 tends to come a bit more expensive by $50 or so.

The Best Choice

Both machines are good choices for a new detectorist and there’s barely any difference in price.

I feel Garrett has the edge with quality build and sensitive coils, plus it has the extra search mode, but the Fisher F22 has iron audio which is invaluable if you’re searching a trashy area and don’t want to keep looking at the display.

I lean toward the Garrett ACE 300 here, but choose to suit your detecting habits – iron audio on the F22 is a top feature that saves time and patience. If you like to search in trashy areas it’s the better choice.