The V3i is not a patch on the Explorer on the beach , i know , i use the Explorer . I used a V3 when they first came out but i found it not much better than all the other machines people say are good but aren't . Beaches are a very different ball game to land and unfortunately there is not many decent machines out there for the salt wet beach . Most will do the dry but wet beaches need a certain thing and even if Minelab seems to be having issues at the moment , nothing beats them on the beach . PI are different and i haven't counted them on purpose.