(Heavy)
Elite Member
Logged enough hours, dug enough pulltabs and was asked to give my honest opinion on whites V3i. So here goes the good the bad and the ugly. Try not to compared it to any other machine, I'm only telling my personal experience on this one model. Lets just assume yours is better 
and talk about V3i for those who are thinking about the investment.
Things I like in the order I found them appealing...
The good
It's American made, I choose to try and buy from companies who still have a factory in the USA and don't fault them for importing all the components. Heck if they can survive this countries regulations to operate a business that gets me to a least consider their products.
It is well built, light weight, balanced and appeals to the sense of symmetry. Feels right, no slop in the rod connectors, stock coil is rugged, display is large and brilliant with a zoom feature if you need it. There is a detailed manual built into the software and explanations on everything on screen with just a back flip of the toggle, no manual needed. The case and accessories are equally impressive as far as quality and construction.
Controls are within your index finger and thumb reach without you leave the grip and the main adjustments are made on the fly (programs, sensitivity, volumes, filters, analysis etc.) all managed while you are still swinging the coil.
Rechargeable battery is strong and you wear out before it runs out. The charger is rugged and its LED's keep you posted. It won't over charge and battery temperature is controlled during charging. Unless you force it hot by lifting it from the cradle (not recommended) but you might be in a hurry.
Warranty and service from Whites is outstanding. A no questions ask, (we ship a new one today) put the old one in the prepaid labeled box is Whites policy. Overly friendly sales and tech support with great attitude is rare. The only thing they screwed up was continuing to replace my coil more than once. So now I have to call them and ask if they want the extra one back. I would not be surprised if they say keep it, that's just how cool they are.
We are not talking about the VX3 (scaled down version) the V3i is for the geek in you. If you want the same platform but cost less VX3 might be something you should consider. V3i is way overkill on the things you can customize and adjust. However when you go nuts and get in over your head a simple restore for each individual pre-installed program gets you back in style. You can even build a custom program entirely from scratch and add it to your library then tweak and restore it if you screw it up... unbelievable. Software is off the charts and this is going long so just know you can change everything, even display themes. Target ID, pinpoint, audio tones, analysis, all the expected technical features are as simple or as complicated as you want them to be. You have the power of the engineers who built it.
Whites has a stand alone technical forum where you can speak to the software engineers if you like. Any issue will be address promptly and Robert the moderator will put up with no monkey junk so be warned, he just bans me on sight It's all Whites business all the time, comforting but boring.
Now the bad
The display is too bright. There are 20 levels of backlight and level one is not acceptable for night hunts. So bright is the display at night that you can't see the ground and your face is visible for a mile I put a women's black knee high nylon sock on the headsup for night hunts so I wouldn't fall down a well until someone suggested switching themes. So I guess that was my bad not Whites.
You must tip the coil to the sky to get the battery to slip out of the console. There is no grip or hook to pull it out and you run the risk of dropping the battery. I have a tiny sticky bookmark (post it type cellophane tab) placed on the topside, tail end, of the battery to grasp and retract it... solves this risky move.
I don't use the wireless headset but tried once and was uncomfortable in the isolation (fear of being unaware of my surroundings) so I have no report on the wireless features, sorry no review.
The ugly
I had two warranty issues initially (battery fail) no I didn't drop it and it came with a extra standard battery compact so I wasn't shut down during shipping, I used my own rechargeable batts during the process.
I had the stock (D2 coil fail) but again I had initially purchased a 6x10 eclipse coil and lost no hunt time. I guess if I didn't have use of the 2 year warranty I couldn't report on the service.
This is a 6 month review on my Whites V3i history for anyone who thinks this machine is in their future. I feel pretty good about the purchase over all.
E-Trac is another thread please
and talk about V3i for those who are thinking about the investment. Things I like in the order I found them appealing...
The good
It's American made, I choose to try and buy from companies who still have a factory in the USA and don't fault them for importing all the components. Heck if they can survive this countries regulations to operate a business that gets me to a least consider their products.
It is well built, light weight, balanced and appeals to the sense of symmetry. Feels right, no slop in the rod connectors, stock coil is rugged, display is large and brilliant with a zoom feature if you need it. There is a detailed manual built into the software and explanations on everything on screen with just a back flip of the toggle, no manual needed. The case and accessories are equally impressive as far as quality and construction.
Controls are within your index finger and thumb reach without you leave the grip and the main adjustments are made on the fly (programs, sensitivity, volumes, filters, analysis etc.) all managed while you are still swinging the coil.
Rechargeable battery is strong and you wear out before it runs out. The charger is rugged and its LED's keep you posted. It won't over charge and battery temperature is controlled during charging. Unless you force it hot by lifting it from the cradle (not recommended) but you might be in a hurry.
Warranty and service from Whites is outstanding. A no questions ask, (we ship a new one today) put the old one in the prepaid labeled box is Whites policy. Overly friendly sales and tech support with great attitude is rare. The only thing they screwed up was continuing to replace my coil more than once. So now I have to call them and ask if they want the extra one back. I would not be surprised if they say keep it, that's just how cool they are.
We are not talking about the VX3 (scaled down version) the V3i is for the geek in you. If you want the same platform but cost less VX3 might be something you should consider. V3i is way overkill on the things you can customize and adjust. However when you go nuts and get in over your head a simple restore for each individual pre-installed program gets you back in style. You can even build a custom program entirely from scratch and add it to your library then tweak and restore it if you screw it up... unbelievable. Software is off the charts and this is going long so just know you can change everything, even display themes. Target ID, pinpoint, audio tones, analysis, all the expected technical features are as simple or as complicated as you want them to be. You have the power of the engineers who built it.
Whites has a stand alone technical forum where you can speak to the software engineers if you like. Any issue will be address promptly and Robert the moderator will put up with no monkey junk so be warned, he just bans me on sight
It's all Whites business all the time, comforting but boring. Now the bad
The display is too bright. There are 20 levels of backlight and level one is not acceptable for night hunts. So bright is the display at night that you can't see the ground and your face is visible for a mile
I put a women's black knee high nylon sock on the headsup for night hunts so I wouldn't fall down a well until someone suggested switching themes. So I guess that was my bad not Whites.You must tip the coil to the sky to get the battery to slip out of the console. There is no grip or hook to pull it out and you run the risk of dropping the battery. I have a tiny sticky bookmark (post it type cellophane tab) placed on the topside, tail end, of the battery to grasp and retract it... solves this risky move.
I don't use the wireless headset but tried once and was uncomfortable in the isolation (fear of being unaware of my surroundings) so I have no report on the wireless features, sorry no review.
The ugly
I had two warranty issues initially (battery fail) no I didn't drop it
and it came with a extra standard battery compact so I wasn't shut down during shipping, I used my own rechargeable batts during the process. I had the stock (D2 coil fail) but again I had initially purchased a 6x10 eclipse coil and lost no hunt time. I guess if I didn't have use of the 2 year warranty I couldn't report on the service.
This is a 6 month review on my Whites V3i history for anyone who thinks this machine is in their future. I feel pretty good about the purchase over all.
E-Trac is another thread please
Maybe I'm not the one to give the guy a technical report. He can get all that from a long time owner but he ask me because he saw my awesome custom avatar 
