New Member

[cjacobs]

Looking to invest in a new RD and hoping to gain a lot of insight from you guys!

[oddpedestrian]

Super awesome do you have some countermeasures now?

Welcome from Alaska 👋

[BrownOut]

Welcome to the forum. Give us an little about yourself and what you are looking for. Their is a lot of information about different RD's in the posts. Your specifics are important like terrain how much city/highway driving where you live, what budget you have to work with. Do a lot of reading and watch some of the videos provided it will possibly help in forming choices that fit your driving style. We are looking forward to helping.

[Radar Roy]

A few questions

1) Where do you live and drive?
2) What is your budget?
3) Do you drive mostly city, highway or both?

This video explains - Which is the Best Radar Detector? - Radar Roy

Looking to invest in a new RD and hoping to gain a lot of insight from you guys!

[cjacobs]

Thanks guys...I'm looking for your advice between the Escort Passport Max2 and the Valentine v1. I live in New Orleans and I drive 2+ hours to my hunting camp in Natchez, MS on the weekends, where I encounter the interstate and backwoods highways that have turns. I am looking for the best of both worlds, but really looking for the good range to save me on the interstate and highways. Does the passport max2 have good enough range to compete with the v1, so that I can benefit from the other GPS features it has? Or does the v1 have the better range to save me on the interstate and highways? Your input will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[cjacobs]

I would like to stay under $600

[Veil Guy]

Both are fine detectors. The V1 is less expensive, doesn't have GPS (relies on an app for that, like YaV1). But to get that you need the module for another $49.

I use WAZE and that is my preference GPS crowdsourcing app. It's free too. The V1 is a more technical detector requiring tweaking to maximize its potential. The Max/Max2 is less intensive to extract performance from it. For the highway and backroads, I would personally tend to the V1. But if you are doing city driving the Max/Max2 may be a better option.

You could order each one and try them out. You have 30 days to decide.

Hope this helps.

VG

[Radar Roy]

CJacobs - This is a recent article I did comparing the Escort models to the Valentine One: Escort vs Valentine One - Radar Roy

And again Bob is right, try them for 30 days and you pick the detector that you like the best

Thanks guys...I'm looking for your advice between the Escort Passport Max2 and the Valentine v1. I live in New Orleans and I drive 2+ hours to my hunting camp in Natchez, MS on the weekends, where I encounter the interstate and backwoods highways that have turns. I am looking for the best of both worlds, but really looking for the good range to save me on the interstate and highways. Does the passport max2 have good enough range to compete with the v1, so that I can benefit from the other GPS features it has? Or does the v1 have the better range to save me on the interstate and highways? Your input will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[BrownOut]

I would also consider the Redline because of its highway and off axis detection. The V1/dongle/ Yav1 app and android is different than the above. I have the V1 as my travel system and am well pleased. Watch some comparisons on You Tube, read VG's reviews on the V1 and no matter the choice we are here to help you.

[Veil Guy]

I would also consider the Redline because of its highway and off axis detection. The V1/dongle/ Yav1 app and android is different than the above. I have the V1 as my travel system and am well pleased. Watch some comparisons on You Tube, read VG's reviews on the V1 and no matter the choice we are here to help you.

I didn't mention the RL, because cjacobs mentioned he was considering only the V1 or the Max2, although he did mention that he would like to stay below $600, which could actually disqualify the Max2 from consideration. The Max would fit the bill and only comes without the built-in BT. I actually prefer using the Smarcord instead of relying on built in BT because for one, you can transfer it between more than one detector! Keep in mind if police laser in is your area and you see it enough, the Max/Max2 absolutely blows at laser. The V1 reigns supreme in this department. It has since it's inception.

You could get a Redline, Smartcord, and then use Escort Live, if you have a smartphone, but the app is power hungry. Again, I would take WAZE over EL any day of the week. But that is a personal decision. Others are quite happy with Escort Live (even though it is buggy) and even others run both WAZE and EL together.

Even though you didn't mention it, the 9500ix (which is the predecessor to the Max0, is too slow in my opinion to respond to I/O shots, it's laser performance is only fair, and its alert ramps (audio) are substandard. They are being "blown" out by Escort, so you could get a deal on it, but from a performance perspective, I would shy away from it.

I will probably be shot by some here, but for a very small amount of money, the Whistler CR90 is a GPS enabled detector which provides very good Ka and laser performance and does an exceptional job at filtering out K-band lane departure systems. It is right up there with the V1C in that department. The Whistler doesn't penalize you as much on reactivity when their filtering is enabled. X and K are only fair to good, but by the sounds of it where you are, you may only see Ka and laser anyway, making X and K less of an issue. The fact that it is less than half the price of the others makes it an exceptional value, IMO. Plus you get updates of their GPS database without cost. You could also try that one too.

VG