Looking pretty hard at a radar detector, I'm thinking the valentine one but they are really pricy. The Passports I heard were good but don't know much about them. Any ideas or experience would help

jsut get the V1

The newest Passport 9500's are really good, sensitive, portable, and not too bad on price if you shop around on ebay. I had a cordless Passport Solo S2 and it was ok but I used a 9500 for a little while and it had better sensitivity and features. I hear great things about the Valentines but they're expensive and you need the latest updates. If you don't need portability, you could get a remote unit installed on your vehicle but those are expensive. Good thing about the Passports I had, when I decided to sell them, the resale was pretty good.

I forgot to add if you know of any inboard detectors, I mean the ones that install into the bumpers, with the cloking for Virginia State Police or others. Thanks for all the help

I've had a Valentine One for a number of years and have been extremely happy with it. I have two co-workers that have identical Passports. Whenever I ride with them or drive their vehicles, I end up just turning the volume all the way down. Compared to my V-1, those things go off unnecessarily all the time!

I know the Valentine is more expensive, but in my opinion it's totally worth it. The difference is even obvious when you hold it in your hand. It's made out of magnesium (or some metal) instead of plastic. I have never had my V-1 rattle or creak while driving, while I've heard the Passports rattle plenty of times. Also, the mounting hardware is much more stable with the Valentine. I have personally seen the Passports literally fall off the windshield while driving!

That's my opinion...good luck with your decision.

escort passport 9500I best bang for buck.


i have had the passport 8500 for 3 years and its saved me 80% of the time.
the other 20% i was stupid and ignored it.

I've had the V1 for over 5 years. Best detector ever. I can send it in for software updates if necessary, which I have jut once.

Can't say anything negative about the other makes, as I've never owned 'em. But the V1 has easily paid for itself, even in VA....

i've used the v1, passpaort 8500, and the top of the line bel (cant remember the model number). the v1 was probably the best, but for about half the price i'd take the passport. that was the only one that i actually owned, and it seemed very high quality to me. mine never had rattle issues. the suction cups don't suck like they should so i velcroed mine to the dash. worked great. that thing saved me thousands of $$ when i used to drive from here to sac nearly twice a month. but it got stolen and i havent had the spare $ to get another one. with a road trip to LA in my future, maybe i should....

I just got the V1 recently and love it so far...almost got a ticket with it cause the detect was kinda late...

I have owned several radar detectors over the years, Passport and Whistler come to mind, but my V1 is by far the best. When your on the expressway and the V1 goes off, slow down, there is a radar trap somewhere ahead. As far as the updates goes, how many other radar detector companies allow you to trade in your old radar detector for a new one. Not that you have to do this very often, if at all. When you go to the Valentine web you can enter the serial number of your V1 and they will tell you what the differences are between yours and the new ones. Most of the time they tell you upgrading isn't necessary. To me, this is more customer service than you will ever see from any of the other companies.