VDI screen backlight on or off ?

Lee in Canada asks if I use a backlight when night hunting. 

I do a lot of late night and early predawn beach hunting with a metal detector that has a VDI screen.

I prefer not to have my backlight on, as it is just easier to turn my headlamp on if I need to check the screen.

Walking around on a dark beach waving a bright screen from side to side, draws a lot of attention to you in populated areas. 

Occasionally turning my backlight or headlamp on, means I have to answer less questions. 

One of the main reasons I never have my backlight lit,  is because I search tourist beaches at night and use discrimination. 

I concentrate my efforts towards recovering targets that have a high probability of being platinum, gold or silver, discriminating obvious junk objects. 

If I had to dig all metal targets, I would need to have my headlamp on all the time, like many night beach hunters do. 

Night jewelry hunting is easy using a metal detector with a screen, especially one that you can turn the backlight on with a press of a button. 

I always go out of my way to keep a low profile at the beach, avoiding questions from strangers and yes avoiding questions from other beach hunters at night.

At heavily hunted beaches, not having your backlight illuminated serves the same purpose as leaving your front light off for trick or treaters. 

If you are searching a productive site, you can keep your beach candy and leave the competition in the dark!