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David Vs. Goliath


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14 September 2019 (Europe, Africa, North and South America timezones) may be a noteworthy day in metal detecting history.  Both Nokta/Makro (at Detectival) and Minelab (on their own site as well as the sites of some partners) have given us details and hypberbole on their soon-to-be-released detectors -- Nokta/Makro Simpex and Minelab Vanquish.  There certainly are a lot of differences, as well as commonalities.  I look forward to others posting the details.  (But I'm sure I'll add my own after some more contemplation.)  "Competition is good" has been a mantra here for months if not years.  We have it now, at least in the near entry-level detector zone.

October 2019 Edit - the Minelab Vanquish has been officially introduced. See this thread for the latest news and information.

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For what it is worth, I'd rather see Nokta make some gains than Minelab. Minelab has way more resources than Nokta and for years have had the opportunity to make something like the vanquish and make more affordable detectors but they chose not to. At this point it is obvious what they are doing. They're trying to "starve" out companies like Nokta in the entry segment. Minelab has deep pockets and they are definitely after those last pieces of change people have.

Minelab is all about hype with everything they make and sell. I don't care for that at all, regardless of company and they take it way over the top. The Equinox has also had quite a few quality control problems. Reports of flooded units, bad coils, weak shaft locks, battery problems, etc. Seeing as how the Equinox series costs more money I wonder how much worse the quality will be with the Vanquish line. It looks like a cross between the Garrett Ace and the older Garrett GTAx series kinda.  If I was going to buy one it would be the 440 that takes standard AA batteries. At least then you would not have to worry about faulty sealed batteries. 3ft "waterproof" coil? That's weak man.. real weak.

Yep, my vote and best wishes go to Nokta. May the money of detectorists line their Turkish pockets which many dollars. Minelab, you've had enough already.

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I hope both companies continue to do well. I like both companies detectors and don't pay any attention to their hype, how big they are (or not), whether they have government backing (like Nokta Makro) or what anybodies opinions are. I will listen carefully to facts and experiences.

I like the looks of the Simplex, I just hope it is better balanced than the Kruzers and the Anfibios which just seemed heavy to me especially in the handle.

The Vanquish looks, baboon butt ugly.........I would definitely be hitting mine with some subdued tinted spray paint if I had one.

Jeff

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Both companies are following the old marketing maxim of "Good, Better, Best".  They are wedging into the lower tier market with Minelab using Multi-Freq, and Nok using an enhanced feature set to poke the competition.  As most online forum participants are more serious hobbyists I doubt that they will find these releases as interesting as the models in the flagship tier.

Their price points might make them interesting as loaners, but with the prices in the used market what they are, more economical choices can be found.  Unless of course you are a Kiwi and purchase a unit as a Phantom detector for the wife.  😉  Those Kiwi's can be quite clever!

 

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I doubt it's an accidental coincidence that a) Minelab waited until Makro showed its hand (price), and b) that the Vanquish announcement came the day of Detectival when Makro was doing its promotion live at that event.

There are pluses and minuses in the performance categories that, depending upon your plans of use, can lead one to stand out over the other.  However, it seems one thing Makro has in it's favor -- time of release -- and what is looking like a four month one at that.

 

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