Testing The Garrett Apex + Ripper 5x8 Coil In A Thick Iron Trashed Area

[abenson]

1 hour ago, Steve Herschbach said:

 The best, most well integrated, multi model audio accessory system, including wireless pinpointer, that I think currently exists, with said pinpointer series setting the standard most are measured by.

I will give them that. The Garrett pinpointer and wireless headphone system is excellent and hard to beat. I use the Garrett wireless headphone system on my GPX and Tarsacci, excellent system IMO. Integration with the wireless options on the Apex work very well too, never have a problem with them pairing up or cutting out, unlike some other systems out there.

[GB_Amateur]

1 hour ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Don’t know, I was in a machine gun nail bed yesterday, and was impressed with Apex authoritative responses in the densest trash.

 

1 hour ago, Steve Herschbach said:

I see possibilities for great things coming, maybe not a return to number one status, but at least a return to some serious competition from one U.S. manufacturer.

I'm looking forward to around-the-campfire discussions and maybe even some informal demos next month at Monte's (and Oregon Gregg's and...) WTHO in Wells, NV.  I know Monte has at least two Apexes as he's said that here.  I hope I'm not stepping out-of-line by saying Monte gives extra importance to separation as it's a big deal in many of his preferred detecting sites.  I suspect many detectors (including a couple of mine) are going to get serious workouts over five days.  Reports and stories here will follow.

[Chase Goldman]

All I want to say is manufacturer competition is indeed good for us detectorists and keeping companies in the game on multiple continents is also a good thing.

But no one should mistake a leap in the right direction (Apex) as having arrived at the destination.  

Minelab is setting the pace right now.  It is going to take some serious work to catch up.  Apex really pushed the envelope as far as Garrett is concerned but it was a late start and frankly still lags ML’s lower end Equinox in capability.  There is no time for back slapping and sitting on one’s laurels.  Let’s not mistake constructive criticism or dissatisfaction for anger, frustration, or wanting to stifle momentum or to take the wind out Garrett’s sails.  It’s quite the opposite - I think people are trying to get Garrett to try even harder.

For Garrett to truly compete at this point it really needs to listen to the critics and not it’s satisfied fan boy base or paid promotion artists - they lack vision and will allow Garrett to set the bar too low.  Instead, Garrett needs to check its ego at the door, not get offended, face facts brutally, roll up its engineering sleeves and keep the momentum started with the Apex project going with a rapid fire upgrade to its All Terrain product line.  Don’t delay, Garrett - keep your eye on the prize as time and market share is rapidly slipping away...

[glabelle]

8 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

 

I'm looking forward to around-the-campfire discussions and maybe even some informal demos next month at Monte's (and Oregon Gregg's and...) WTHO in Wells, NV.  I know Monte has at least two Apexes as he's said that here.  I hope I'm not stepping out-of-line by saying Monte gives extra importance to separation as it's a big deal in many of his preferred detecting sites.  I suspect many detectors (including a couple of mine) are going to get serious workouts over five days.  Reports and stories here will follow.

Monte has said he won't be there. (He has 4 Apexes, each with a different coil!) He now lives in Texas, just got a house and it is too long of a drive for him in his condition. 

I'll be there 😁 I'll be bringing the Apex, the EQ800, Fisher F5 and the Impact. I can tell you that I've done much testing in ghost town conditions, and the name of the game is SMALL coil and separation speed due to the "masks" of nails and rusted tin. I've found the Classic III with Mr. Bill's mods to be an excellent performer in those conditions, only because it has a 3.5" concentric coil (Blue Max 350). 

[palzynski]

On 5/12/2021 at 1:50 AM, glabelle said:

....

I'll be there 😁 I'll be bringing the Apex, the EQ800, Fisher F5 and the Impact. I can tell you that I've done much testing in ghost town conditions, and the name of the game is SMALL coil and separation speed due to the "masks" of nails and rusted tin. I've found the Classic III with Mr. Bill's mods to be an excellent performer in those conditions, only because it has a 3.5" concentric coil (Blue Max 350). 

Hi ,  

From what I have seen up to now , I am quite sure that you will have good results with the Apex concerning the "separation speed on mask of nails" , especially with the Ripper coil . Looking forward for your comparative tests ... 

[nickelNdimed]

I’m not sure I wouldn’t have purchased an Apex over an Equinox if it had been out when I made that decision. I kept holding out for the former big 3 to come out with something compelling and caved. But I still watched the reveal video etc.  I get tempted when I see a used one posted for sale locally.  

They have great customer service and agree their z-link is good integration not many others have. I wish them success and also curious what the will do with the Whites purchase. Losing hope on First Texas promoting the same stuff as the “best”, “biggest”, “lightest”, “deepest” marketing strategy and “working on stuff coming soon”.  
 

I like the break up of the forum. That way I know what sort of posts I’ll find or where to post.  I used to like the sub $300 detector forum but okay with looking for those discussions in the comparisons forum. Maybe do an entry, mid, and top detector break up but then how do we agree on what is worthy of each category? : ) Can’t please everyone. 

[67GTA]

"Compared to the XPs the Apex is probably quite close to the Deus in terms of separation , but the Deus has the edge concerning its weight ( 800g for the Deus instead of 1150g for the Apex/ripper )." 

Are you saying it separates on the same level as the Deus? I would have to see that to believe it. From my experience the Deus is the king of separation in iron. That would imply that the Apex also beats the Equinox, T2, and F75 at separation.

[palzynski]

10 hours ago, 67GTA said:

"Compared to the XPs the Apex is probably quite close to the Deus in terms of separation , but the Deus has the edge concerning its weight ( 800g for the Deus instead of 1150g for the Apex/ripper )." 

Are you saying it separates on the same level as the Deus? I would have to see that to believe it. From my experience the Deus is the king of separation in iron. That would imply that the Apex also beats the Equinox, T2, and F75 at separation.

Yes the Deus is the king of separation in iron , but I have been surprised by the Apex during this "extreme" outing in thick iron trash . At this place I usually find from 3 to 8 coins with the Deus , and the Apex/Ripper found 6 coins , and this quite easily . So there is definitely something special with the Apex in iron trash .  I need more hours with the Apex to confirm this however . 

Concerning the Equinox the Apex easily beats it in the iron trash to my opinion . The Equinox is too chatty , it does not filters enough the irons for me.  I know that some people in this forum will not agree , but I have no doubt on this , at least for my European conditions ( mostly small coins in mild soil with thick iron trash ) ...

Yes the T2 it has very good separation and electronics , but its design is dating from 2006 , a little outdated now ; too heavy for me ( 1.6kg ), no wireless headphones  etc .. 

[Jeff McClendon]

8 hours ago, palzynski said:

Concerning the Equinox the Apex easily beats it in the iron trash to my opinion . The Equinox is too chatty , it does not filters enough the irons for me.  I know that some people in this forum will not agree , but I have no doubt on this , at least for my European conditions ( mostly small coins in mild soil with thick iron trash ) ...

Having detectors like the XP Deus and Minelab Equinox be highly adjustable is what I like about them. If I want to hear absolutely every actual target that is detectable under the coil of a Deus or Equinox, I have that option and am grateful for it. I prefer to hunt that way in thick iron trash with a few slight adjustments of the reactivity/recovery speed, iron tone pitch and volume level to suit the conditions and my hearing. Those two detectors and several other very high gain VLFs like the AT Max have the ability to detect a very wide range of target sizes and target depths.  These detectors like the Deus and Equinox also have the option to weaken the sensitivity and filter out more iron responses by discrimination of much of the smaller disintegrating man-made iron or natural iron if I choose. That level of flexibility is not available on detectors like the APEX and Vanquish which are inherently by design.....quieter detectors with stronger filtering and less sensitivity to very small targets. The fact that one detector is "chatty" and one detector isn't may make a detector "better" for you but not "better" for me or someone else that uses the chatter as a detection tool when the chatter are responses to actual in the ground targets and not ground mineralization or EMI interference.

I really appreciate your continued testing of the APEX and the information you are providing. I also really hope that Garrett will produce a similar "all terrain" version with more power, features and adjustability in the future.

[palzynski]

Todays outing with the Apex/Ripper in a different area , a wood occupied by 1st WW german camps, dating from 1918 .  Sandy low mineralized soil. 

Usually I am not a war relic hunter and rather a coin hunter , but as I was invited by a friend who is a 1WW specialist I thought that it was a good occasion to test the Apex in a different environment from the previous roman outing.

1st WW camps are quite difficult areas for detectors because they usually contain a lot of iron trash , and lots of big irons like rusty tin cans . They are different from older medieval of roman sites. Medieval or roman sites contain hundreds ( thousands .. ) of rusty nails then much more  targets than 1st WW camps but smaller . In both cases excellent areas for testing/comparing detectors ..

I have spent 2 hours detecting in this wood with my friend . 
And as usual the Apex performed very well . I start to know this machine very well and I am always impressed by its excellent iron filtering and the sharp signals on targets. I found the Apex audio to be very different from the MLs Vanquish and Equinox , and actually closer to a Deus/Orx . The Ripper coil is fun to use because it is light and very accurate , and it goes deep for its size.

No incredible find during this outing , mostly 1st WW ammunitions : German(Mauser) and French ( Lebel ). And a british 1st WW small buckle etc .. See the pic below .

Again the Apex is  very polyvalent and fun to use in the field , even in these quite difficult 1st WW camps areas. I like this machine ... 🙂

My settings during this outing : freq MF , sensitivity max , JEWELLERY mode

If I had an improvement to suggest to Garrett, I think that their coils could be a little lighter , 
especially the Viper and the Raider , this compared to the competition ( the Vanquish coils for example ).

Next time I will go to a park hunting for coins , I already know that the Apex will do a good job there ...  🙂