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Straight Shafts - Benefits?


TXOP

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I just ordered my wife a Vanquish 540.  I am hoping it's a step up from her old Whites Classic ID she has been hunting with.

I saw that some people have converted their Vanquish and other detectors to a straight shaft.

I have never used a straight shaft before so I was wondering what the advantage is and has anyone converted their Vanquish to a straight shaft.

 

Thanks for any comments.

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Apparently, for very heavy detectors, straight shaft has better ergonomics. Also, a straight shaft design might be easier to make collapsible. But besides those reasons, I think it's just a preference thing.

I don't get the conversion of the Vanquish to a straightshaft...if anything, one of its best traits is its s-shaft design. But to each their own...

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  • The title was changed to Straight Shafts - Benefits?

Normally I would not convert a Vanquish to straight shaft. In a nutshell, light detectors under 4 lbs benefit from less wrist torque with balanced S shaft designs, where weight is perfectly in line with arm and wrist. Fisher F75 is one of the best examples of a perfectly balanced S rod design. Pods without underarm battery cases, however, tend to be nose heavy, so are less optimal, as wrist torque is again brought back into the equation. Unintuitive as it sounds, adding a little weight for balance can actually result in more comfortable detecting. Sometimes converting to a straight shaft can aid in this goal.

Over four pounds, it’s usually more a case of a heavy control box hanging from one end of the rod, balancing a coil at the other end. In this case a straight shaft with handle or handle/bungee at the balance point works better. The Minelab GPX 5000 and earlier series best displays this sort of design. It is a real boon to people running extra large coils, since the control box and handle can be moved to always create a well balanced setup. Due to weight a harness and bungee is normally employed, with bungee attached at balance point. It sound unwieldy, but a perfectly set up system can be run comfortably for 12 hour days.

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On 2/16/2022 at 7:00 PM, TXOP said:

I just ordered my wife a Vanquish 540.  I am hoping it's a step up from her old Whites Classic ID she has been hunting with.

I saw that some people have converted their Vanquish and other detectors to a straight shaft.

I have never used a straight shaft before so I was wondering what the advantage is and has anyone converted their Vanquish to a straight shaft.

 

Thanks for any comments.

Personally I like the feel and control I get with an s shaft instead of a strait shaft for Pod grip. 

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