First Outing With Coiltek 14x9 For Equinox..

[Erik Oostra]

This was one of those coils that I didn't really need but have been lusting after for far too long.. I mainly hunt on beaches so my go to coils are the Equinox 15x12'' and the Coiltek 15''.. I knew that the new coil wasn't going to get me any greater depth or coverage but I was hoping it might be a bit lighter.. Coil weight has never worried me much before, but I'm finding I have to put the detector down and shake out my arm more and more often.. I figured a lighter coil would make life easier.. I know that I'm not a great reader of fine-print but in this case I excelled myself.. When I took the Coiltek 14x9 out of the box my first thought was: 'Well, it's a chunky beast, what does it weigh?'.. It's nearly twice as thick as the Equinox 15x12.. So I googled the weight of all my big coils and discovered that the Coiltek 14x9 weighs a whopping 790 grams! This compares to 674 grams for the Equinox 15x12 and 836 grams for the Coiltek 15.. 

On the beach this morning it did feel heavy to swing but it 'pinpoints' much better than the other big coils.. I hardly ever use the detector's pinpoint function, preferring to walk around the target instead.. After a few hours I didn't have any sore arms, I figure this is due to far more accurate digging.. I usually get on my knees with a small shovel and dig a mighty great big hole to make sure the target is out the first time.. Although this is easy going on a beach after a while the constant getting up and kneeling down to dig does wear you out.. I'm still young enough that my knees and back are still hanging in there, but the ability to work like a digging machine is definitely slowing down.. With the Coiltek 14x9 I noticed straightaway that I was digging right on top of the target each time, also the targets were often just as deep as the larger coils.. So, while it might be a chunky heavy beast to swing, I have a feeling that my latest coil will save a lot of digging.. I also think it'll be a good coil for in the surf and wading, it looks tough as hell.. 

This is also a chance for Minelab to get back in the ring after the flogging they're getting from Garrett.. I've said for a long time that Minelab's only chance to survive is to forget about keeping prospectors happy and instead focus on beach hunters.. Especially by creating a larger coil for the Equinox - like the 17x13'' coil made for the CTX 3030 but a lot lighter (it weighs 907 grams).. 😁         

        

[Chase Goldman]

Erik - Yep.  Per Coiltek's own marketing, they intentionally weighed it down likely for water hunters (i.e., keeping it from becoming a floating cork, see the post below).  Although I think their updated website marketing of the Nox series coils now downplays the intentional excessive weighting of the 14x9 and instead calls it "robust".  Regardless, making it lightweight was definitely not a design consideration.  That's why, as mainly a dry land hunter it was a hard pass for me.  That Coiltek Nox10x5 coil, however, is just a dream to swing on the beach or relic hunting in cornfields.   That coil does not come off my Nox.

I think all these Coiltek Nox coils pinpoint really well and you seem to be reaping the benefits of that characteristic with the 14x9, Erik

And this is my original post in that thread racking out the specs of all 3 of the Coiltek Nox coils (including pointing out the weight issue with the 14x9) and comparing them to the Minelab Nox coils.  Perhaps useful for anyone else today exploring the Coiltek coils for use...FWIW.