GPZ 7000 Weight Question

[phrunt]

The true potential of the GPZ isn’t realised unless run in normal where it shows the GPX who’s boss even on tiny gold with the right coil, yes it may miss some odd specci  type gold but we don’t really have it here, more water worn little lumps the GPZ loves, the key to the GPZ 8000 will be getting normal like performance in difficult.  If they can do that you’ll see what us “normal” people have been saying all along 😊

It seems they achieved that with the 6000, there isn’t much between normal and difficult.

Lighter coils are key for me with the GPZ as I don’t use any swing arms or bungees and other gadgets, I found the hip stick very awkward as you dig far too often here and the ground is rarely flat.

Everyone is different though, we obviously have different tolerances for detector weights.  I like the heavy sturdy GPZ for bowling over long grass and bushes, something I can’t do with the 6000.

[Norvic]

52 minutes ago, phrunt said:

The true potential of the GPZ isn’t realised unless run in normal where it shows the GPX who’s boss even on tiny gold with the right coil

This is where the Axiom enters, having much like a 6Ks sensitivity to deep scraps but with manual GB, Auto slow etc and that 11x elliptical mono that comes with it WoW. Normal on the Z/6K is out in most of my backyard thus as always the potential varies with ground. No doubt we are all different Jockeys, with coil size/ground relative to sensitivity/depth but that aside the Axiom may be the beast once tamed, that challenges the ground handling/depth of the GPZ in a light weight package, certainly it may influence a lot in MLs ZVT/PI development not only in weight. The light weight PI detectors we have dreamt of for years are here. 

[Deep Beeps]

On 12/27/2022 at 8:17 PM, RONS DETECTORS MINELAB said:

I'm trying to lighten up the GPZ 7000 by using the lighter CTX 3030 LI-ION battery and using the 12 Z-search coil without skid plate. Looking like around 5.8 pounds so far, not to bad compare to the stock configuration. Has anyone found any other ways to lighten this detector through aftermarket shafts or modifications? 

Been using the 3030 batteries on the 7000 but they only last about 4hours compared to 8ish hours for the normal battery. So you still may have to carry a second if hiking in.

Best mod is Doc's bungie and a backpack full of water to counterbalance it with.

[dig4gold]

On 1/2/2023 at 8:18 AM, jasong said:

But it's the inertia that causes the permanent RSI damage to tendons/ligaments. Bungees and hipsticks do not reduce inertia.

The swing arm helps a lot in battling that inertia.

D4G

[Gerry in Idaho]

On 1/4/2023 at 6:38 PM, dig4gold said:

The swing arm helps a lot in battling that inertia.

D4G

Back in the day when Minelab USA used to communicate and work with their more popular dealers who were in the field (those days of Minelab are gone), they sent me a prototype GPZ-7000 to test.  My Field Staff guy and I spent 5 days in Northern Nevada testing it and were pretty impressed with the detectors depths.  We didn't get a manual or did we know what we were really doing, but we did see/find/hear/feel things we had never done before.  Yes deeper gold, yest smaller gold, yes different sounds, and most certainly yes, a sore and worn out back.

He's (Ron) is standing up at the begging of the day, dug some deep gold throughout the day (just bungee, no swing arm) and was sitting down and worn out at the end of the day. 

The next version we tested actually did have a Swing Arm and that's the same one I recommend to many customer who hunt for longer periods of time or swing larger coils.

[phrunt]

Almost looks like Coiltek made the coil for the test units with their baby poo brown colour.

I would prefer the swing arm if I was an octopus as my detector is in one arm and my pick the other.  I use both so often I don’t have a spare arm, if targets are few and far between so I can holster the pick it’s a great asset to have the swing arm, even worth hooking it onto other detectors.

[jasong]

The swing arm definitely helps, but it's a bandaid. The real solution is simply less weighty coils and lower shafts. X Coils showed it was possible especially with the smaller coils, the fact that Minelab even 8 years later still has no offerings there for their long suffering customers shows to me how little they really care about us. Not that we needed another piece of evidence haha.

Aside from taking up the only free arm, the other problem is that to pack mount a pick you can't use the most popular pick type here in the US - the Hermit Pick. I'm speaking from experience here, it's dangerous and will stab/slice you if you fall. I once sliced my scalp on an Apex pick too mounted to my back when I slid down an embankment so it's not just Hermit's but normal pick styles as well. My pick stays in my hand for speed, efficiency, and safety now, period. 

It's moot for me anyways though - I dislocated my shoulder and tore my rotator cuff years back. It never healed, I have no ability to grab a pick off my pack anymore since my pick arm doesn't bend like that anymore.

If it wasn't for X Coils, I'd have sold this GPZ off before the 6000 came out even. 

[Gold Catcher]

The swing arm helps me mostly for coil control, I never use the Z without it. It also alleviates some of the weight and takes some pressure of the shoulder, when combined with hipstick. Yes, I have my Hermit in my hip holster and manage to walk without be sliced. Once I have identified a target, I disengage the swing arm and have my pick in the other hand for the first surface scrapes. But I never do steeper hiking with the pick in my holster. Falling down would not be a pleasant thought.

GC

[flakmagnet]

A fall with a Hermit Pick is not advised. At least have it in your hand as you detect so you can jettison 

if you lose your balance. I speak from experience and no, I wouldn't trade the Hermit Pick for any other make.

Same with the 7000 and the HipStick, they are the simply the best in their category at the moment.

Wishing a good start to the New Year to everyone.

 

[Rob Allison]

Believe it or not, the NF 17x13 Z-Search coil, which we now have in stock (see classifieds for details) really balances out the GPZ 7000, even better than the stock 14x13.  Nugget Finder did a very well job on constructing this new coil for your Minelab GPZ 7000.