flakmagnet

Hi Lucky, Love the write up and just wanted to add that it says as much about the GPZ's operators as it does for the machine itself. Very impressive as I am sure everyone with experience up at Rye Patch will agree. Looking forward to your next note.

Hi Strick, It is a fairly simple matter to unsnap the Hipstick at the top clip where it hooks on to the pack harness before you get after it with the pick. It takes a few times to get used to and then becomes a normal part of the routine. fwiw.

A warranty is nice, true. But honestly, a product made with rough working conditions in mind would be better. Attention to detail and stringent quality control are attributes of a company that is truly in tune with their clientele. This is an aspect of Minelab that could easily be changed with a very small increase in manufacturing cost.

Hi Steve, I recently logged my first hours behind a GPZ and like almost everyone, agree about the weight. A Hipstick did help a lot. The quick adjust clip is an improvement for quick height changes. And as has been mentioned before, changing (shortening), the arc of the swing and walking slower helped mitigate the weight a touch. But 7+ pounds over the course of a day is a challenge.

Just to be very clear on something: the Minelab ProSwing harness is the newcomer. The most recent model has directly utilized the concept that was invented by the originator of the Hipstick.

Here's the thing. We all know what havoc having dirt between the coil and the coil cover causes. Why in the world would you make a vented coil cover? What am I missing?

wow…

Or, yes super glue and duct tape… Both approaches work great. It is just good to have some sort of wound management available. Stuff happens, as we all know.

In response to a query by delnorter… This is a like product to the one I carry, it's not the exact one, but it accomplishes the same thing. http://www.celoxmedical.com/usa/

Jasong and Steve, Good interchange. You two guys have a very buttoned down way of communicating. (In my opinion) saying the GPZ has only been out six month is no reason to excuse it's shortcomings. There was extensive testing done with this machine before it went on sale to the public, all one has to do is read JP's extremely lucid posts during it's early release to understand this and surely he was not the only tester. I simply do not believe the customer base should be utilized as the beta testers. A ten thousand dollar metal detector should have the small-time bugs worked out OR they should give at least acknowledge their beta testers and perhaps establish some communication with them. I trust Steve's assurance that the problems are being heard but would respectfully rather hear it from Minelab.

GPX 5000

Hi Ivan I sure wouldn't use "girlie" anywhere in the description of your picks. They look great and they are 3/4 of a pound lighter than Supersede's. I particularly like the looks of the bigger one as it is easy to overlook how critical the digging side of picks is, and you clearly understand that. I wish you best of luck with them they look very good and I was not trying to undercut them in any way fwiw. best wishes

So did they make the skid plate out of softer (lighter) plastic to save weight or what?

Hi Jason, I have a higher capacity battery booster for a phone, something like three recharges worth and it really helps knowing it's there. I have only had to go to it once or twice, but if needed, it's a good item. Also a blood-clotting powder packet is a great thing to have close by. Ya never know.

Thank you Steve et al, for re-stocking my list of sites. Very helpful…

Hi Steve, I hasten to add that my reply had nothing to do with you. I openly admire you for continually standing for the best of electronic prospecting with your viewpoints and your questioning. You have created an atmosphere here that gives me the incentive to speak up. There have been similar questions over years to Minelab that echo the points I mention. The intent was not to do anything other than try to point out aspects of these superior machines that can and should be fixed or made better. Sincere best wishes

Steve I agree with you entirely, but what about something like what Wes is talking about? This may seem picky (but it's not). On a mulit-thousand dollar piece of equipment supposedly built for rugged use in remote areas, why in the world should the customer have to be "gentle" when extending a shaft from the collapsed travel position? Shouldn't these detectors be rugged enough to withstand thousands of times extending that shaft? If we do not demand equipment that works we are going to get caught out in the middle of nowhere with some plastic piece that breaks if it is not used gently. A badly designed part is something a customer should not have to accept on a multi-thousand dollar product. Minelab should jump all over issues like this. They should acknowledge problems and correct them immediately. The customer confidence that would build is incalculable. Instead, we have silence.

I am interested to hear what JP may have to say about some of these questions that have been raised. Normally he is pretty quick to tend to the issues that he has knowledge of - and he has a lot of knowledge. Some of what I read sounds uncomfortably like other corporate moves that have been made in recent times: Basically they let the customer base be the beta-testers. I am disappointed to see the lack of follow-through or even clarification of the batteries and coils that were supposedly forthcoming. Sadly Minelab seems to have become just another for-profit-only-and-the customer-be-d*mned business entity. Most glaringly, the cost of remedying most of these issues is EASY AND CHEAP to fix. What is up MineLab?

someone's going to have to start salting Rye Patch… (joke in case anyone is worried) Have a great time, it looks like huge fun.

Hi Steve, I like the hydro pack you wear. It is pretty hard to find an outfit that will sell just one. Any suggestions? Thanks. * Added Nov. 27th: I finally was able to bag one from a place that agreed to sell me just one. It is a well made, well thought out pack. I'm happy.

haha, great solution Steve, I'm gonna strap my watch to my detector from now on.

Hi Steve, Good explanation of a difficult topic. It is difficult to guess just how hard finding gold can be without first-hand experience. It is also hard to realize just how much ingenuity and money has been spent trying to come up with ways to make it easier. The age-old solutions seem to be research, hard work and direct experience. It is also many times misleading on these forums when highly experienced detectorists write with unusual modesty about what they find. They can make it look pretty easy. It's not.

That looks like some great dredging gold, nice going…

You definitely have the touch…

There is so much to be said for fiddling with the settings over an un-dug target. That is how to really learn about both the machine (any detector), and the area you are using it in. You have probably the best detector on the planet right now so you are ahead of the game. Good luck.