100% this!
I know people out my way who kill it on gold every season with old GP extreme's. I know people out here who find bucket loads with their 45's. I also know people who find an ounce or 2 every couple of months with their 7000's and 2300's, mainly in many small bits.
The whole thing for me personally boils down to if physically I can be bothered going out for a few hours. With the 7000, which I still love, I umm and argh most weekends simply due to the pain I know I am going to end up in after 3 hours. The 6000 will change that for me....Patch hunting with a decent chance of finding any sized gold, with much less agony!
We did some work with machinery on one of our leases last August and I swung the 7000 for 5 days straight. It almost ended up wrapped around the nearest tree. Took 6 months before I could move my shoulders normally again π
For me, its a hobby. I dont want a hobby to kill me. Thats not fun at all.