Does Anyone Hunt Without A Coil Cover?

[Badger-NH]

Is anyone hunting without a coil cover?  If so, how is it holding up?

There has been some talk over on the FT forum about how the Impulse AQ coil is so tough that it doesn't need a coil cover. I wonder if Minelab coils are just as strong.

I've gone through a few coil covers in my day but they are made of soft plastic. The coil itself is hard epoxy. Are covers really necessary? I've always just accepted that they are, but now I'm questioning it.

[nordic]

I bang mine now and then and thankful the cover is there. I look at the cover and see it has plenty of dings and scratches, so it does a good job. ML coils are not completely filled with epoxy, there are structural voids underneath that would collect dirt and would be hard to remove I think, and these some dirt can really upset how detector works. This plastic cover is transparent to the magnetic field, there is probably no gain to be had, besides some small weight off? 

[Chase Goldman]

Not sure what the return on investment is for NOT using it.  Minuscule weight penalty, no performance penalty, yeah they're a pain to remove and clean, but why risk damage and wear over time to an expensive coil for lack of a cheap piece of plastic? 

[TedinVT]

I wrecked my AT Pro coil by detecting without a coil cover.  Learned that lesson the hard way.  And the AT Pro coil was, IMHO, much more robust than the ML coil.  I always use a coil cover now, especially with the replacement cost of a ML coil.

[Joe D.]

  I know many people don't like to clean the sand out of the coil cover, and some say that the black sand interfears with the operations! Both valid, if that's an issue for them! To each their own! I just pull the cover when I'm cleaning the rest of the detector and shafts! Which is nearly every time i use it!??

[Steve Herschbach]

Frankly, anyone that only hunts turf has little need for a scuff cover. Grass will never wear down a coil. Fine sand I'd not worry about much either. Gold prospectors however can wear out a cover in very short order. The machines tend to be heavy, and the coil riding the ground (and the rocks) is the norm. Considering a GPZ 7000 coil is $1500, who would not want to protect that investment? So not only does the ground condition and the hours matter, but the replacement cost of the coil is well worth consideration.

I almost always use a cover, for the simple reason is almost all my detectors get sold eventually. Keeping the coil looking almost new, as opposed to looking like it has been beat to death, will eventually pay off if a detector is sold. I don't drop or throw my detectors, so the coil is the only thing that really shows wear. I can pop that two year old cover off, and have a machine that has only minor scuffs and scrapes when sold.

[Badger-NH]

I have to agree. Using a cover is not a big deal. The advantages of using a cover outweigh any benefits of not using one, at least with Minelab machines. Thanks for all the opinions.

[Rick N. MI]

I never use a cover.

[Khameleon21]

1 hour ago, Rick N. MI said:

I never use a cover.

If you don't mind me asking.  What is the reason why you never use a cover?