GPZ 7000 Weight Question

[Gold Catcher]

The combination of hipstick and NF12 makes the GPZ a more reasonable machine even for long prospecting days, at least for me. Would I prefer it lighter, of course! Is it easier to swing than the SDC, for sure (due to much better ergonomics). But IMO the GPZ remains the most powerful and versatile detector ever made, and for me the performance/weight ratio is still in its favor. I sure hope the next gen. GPZ will be inspiried by the great weight efficiency of the 6k and Axiom, but without sacrificing its unmatched power and capabilities.

GC

 

[Norvic]

GC I`m not sure about the GPZ7000, to me the 6K showed clearly more depth on subgrammers even with the 10 inch X coil, now the Axiom with its control options, light mono coils and no chip in the coil, the ZVT swing all day days are over for this old codger, unless ML can do something magic with DOD/CC coils weight (the main GPZ weight problem) they can never hope to compete weight wise with Monos which both the 6K and Axiom have brought back into the arena. Large monos for the Axiom buh????? maybe even just a changed plug on those NF and Coiltek flat wound coils???? Heh cabin fevers setting in quickly here in wet downunder as in those snowed in places upover.?

[Gold Catcher]

All good Norvic, and I see your points. I think it all comes down to personal preferences and circumstances. If weight of the Z would not be an insurmountable problem for a prospector, then I think the Z has still alot to offer. Is the 6k more easy/pleasant to use and might have an edge with a mono over DOD for fast gold in many instances? I sure think so. I love the 9 mono with the 6k, what a great combo that is. That being said, I don't believe the 6k is a match to the Z wrt to ground processing, despite Geosense. At medium depth in more challenging grounds the Z has signaled me nuggets, even smaller ones, that the 6k would not see, despite mono coil. But that's the beauty of prospecting, isn't it? Not all tools are equally loved by all, and it all comes down to personal choices. I am just so glad to hear that you are having fun and that you are happy with Santa's new toy. ?

GC

[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.