Rod Posted December 18, 2017 Report Share Posted December 18, 2017 Sharing some of my thoughts and observations on the GPZ after a few months. The pic is just a small portion of the gold that I’ve found with it so far. The GPZ is heavy compared to many of the other Minelab’s I’ve swung in the last 16 years or so and I’ve swung them all at one point or another. Recently, on a five day hunt with friends I swung the GPZ the usual 8-10 hours a day. On the sixth day my shoulder was getting stiff and sore, so much so that I was glad to have a day of rest from detecting. Did not want to even swing the lightweight gold bug at that point. Just to give some perspective here I’m no weakling but not Hercules either, just a very thin and fit guy. 6 foot 1 inch and 180 lbs. I’ll mention this next piece for everyone’s potential benefit...I highly recommend going paleo if you’ve struggled with weight gain that often comes with age. I began eating paleo a few years ago (am over 50 now) and am as thin as I was at 25. And have almost endless energy. Enough about crap like health and nutrition ...the good news is that the GPZ comes with a harness to reduce the weight on your shoulder, I just don’t like it (nor do I use it). In speaking with other prospectors, opinions on the harness are a mixed bag just like every other topic in life. Some swear by the harness, some swear at it. I’m in the latter crowd. A bungee on the old backpack seems to work well for my purposes, don’t try and convert me The shaft’s extended length is great for jolly green 6+ footers and if you’re more dwarfish, the fact that the shaft is telescopic will make you happier than a pint of grog Plus at the end of the day you can collapse the GPZ and load it up easily into your rig. Ergonomically, the GPZ is fairly balanced. Even after months of use the ergonomic design is still weird to me, just because I swung the older style Minelabs for so long. If a GPZ is your first unit, you’ll never know the difference. Performance wise, the GPZ is impressive. With a little experimentation and practice you can run it just about anywhere, even in basalt. The depth and sensitivity of the GPZ are beyond my expectations. It's so sensitive that I had to change my knee pads to a new brand just to avoid hearing the little rivets when swinging the coil. Have I broke any personal records with the GPZ? Nope. Still trying to break my 7 ounce nugget record. Maybe next summer in Alaska In taking the GPZ back to a few old patches I was surprised at the gold it recovered. Nothing big, just nuggets that made me scratch my head and wonder how multiple detectors missed them. It almost seemed like the gold gods put the nuggets in those old patches just to mess with me The GPZ has also proven to be a great new patch/area finder as well, the depth and sensitivity really make it a formidable all around unit. The stock coil cover is really like a donut tire. Made for temporary use only. If you buy one of the aftermarket coil covers put it on carefully. They are a bear to get off if you get them on right. If you get them on wrong, you’ll work in profanity the way other artists might work in oils or clay. When the job is done, profanity will be your true medium; you’ll be a master I highly recommend filing the little tabs/ears on them down a little and finding the balance between “bear to get off when put on right” and “reasonable to get off when put on right” so the fit is more practical. This way you can keep your coil clean and free from black sands and other little nasties “floating” between the coil and the coil cover. One day I might post more about settings, target response, and a dozen other things but it's time for dinner now. Be safe and keep on swinging. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredm Posted December 18, 2017 Report Share Posted December 18, 2017 thanks, Rod...good info on the coil cover... fred 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin nuggethunting Posted December 18, 2017 Admin Report Share Posted December 18, 2017 Hey Rod, Thanks for sharing some of your GPZ finds and comments about the GPZ's performance. It's a great machine, but like you mentioned it's heavy and can wear someone out without the use of a good bungee or the Pro-Swing 45 that comes with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlakMagnet Posted December 19, 2017 Report Share Posted December 19, 2017 Or a Hipstick… 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IMPDLN Posted January 9, 2018 Report Share Posted January 9, 2018 Nice post Rod. I recognize most of that gold too. Hope we can get out again soon. Dennis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Posted January 10, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2018 On 1/8/2018 at 7:58 PM, IMPDLN said: Nice post Rod. I recognize most of that gold too. Hope we can get out again soon. Dennis Thanks bro, glad you got some nice chunks out of that spot too We're not done there yet Yep, let's get together as soon as we can. I'm sure we won't have to twist Las's arm to join us Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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