James/Washington
Active member
Do not know how the reactivity is going to be and it is not updatable nor is it waterproof. I will sit this one out for a while. I will be watching.
Find's Treasure Forums
Welcome to Find's Treasure Forums, Guests!
You are viewing this forums as a guest which limits you to read only status.
Only registered members may post stories, questions, classifieds, reply to other posts, contact other members using built in messaging and use many other features found on these forums.
Why not register and join us today? It's free! (We don't share your email addresses with anyone.) We keep email addresses of our users to protect them and others from bad people posting things they shouldn't.
Click here to register!
Need Support Help?
Cannot log in?, click here to have new password emailed to you
Changed email? Forgot to update your account with new email address? Need assistance with something else?, click here to go to Find's Support Form and fill out the form.
APEX
- Thread starter virginia digger
- Start date
I for one am excited about this...I’ve been a Garett fan for years but..like a lot of people fell for the nox hype and bought a 800 even thou I’d never owned a minelab detector I’ve liked yet and after giving it a year the nox ain’t no different...so I’ll be selling my 800 and using that money on a apex...and I can’t wait!
Single, Selectable or Multi-frequency detectors don't have to be waterproof. True, a water hunter who wants to dunk their detector might like waterproof, but the vast majority of metal detecting hobbyists don't wade out into the water much, if they even water hunt at all. Most are land-based hobbyists, and even most Avid detectorists spend their time on land. There are plenty of waterproof detectors for avid waders and swimmers to pick from. The new APEX is a sensibly-priced model that is more of an up-scale entry-level competitor to appeal to the majority of the folks in this great sport.
I'm sure Garrett will come to the rescue of those who want frequency choices in a waterproof model when they upgrade their AT series.
Monte
I hunt a lot of very mineralized and challenging environments and have owned and used SMF detectors over the past 2½ decades. They work, sometimes, pretty well is some places ... but not everywhere or all-the-time. That's one of the reasons the bulk of my detector outfit operates on a single frequency, by deign or by my selection. I'm glad to see the concept Garrett took, but the big questions is how well the new APEX will work at each of those frequencies, and we don't know which frequencies are used in the 'Multi' operation or how well it will perform. I know I'm looking forward to getting one in my hands to see if it's a fit for me or not.
Monte
I agree, it does 'look' interesting. The display is ample-size and VDI readout is improved. Enough frequency choices compared with some of the completion, and it is priced reasonably affordable and doesn't need to be 'dunk-proof', either. Looking ahead to checking one out. Nt sure it will provide the in-the-field performance I need, and will need some smaller-sizes coils to handle the nasty debris environments, but I'm always willing to give a new model with potential a good try. It is simply an improved or enhanced Ace series model from some of the audio I heard and aw in the video, but who knows? Maybe the made it a better all-purpose performer?
Monte
I feel it is more intended to compete with the Minelab Vanquish, especially the 540 at about the same MSRP that comes with a 9X12 DD coils syandard.
However, for the increased price of an APEX with Z-Lynk wireless headphones you can buy the V-540 Pro Pack and that also includes their wireless headphones AND an environmental housing cover AND a 2nd 5X8 DD coil ... and right now there is only the one coil for the APEX. we don't know how well the new Garrett works until we get it in our hands and I know I'll be working one against my V-540.
It isn't real competition for the Nokta / Makro Simplex +. The Simplex + has an MSRP of about 60% of the APEX and that's a significant difference. It does lack selectable and multi-frequency, but it was designed at one of the best general-purpose frequencies you could choose. Also, for that much lower MSRP, the Simplex + doesn't have a simple On or Off Backlight selector, but a selectable level of intensities as well as an Automatic setting to turn the backlight on at the detection of a target.
It isn't a 5-Tone only Tone ID in all Disc. modes like the Vanquish or APEX, but has 2 'Park,' or Coin Hunting, modes that are 3-Tone, and two other modes, 'Filed' and 'Beach', that provide a 2-Tone audio which a lot of us like to use. Better still, one of those, the 'Field' mode, features a VCO enhanced audio, while my favorite, the 'Beach' mode, does NOT have a VCO audio and the tone and response is different than 'Field' mode. There are other difference in design that the Simplex + offers over the new Garrett, but we just have to do a wait-and-see what the finished product will be. Will they make any software changes between now and the July release time?
Compare the APEX with other competitor offerings closer to that $500 or $580 MSRP and then it will be a fair comparison. Also, what smaller coils is Garrett going to offer us?
Monte
BobOso
Well-known member
Not completely true Monte. some of us enjoy doing many things. When I go to water areas (no longer dive) I use waders and go in up to chest level. most people who go to parks with lakes only wade, that's where jewelry is lost. I have the Nox 800, half the time I use the multi freq, the other half I only use a single freq, depending on how much trash is there. Lakes and desert prospecting I use the ORX, the ORX with the water kit ,is a killer, in the desert it handles this Arizona hot mineralized dirt better than any detector (other than pulse) that I have tried. and I've used the GMT (and 24k) fisher GB, it handles much better than the Nox. I've hunted all over AZ, as you move farther north to Mohave count,, or Prescott area the ground is not nearly as hot as it is here close to the boarder.I doubt if the Apex can handle the ground down here. as far as 20khz for prospecting, just my opinion but you might just as well use dowsing rods, your chances of finding small gold is slim. I had a Noka fors for gold 20khz, it was worthless. Step up the freq to 40 khz and you will find small gold, 70 khz and you will spend all day picking out stuff you need a loop to find.
IowaRelic
Well-known member
I think it’s a step in the right direction for Garrett. I agree with some, I think it will set the stage for the next flagship machine. It’s good to see American products hit the market that can actually compete with the foreign stuff. I probably won’t ever buy one but I’d be interested in whatever replaces the AT series. Good job Garrett.
Now it’s time for FT to release something real instead of a crazy priced niche machine that they didn’t even design! (If it ever comes out)
I would put away all my detectors for a modernized F75/T2 machine with all the current tech.
Now it’s time for FT to release something real instead of a crazy priced niche machine that they didn’t even design! (If it ever comes out)
I would put away all my detectors for a modernized F75/T2 machine with all the current tech.
Ytcoinshooter
Well-known member
I want to see Calabash Digger put the Apex to the test! Some things can only be answered through performance testing. I trust he will set up test parameters that will provide answers and not speculation as he is very fair and fun to watch. If it was fully waterproof I probably would be searching to get on the preorder list. This is the year I likely sell a less used detector from my arsenal of 10 to make room for something new.
I do applaud Garrett for not sitting on the sidelines and punching back with an intriguing release. They have had a target on their back for some time and the foreign manufacturers have pushed the envelope of what mid range and entry level units can do.
I do applaud Garrett for not sitting on the sidelines and punching back with an intriguing release. They have had a target on their back for some time and the foreign manufacturers have pushed the envelope of what mid range and entry level units can do.
dirthunter308
Member
Looks like a winner!!
TinCanBeach
Active member
Maybe a dive housing could be made for it out of an otterbox. Or the Deus/style underwater kit.
TinCanBeach
Active member
It definitely has a nice look to it. I think I may try one just to show some support for an American manufacturer.
I guess I'll qualify my statement , which was: "... the vast majority of metal detecting hobbyists don't wade out into the water much, if they even water hunt at all. Most are land-based hobbyists, and even most Avid detectorists spend their time on land."
Consider these things:
► Garrett folks stated they have sold over a million Ace series models world-wide. That's a lot, and they aren't waterproof. A lot of folks are just fine using a detector and not hunting in the water, although some might do it a little in a beach environment ... but a smaller percentage of Ace users, to be sure.
► Although I am really hoping some of the Ace series performance has been improved, the ACE APEX is still an Ace series detector. I could hear some slight differences in the video presentation, but I also heard some annoying Iron Audio response that doesn't come across as 'improved' and that means it isn't going to be very useful for those hunting really nasty iron contaminated sites. I do, and have since may of '69.
► I was Detractor Dealer since '77, starting back then with Garrett as a matter-of-fact, and I have been involved with clubs and helped found two or three, and in those and many other situations of contact with people why are or have-been in this hobby, they didn't / don't get out detecting all that often, most have related to me they never hunted a saltwater or freshwater beach, and the bulk of the consumers gradually lose interest in the metal detecting hobby. Especially in recent years compared to those who got into it back in the '70s to mid/late '80s.
► The Ace series and similar lower-cost detectors are what a bulk of the shoppers are looking for because they have a limited budget for a detector. I'm referring to the newcomers as well as those who've been in the sport a while, but not on a very active and frequent pace. Even today we read responses that they felt the APEX is too expensive, with some saying they are just looking for an 'extra' detector or a 'back-up'
► I get together with 17 to 25 people twice a year on Welcome-to-Hunt Outings I host that have mostly been working ghost towns. There are a few people who bring along a waterproof detector to use on the Outings, but those are not a lower-priced detector. Those with a Garrett AT model who have participated soon put it away and get a different and better-performing model and coil for the challenges we face. Some have used a different waterproof detector, like the Equinox series, but generally they haven't done well, and most have reserved them for other uses, such as working a beach or a city park. That's because they don't quite match better-performing models in those applications. The only folks who have continued to use a water-proof detector are Nokta / Makro users of the Kruzer or Anfibio series because, by design, they work quite well in troubling iron debris.
► Folks I know who do make Beach Hunting a dedicated part of their hobby enjoyment also have other non-waterproof detectors for other applications.
In this case I feel the coming Garrett APEX was a good move to make it a land-based device. It helps maintain an affordable price, provides a lot of the features the bulk of the consumers want to see, and it leave the door open for them to offer a dedicated waterproof model for folks like you who are looking for one, especially with some new and different packaging and up-scale features. The APEX was simply a thought-out step in the right direction, and at the same time it offers all those million-plus Ace consumers and followers something of interest to move ahead with some better features and packaging, and also attract new-comers to the Garrett camp because it is an affordable and well-featured model.
Most are not water hunters. Those who are likely have a waterproof model now, or thy will hold out and follow the new features of the APEX just to see what Garrett might work up for a dedicated water hunting model
