Considering carbon fiber shaft for my Nox 800

maxxkatt

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I am thinking of getting a complete carbon fiber replacement shaft and counterbalance for my Nox 800.

Anybody out there have this setup on their Equinox? with their 11" coil?

is it worth the extra money and what are the benefits?
 
I hear you'll dig more gold coins.

But, seriously, it looks like a nice upgrade. Obviously the advantage is lighter weight and balance, yet rigidity. It seems like that would be more important in the surf than in the dirt.

I think I saw one option that has better cam locks for collapsing the shaft. I'd like that feature.
 
Great addition for the nox. I don't use the 11 inch much but it feels wonderful with the counterweight. I use 6" without weight.
 
I rarely use the 11" anymore but I got a cardon fiber shaft about a year ago. I did use the 11" at a ghost town last weekend. Hunted for close to 5 hours but that was first time using the 11" in about 6 months.
Don't have a counterweight.

I love the CF shafts. It has a better "feel" to it.
No wobble which is the big fix for me. Different locks is great.
Lighter? Not enough to tell a difference to me. With the 6" coil, it's already so light.

Was it worth the money? To me it was. Could I justify the cost if I had to? Maybe, maybe not but I like it and that's all I need.

I am getting another CF lower just so I don't have to remove coil when changing coils. I'm lazy.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
Here's my honest opinion :
I have a Steve's 2 piece CF shaft with the 4" counter weight. He has a few other sizes as well. You can unscrew the cap and adjust the weights inside. He uses birdshot in small plastic baggies. With the 11" coil , I think it is a vast improvement. But with the 15", not so much. This was the primary reason why I bought it. I got rid of the birdshot and put in a heavy custom SS rod to add more weight. It worked marginally better. Maybe I should have bought the 6" so I could have added more weight.

I'm not sure it's worth the $200 I paid for it. I think more importantly it depends on your hunting style. If you only do 2-3 hour hunts , you will be fine without it. But I hunt beaches , putting in 4-6 hours , walking at least a few miles swinging away. Usually with the 15" coil. These shafts are well built , look cool , and better than the factory shaft. It will last a long time. But worth it ? Not to sure. It didn't completely balance my detector with the 15. With the 11" you will be fine.
 
I absolutely love the carbon fiber shaft I have from Steve's detector rods. Very well made. I have a 2nd shaft coming tomorrow. You can buy them with no counter weight for less. It is lighter by a little, but it's stiffness make it swing better for sure. Mine are the 1 piece shaft with his lower rods also.
 
The stock Equinox is an ergonomic disaster. Hunting with it made my arm hurt to the point where I was about to sell the detector. I beach hunt and usually spend about 4 hrs on a hunt. Steve's rod with a counter weight has made my hunting enjoyable again. I only use the 11 inch coil. The counter weight is the best part. Without the weight the Equinox on a carbon shaft looks nice, but is not any better than the stock set up.
 
Carbon Fiber

What I like best? Collapsing the shaft. It fits easier into the trunk of my car, and in the zip up case, if I turn the coil sideways. I think a counter weight might be nice though? I will try to make a counter weight.
HH everyone
 
Counter Weight

Back again. I made that counter weight for my NOX. I didn't buy Steve's carbon fiber shaft, I bought a different one. I didn't know anything about counter weights but if I had, I would have probably bought Steve's. Mine is round so I can turn the coil on the shaft and the whole machine lays flat and collapse to fit easily into my carry bag. I am proud of my counter weight that I built in about two hours and was lucky to have a perfect piece of lead to make it work. And lucky enough to see someone else's that put a handle bar grip over the fix to make it look decent. I have yet to try it out.
HH everyone
 
I got Steve's carbon fiber rod and a Herke cuff. I don't have the counter weight yet. It's a much stiffer system. Also I like the way the rod adjust. It looks great and since the Equinox 800 is my main detector I felt it was well worth the price to upgrade.
 
I have Steve’s carbon fiber with the counter weight and love it.
My detecting time increased by many hours.
Less strain on wrist, arm, shoulder and back.
When using my 11” coil on land with bag of shot inside the counter weight to counteract the weight of the coil. It works so good I have to unscrew and remove the counter when in go into the water on the beach because of the waves and the water it’s hard to keep the coil on the bottom, and that’s how well it works. From Steve’s the counterweight comes two bags and I use one bag for the 11” coil.
I strongly recommend getting the carbon fiber shaft with the counterweight.
The quality is excellent in his shafts.
With Steve’s you only have two shafts rather than three. The shafts has a cam lock system so you don’t get the wobble some have with the twist lock Minelab shafts and also no pins to push in. Also I have a second lower shaft that stays on the coil all the time so I can change coils in less than a minute.

Doug
 
What this thread shows is one thought we all share. The stock Equinox is economically challenged. Yes it weighs little compared to detectors we have all used in the past, but as we found out balance and wrist angle can not be ignored.

When I read posts stating that the Equinox is a pleasure to swing I just start asking myself


Does this person hunt minutes or hours

We as ambassadors of the hobby have a responsibility. Hold detector companies responsible for mistakes so they are not repeated. Stop giving them a free pass in your posts. Tell the truth.

Minelab can handle it. They seemed to have come up with something different for the Vanquish.
 
I put a counterweight inside my stock Nox shaft, it brought the balance point back 3.5 inch.
I'm pretty happy with it, I've no complaints on the wrist angle, it works for me.
I've had a number of carbon tele shafts on my machines, there fine while they're working.
 
With Steve’s counterweight it screws into the back of his Carbon fiber upper shaft with fine machine threads and just the counter weight has weight to it and then you can unscrew the end cap and add the shot bags into it (comes with two).
I forgot to mention above that with Steve’s shafts use a cam lock so you have no set pins to set the length and it’s infinity. The twist lock system the equinox has gets to be a problem with sand and dirt but with the cam lock system that problem goes away.

Doug
 
I put a counterweight inside my stock Nox shaft, it brought the balance point back 3.5 inch.
I'm pretty happy with it, I've no complaints on the wrist angle, it works for me.
I've had a number of carbon tele shafts on my machines, there fine while they're working.

How did you add the weight?

I was just thinking of gluing some small lead balls into the end of the stock shaft. I assume the plastic cap just pops off, leaving the inside exposed down to the bolt that holds the arm rest. I'll initially use the weights inside a small plastic bag to fine tune how many to use for balancing. Then use some Titebond glue to make them permanent.
 
What I like best? Collapsing the shaft. It fits easier into the trunk of my car, and in the zip up case, if I turn the coil sideways. I think a counter weight might be nice though? I will try to make a counter weight.
HH everyone

Update: I had dug a solid round lead plug about four inches long, and it fit perfectly in the end of the shaft and I glued a bicycle handle bar grip over the lead plug, and wala, the machine is sooooo much nicer to swing. My home made counter weight works great, so, yes, I would recommend a counter weight for sure. I have all three size coils, but always use the eleven inch.
 
That solid lead plug seems like a good solution. I tried a handful of lead bullets into the end of the stock rod but it wasn't enough weight, or maybe not far enough back. That was about 180 grams (6 oz). I might try making some sort of extension rod. Then, there will be more leverage without needing to add more weight. I notice that the stock rod is about the same diameter as bicycle handlebars. So, on to dig around in the bike parts box....
 
Here's my honest opinion :
I have a Steve's 2 piece CF shaft with the 4" counter weight. He has a few other sizes as well. You can unscrew the cap and adjust the weights inside. He uses birdshot in small plastic baggies. With the 11" coil , I think it is a vast improvement. But with the 15", not so much. This was the primary reason why I bought it. I got rid of the birdshot and put in a heavy custom SS rod to add more weight. It worked marginally better. Maybe I should have bought the 6" so I could have added more weight.

I'm not sure it's worth the $200 I paid for it. I think more importantly it depends on your hunting style. If you only do 2-3 hour hunts , you will be fine without it. But I hunt beaches , putting in 4-6 hours , walking at least a few miles swinging away. Usually with the 15" coil. These shafts are well built , look cool , and better than the factory shaft. It will last a long time. But worth it ? Not to sure. It didn't completely balance my detector with the 15. With the 11" you will be fine.

SO sorry to dredge up this old thread/post, but...

KOB -- I am so sorry to hear that while the counterweight is a "vast improvement" for you with the 11" coil, it is not as effective for you when you are using the 15". That to me is a DEFINITE indication that we should have gone with the larger counterweight (which allows much more weight to be installed, if the smaller counterweight's capacity is not enough to achieve the needed comfort when swinging the big coil). I would happily have swapped you out for the larger one, had you contacted me (I'm not sure which one of my customers you are, by your "forum name," or I would contact you directly via email).

Tell you what, since the only reason I sell the counterweights in the first place is so that folks DO feel the improvement, and since you DID feel the improvement with the 11" coil, I want to follow through, meet your expectations, and accomplish similar improvement for you with the 15" coil, by sending you a new, larger counterweight at no charge. I'll send you a PM, to maybe reach you that way, but I also wanted to post this publicly, so that I can reiterate that ANYONE who is one of my customers knows that if they have any concerns or issues after the sale, PLEASE contact me, and I will do everything I can to assist.

Thanks!

Steve
 
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