Thought I might have to give up MDing because of severe join pain. I thought I'd spend a few bucks and see if something I ran across would extend my time out in the field and reduce my joint pain. I've previously owned and tried a couple of different MDing harnesses from two different makers of whom I won't mention. Both were adequate and did their job relieving the strain somewhat of the detector on the arm. But over a period of time they both became uncomfortable and transferred the pain and soreness elsewhere. For their price I have no complaints, but I wanted something better, more comfortable and not transfer the fatigue elsewhere to my body.
I ran across the Minelab Pro-Swing 45 metal detecting harness and read the very few unbiased reviews I could find. Looking at the system setup, it looked pretty mechanically efficient and designed to transfer the weight to the top of my frame and not the neck or one side of the body. The price was a little overwhelming at $100.00+, but if it worked for me it would be more than worth it.
First hunt: Based on where I was hunting, I wanted to use my Minelab Etrac with the 15" Tornado coil. On my Etrac I also have the Sunray X-1 pinpointing probe. I mainly want the X-1 probe on there for ease and speed of coil replacement out in the field when the occasion warrants. I don't think I need to mention every ounce counts added to the machine, especially for an old man with joint problems. I previously adjusted the harness to what I thought was about correct and made a few swings on the carpeting to see if it felt correct [the wife was eyeballing me to make sure I wasn't going to grab for my digger :-)
I'm here to tell y'all, that thing worked great and relieved the weight on my detecting arm and I didn't get fatigued. I was getting a little soreness after some time on my back right hip; but that was because I needed to make one more adjustment to the back center strap. That system distributes the weight very well to my upper body and top inside of shoulders; of which I have more load bearing without pain and fatigue. I paid full price for the harness and I'm not getting any compensation for my review and opinion. It's the best mechanically designed system I've found to deal with my situation. The only complaint I had was; where the padded shoulder straps contacted my body, it got hot and sweaty. I'm guessing 90+ degree temperatures might have had something to do with it... Nice job Minelab
Dennis - Tennessee, USA