Hip Sticks pro and cons?

[Mystyk59]

I noticed that a few members who are new to the game have recently bought detectors. One of the best little accessories you can get if you plan on having a few long sessions swinging is a Hip Stick. It clips on to your belt and attaches to your harness you then clip your bunjy cord to it and it takes all the weight off your shoulder and back and distributes it around your hips. I do long sessions sometimes and it makes a hell of a difference at the end of the day. You can detect for longer without the aches and pains. They are available from most detector shops and on ebay. They cost about 40 bucks and are well worth it. They come with an elastic to hold the socket in which i found a bit naff but there is a bloke on ebay who makes and sells Hip stick retainers which is a piece of crescent shaped plastic you screw in and it hold the socket in place permanently. I recommend getting one of these as well they are $5.50. Just wait til you get your hip stick though as there are 2 different size openings in them and if you get the wrong size retainer the crescent end will snap off. Hope this helps to make your detecting a tad more enjoyable

 

[Adam]

I will definitely be getting a hip stick to eleviate strain, just found the guy on eBay thanks to your post mate. Is it the same thing as a "swing arm" I saw advertised? The description highlited it being able to help give consistent swing height off the ground.

 

[Mystyk59]

No the swing arm looks more like a shovel handle and means you have to use both hands to swing the detector ! the hip stick is more for the weight aspect . And really i find you want to be scraping the coil on the ground to get the best signals. A bloke who has one of the few coil testers privately owned (it measures the strength of your coil output) showed me the difference only an inch makes. It was a drop of something like 1500 say to 900 i cant remember now the exact figures . So when they say low and slow . I go through skid plates like nothing as i always scrape the ground. And thats when you find the tiny bits others have missed. Make sure you get the retainer as well its a different bloke on ebay sells them. Glad to have been of help

 

[ChrisM]

I use a hipstick with the SD.
I swear by it.It makes all the difference when your out there swinging hour after hour.
Also the old back and hip aint what it used to be and this works a treat by taking the pressure off the sore points

 

[Adam]

Ok, now I understand. Thanks for the tip on coil height, I always thought you had to hover.... Back to eBay and look for coil covers

 

[Wintersnake]

I'm the type of guy that thrives on efficiency.

So hip sticks are the worth it or just another piece of gear that gets hung up on snags walking through the bush?

 

[Borat70]

My opinion is that they are worth it, they take alot of strain off of the shoulder. The hipstick ball joint retainer available off of ebay for a few bucks is a worthwhile addition also.

 

[Wintersnake]

Cheers Borat, I"ll have to think about adding one to my kit.

 

[condor22]

Consider the Proswing 45 harness, it has an inbuilt "stick" that transmits the load from the shoulder to the belt at the lower back. With a large coil on it really does make a huge difference after swing the coil for an hour or two. The belt and straps are very well padded as well. It takes a little to adjust to your size and needs to be worn slightly above the pants belt and firm around the gut. I have my pick holder on the Proswing belt as well, I don't notice its weight as much as the handle touching legs when walking.

Harness is $149, Hipstick is $50, so just under a $100 the difference. The Proswing also comes with a better bungy hook that allows for quick disconnect and so far has never disconnected when I didn't want it to.

 

[Wintersnake]

Condor, those look like the way to go. I find my older standard harness almost useless around the waist.

 

[condor22]

I got the Proswing when I bought the 5000, but I also got the Minelab standard as well, I tried it for an hour, took it off and threw it in a cupboard in my shed.

Like chalk and cheese.

 

[bundyjd]

Can somebody point me towards a hip stick that would work with a Garrett AT Gold?

I can only seem to find references to Minelab gear.

 

[PhaseTech]

The Pro-Swing is universal, can work with any detector.

 

[mond]

I made my own hipstic with a old fishing rod and a tooth brush and 2 clips
works great with my gpx 5000
mond