Description
The Equinox 900 is the machine we recommend most to a detectorist buying one serious multi-frequency detector - and the first thing every new owner discovers is that a detector, two coils, headphones, and chargers do not carry themselves to the field. The EQUINOX 900 Essentials Bundle is Minelab's factory answer: the full 900 kit plus the purpose-built Minelab backpack, in one box under one part number (3720-1001).
At a glance
The Minelab Equinox 900 Essentials Bundle (part 3720-1001) is the full Equinox 900 kit - EQX11 and EQX06 coils, ML85 wireless headphones - plus the Minelab detecting backpack, under one factory part number. Multi-IQ multi-frequency metal detector, IP68 waterproof to 16 ft (5 m), 3-year Minelab warranty. Best for coins, relics, beach and surf, and crossover gold prospecting; beginner through advanced.
History Seekers Metal Detectors is an authorized Minelab dealer; every Equinox 900 Essentials Bundle we sell is new, sourced through Minelab's authorized US distributor, and carries the full 3-year Minelab warranty.
Why the factory bundle instead of piecing it together
Minelab prices this bundle itself and publishes its own regular price above it, so the saving you see is the manufacturer's math, not a dealer's invented strikethrough. And unlike the dealer-assembled kits filling search results, every piece here is Minelab-built: the backpack is designed around the collapsed 900 and its two coils, not a generic daypack tossed in to pad a listing. One order, and the whole kit moves as one piece - truck, permission, airline overhead.
Technical specs and what they do in the field
| Multi-IQ simultaneous multi-frequency; 4/5/10/15/20/40 kHz singles | Deep silver and small gold register on the same sweep; drop to 40 kHz single for small gold in hot ground. |
| 119 target IDs (ferrous -19 to 0, non-ferrous 1 to 99) | Iron declares itself on its own scale instead of bleeding into good-target numbers. |
| EQX11 11 in (28 cm) + EQX06 6 in (15 cm) coils in every 900 box | Coverage from the 11 in (28 cm) coil, surgical separation in trash from the 6 in (15 cm) - two jobs, one machine. |
| IP68, waterproof to 16 ft (5 m) | Wade, surf-hunt, and work flooded sites. |
| 2.8 lb (1.27 kg), collapses to 24 in (61 cm) | All-day swinging; packs into carry-on luggage. |
| ML85 low-latency wireless headphones included | Crisp responses in sync with your swing. |
| Minelab detecting backpack included | Purpose-built to swallow the collapsed 900, both coils, headphones, and field gear. |
| 3-year Minelab warranty | Detector and coils, backed by an authorized dealer. |
Modes, Profiles and the Settings That Matter
Every Equinox 900 mode ships with two profiles, and the manual says what each one is for. Start on the profile that matches the site, then move one setting at a time:
- Park 1 (general and coins): the manual's recommended starting point for learning the machine; its default pattern rejects the common foil-like targets. Park 2 (fine jewelry): accepts all non-ferrous targets, runs a faster recovery speed and All Tones for small targets in trash, including iron trash.
- Field 1 (coins and artifacts): rejects Target IDs 1 to 4, where most coke reads, and gives those IDs the same low tone as iron. Field 2 (fine coins and artifacts): for high target and trash densities, better on small hammered coins on edge or at depth, with a faster recovery speed.
- Beach 1 (wet and dry sand): reduces the salt signal while keeping high transmit power. Beach 2 (underwater and surf): for wading or shallow diving with the coil or detector submerged, where the strong salt signal calls for lower transmit power. In Beach mode residual salt reads as Target ID 0, so gold chains and other low conductors stay audible.
- Gold 1 (normal ground) and Gold 2 (difficult ground): prospecting threshold audio with Tracking ground balance by default; Gold 2 lowers the recovery speed for depth on deeper nuggets in heavier mineralization. The manual's tell: hot rocks usually read as a negative Target ID, small gold as a low positive one, often 1 or 2.
Around the profiles: Recovery Speed (1 to 8) separates targets packed close together at the cost of some depth, so run it high on nail-filled sites and lower in clean ground; Iron Bias (-1 to 9) decides how hard the detector treats targets with iron traits, and the -1 setting added by Minelab's software version 1.79.0-3.3.4 is the aggressive unmasking option for hunted-out, iron-infested ground; Sensitivity runs 1 to 28; Noise Cancel is automatic across 19 channels, manual, or continuous (hold the Accept/Reject button with Noise Cancel selected and it keeps hunting for the quietest channel); ground balance is Auto, Manual or Tracking, and the manual says to re-ground-balance wet sand after any change to the noise cancel channel, recovery speed or iron bias.
What the target ID does not do. The 119-segment scale is a conductivity estimate with iron on its own side of zero, not a label on the object. Deep, edge-on or iron-masked targets wander across the scale, and a coin beside a nail can read like neither. Whether the number repeats from two directions decides the dig; the two coils give you a second opinion the number cannot.
What's in the Essentials Bundle
- Minelab Equinox 900 with EQX11 11 in (28 cm) Double-D Smart coil and skid plate
- EQX06 6 in (15 cm) Double-D coil with skid plate
- ML85 low-latency wireless headphones
- Minelab detecting backpack
- USB charging cable, screen protector, quick start guide
- 3-year Minelab warranty (detector and coils)
Minelab 15% Military Discount
Minelab offers a 15% military discount on Minelab detectors (accessories excluded), and this bundle is built on the Equinox 900. Contact us directly at 256-284-2247 for details and to order with the discount. Not combinable with other promotions or discounts.
Which Equinox 900 Bundle Is Right for You? Compare by Factory Part Number
Every Minelab bundle starts with the same Equinox 900, the EQX11 and EQX06 coils and the ML 85 headphones; the part number tells you what is added, whatever name a dealer prints: Essentials Bundle (3720-1001, this page): the detector, both coils and the ML 85 headphones plus the Minelab backpack; Field Bundle (3720-1003): plus the Pro-Find 40 pinpointer and the backpack; Recovery Bundle (3720-1005): plus the EQX15 15 x 12 in (38 x 30 cm) coil and the backpack; Ultimate Bundle (3720-1007): plus the EQX15 coil, the Pro-Find 40 and the backpack. Other dealers sell these configurations under their own names ("Bundle #2", "holiday bundle"); the Minelab part number is the thing to compare.
Who the Essentials Bundle Is For, and Who Should Buy Something Else
Best for: the detectorist stepping into a serious multi-frequency machine who wants the kit organized and travel-ready from day one: parks and yards on weekdays, a beach week in summer, a relic permission in fall, all with the two coils that cover open ground and tight trash. Experience level: intermediate, with a clear path for a motivated beginner: Park 1 is the manual's own starting profile. Honest limits: the Gold mode is real crossover capability, not a deep-nugget specialist; the battery is internal, so there is no field swap; and the ML 85 wireless audio stops the moment the control pod goes under water.
Buy the Equinox 700 instead if you hunt parks, fields and beaches on the preset profiles, never plan to prospect, and would rather keep the difference. Step up to the Manticore if your sites are iron-saturated relic ground and you want the 2D Target ID Map and more transmit power. If you already own a pinpointer and a pack, the standalone Equinox 900 is your machine; if you own neither, the Field Bundle adds the pinpointer most detectorists buy within a week anyway.
Where the Equinox 900 Works Well, and Where It Does Not
Parks and yards: Park 1 for coins and larger jewelry, Park 2 with the EQX06 coil when the tot lot or the picnic ground is wall-to-wall trash. This is the machine's bread and butter.
Old fields and homesites: Field 1 rejects the coke that litters historically occupied ground; Field 2 and a high recovery speed pull small coins out from among nails. Iron Bias -1 is the setting for a site everyone else has given up on. Where the iron is so dense that you want to see ferrous and conductive information on every target, the Manticore's 2D map is the next step.
Beaches and surf: Beach 1 on the sand and Beach 2 once you wade in; the whole detector is submersible to 16 ft (5 m). Wireless audio does not pass through water, so submerged hunting means wired waterproof headphones on the waterproof port.
Gold country: Gold 1 and Gold 2 with the 40 kHz single frequency find small nuggets in milder ground. In hot, deep goldfields a dedicated gold machine reaches smaller gold and more depth.
Where it is the wrong buy: as a dedicated deep-nugget prospector, or for the relic hunter whose first question is about target-trace mapping; both of those belong to other Minelab machines.
Coils and Accessories That Fit the Equinox 900 in This Bundle
Everything below fits the Equinox 900 and is listed, with its part number, on our Equinox 700 and 900 fitment page: the EQX15 skidplate 3011-0378 if you add the 15 x 12 in (38 x 30 cm) coil later, the replacement battery 3011-0456, middle shaft 3011-0467, armrest 3011-0470, screen protectors 3011-0472, coil bolt set 3011-0487, the magnetic USB charging cable and 2-way USB car charger, a spare set of ML 85 or the ML 105 wireless headphones, the WM 09 wireless audio module for your own wired headphones, Minelab waterproof headphones for audio under water, the Pro-Find 40 or Pro-Find 35 pinpointer, and Coiltek's NOX coils (10x5, 14x9, 15 in (38 cm), 18 in (46 cm)) made for the Equinox. The fitment page also lists the finds pouches, sand scoops and digging tools we pair with it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this a real Minelab bundle or a dealer kit?
A factory Minelab bundle with its own Minelab part number, 3720-1001. Most bundles online are dealer-assembled kits with third-party accessories; this one is packed by Minelab with manufacturer-set pricing, so every component is genuine Minelab under one warranty conversation.
Which coils come in the Essentials Bundle?
Both standard Equinox 900 coils: the EQX11 11 in (28 cm) Double-D and the EQX06 6 in (15 cm) Double-D, each with a skid plate, plus ML85 wireless headphones and the Minelab backpack.
Is the Equinox 900 waterproof?
Yes. IP68 rated and fully submersible to 16 ft (5 m), with a dedicated Beach mode (Beach 1 and Beach 2 profiles) for wet salt sand and surf. The ML85 wireless headphones are for land use; wireless audio does not pass through water, so submerged hunting requires wired waterproof headphones.
Can the Equinox 900 in this bundle find gold?
Yes. The Equinox 900 has a dedicated Gold mode with two profiles (Gold 1 for normal ground, Gold 2 for difficult ground) and a 40 kHz single frequency for small gold, so small nuggets are honestly within reach alongside the rings and jewelry any Multi-IQ machine finds. Serious nugget country at depth calls for a dedicated Minelab gold machine such as the Gold Monster 2000; the 900 prospects credibly while doing everything else.
Essentials or Field Bundle: which one?
The Field Bundle adds the PRO-FIND 40 waterproof pinpointer, the first accessory most detectorists buy anyway. If you already own a pinpointer, the Essentials Bundle is the value pick; if you do not, the Field Bundle saves a second order.
Does this bundle qualify for a military discount?
Yes. Minelab offers a 15% military discount on Minelab detectors (accessories excluded). Contact us directly at 256-284-2247 for details. It cannot be combined with other promotions or discounts.
Which Minelab Equinox 900 bundle should I buy?
Compare by Minelab part number, not by dealer names. Essentials Bundle (3720-1001): the detector with both coils plus the official Minelab backpack. Field Bundle (3720-1003): backpack plus the Pro-Find 40 pinpointer. Recovery Bundle (3720-1005): backpack plus the EQX15 15 x 12 in (38 x 30 cm) coil for open fields and depth. Ultimate Bundle (3720-1007): backpack, Pro-Find 40 and the EQX15. If you already own a pinpointer, choose 1001 or 1005; if you hunt open fields or beaches, the EQX15 bundles earn their keep; if you are starting from nothing, the Ultimate Bundle is the complete kit.
Is the Minelab Equinox 900 Essentials Bundle worth it?
Yes, if you want the Equinox 900 with both coils and the Minelab backpack built around the collapsed detector, in one order under one factory part number. The backpack is the whole difference from the standalone 900; if you already own a pack, buy the detector on its own, and if you own neither a pack nor a pinpointer, the Field Bundle is the better value.
What accessories fit the Equinox 900 in the Essentials Bundle?
Genuine Minelab EQX06, EQX11 and EQX15 coils and the EQX15 skidplate 3011-0378; Coiltek NOX coils (10x5, 14x9, 15 in / 38 cm, 18 in / 46 cm) made for the Equinox; the replacement battery 3011-0456; middle shaft 3011-0467; armrest 3011-0470; screen protectors 3011-0472; coil bolt set 3011-0487; the magnetic USB charging cable and 2-way USB car charger; ML 85 and ML 105 wireless headphones, the WM 09 wireless audio module and Minelab waterproof headphones for audio under water; the Pro-Find 40 and Pro-Find 35 pinpointers; and Minelab finds pouches. Every item is listed, with its part number, on our Equinox 700 and 900 fitment page.
Where can I buy the Minelab Equinox 900 Essentials Bundle online from an authorized dealer?
Here. History Seekers Metal Detectors is an authorized Minelab dealer; every Equinox 900 Essentials Bundle we sell is new, sourced from Minelab's authorized US distributor under factory part number 3720-1001, and carries Minelab's full 3-year warranty on the Equinox 900 and its coils. We price match: send us the competitor's current listing for a new unit and we will verify it. Minelab's military discount program applies to the detector in this bundle; contact us directly to order under it. Call 256-284-2247 to talk to someone who runs this machine before you order.
Who you are buying from
History Seekers is a small American business and a working detecting channel: over 1.1 million people follow our hunts on Facebook and YouTube. Everyone here detects, from the top down: gold, relics, coins, jewelry, even float copper. We hunt with the gear we sell, and the person who answers your call has real dirt time. Every purchase keeps everyday Americans working.
The story is more important than the artifact.
See everything that fits your machine:What Fits the Minelab Equinox 700 and 900