Description
The Minelab Manticore Essentials Bundle with Official Backpack pairs the flagship Minelab Manticore metal detector with the upgrade most traveling detectorists reach for first: a purpose-built pack to carry and protect the machine between hunts. If you drive to scattered permissions, hike in to remote sites, or fly to detect, this configuration is built around getting your Manticore there safely and getting you hunting faster once you arrive. Minelab sells this exact configuration as the official MANTICORE Essentials Bundle, factory part 3228-1003, the same name you will see on Minelab's own site. It also saves you $49 compared to buying the detector and the pack separately. The Manticore inside is the full flagship: 10 customizable search modes (5 All-Terrain, 4 Beach, 1 Goldfield) and free Minelab software updates over USB, with the 2.0 update having added the Stabiliser setting and an Enhanced Goldfield mode at no charge.
Exclusive History Seekers bonus: free with this bundle
Order this Manticore bundle from History Seekers and receive a free 1-year subscription to American Digger Magazine, the print resource for relic hunters, coin shooters, and serious diggers. Available exclusively through HistorySeekers.net.
Free subscription applies to the listed price only and cannot be combined with other discount codes or promotions. If a coupon is used at checkout, the magazine subscription is excluded.
What the Official Backpack Adds to Your Kit
The Official Minelab Professional Backpack is shaped around the Manticore platform and the way detectorists actually pack for a day out. The collapsed detector, spare coils, your pinpointer, digging tools, finds pouch, and charging gear each travel in dedicated padded compartments instead of rattling loose in a trunk or duffel. Reinforced stitching and load-bearing straps keep longer walk-ins comfortable, and everything stays organized and protected from the truck to the dig site and back.
- Padded, shaped storage for the collapsed Manticore and its M11 coil
- Dedicated room for spare coils, a pinpointer, headphones, and recovery tools
- Reinforced build for hiking in to remote permissions
- Keeps a flagship-level machine protected in transit and between sessions
Why This Bundle
Many of the "Manticore bundles" you will find online are house-assembled: a dealer adds a generic carry bag, gloves, a digger or a cap, then prints a large savings number against an inflated list price. This is not that. The Essentials Bundle is a Minelab factory configuration with its own part number (3228-1003) and its own UPC, packed by Minelab, carrying the same name you will find on Minelab's US site. What you get is the complete Manticore kit plus the official Minelab backpack, under the same 3-year Minelab warranty as the base detector, from an authorized Minelab dealer.
Against its siblings, the Essentials Bundle is the one to pick when the detector and its M11 coil already cover your sites and your only gap is transport. The Recovery Bundle adds the M9 9 in (23 cm) coil for tighter separation in trash, the Field Bundle adds the Pro-Find 40 pinpointer, and the Ultimate Bundle adds both. Each of those includes this same backpack, so nothing you buy here is wasted if you step up later.
Who This Bundle Is For
Choose the Essentials Bundle if your detecting takes you off the beaten path: travel hunts, hike-in relic permissions, beach trips, or simply keeping an expensive machine organized and protected year round. It is the lightest step up from the base kit. It adds carry and protection without changing how the detector performs, which makes it the natural first bundle for most Manticore buyers.
The Detector at the Core: Minelab Manticore
At the center of this package is the standard Minelab Manticore, the brand's most powerful Multi-IQ+ machine, with high-output transmit power, a live two-dimensional Target ID map, Target Trace visualization, and IP68 waterproofing to 16 ft (5 m). This bundle ships with the complete factory Manticore kit. For the full specification sheet and search modes, see the standard Minelab Manticore listing.
Everything in This Bundle
| Bundle | MANTICORE Essentials Bundle (official Minelab name), with Official Backpack |
| Bundle SKU / MPN | 3228-1003 |
| Price | $1,599 (saves $49 versus buying separately) |
| Detector | Minelab Manticore (Multi-IQ+, 2D Target ID, IP68 to 16 ft / 5 m) |
| Included Coil | M11 11-inch Double-D smart coil |
| Headphones | ML105 low-latency wireless |
| Bundle Upgrade | Official Minelab Professional Backpack |
| Also Included | Magnetic charge and data cable, 3.5 mm audio cable, 5-pack screen protectors |
| Warranty | 3-year Minelab factory warranty (control box and coil) |
| Condition | New |
| Authorized Seller | History Seekers (HistorySeekers.net) |
Frequently Asked Questions
How is this bundle different from the base Minelab Manticore?
The detector is identical: the same Manticore with the M11 11 in (28 cm) Double-D coil and ML 105 wireless headphones that ships in the base kit. This bundle adds the official Minelab backpack under Minelab's own part number, 3228-1003, so you buy one box with one SKU instead of two, at Minelab's bundle pricing rather than the two items separately.
Is this the official Minelab backpack?
Yes. It is the Minelab backpack that Minelab itself packs into the MANTICORE Essentials Bundle, not a generic aftermarket bag. Minelab lists this exact configuration on its own US site under the same name and part number, 3228-1003.
What is in the Manticore Essentials Bundle box?
The Minelab Manticore with the M11 11 in (28 cm) Double-D coil, ML 105 low-latency wireless headphones, the magnetic charge and data cable, a 3.5 mm audio cable, a 5-pack of screen protectors, and the official Minelab backpack. The ML 105 headphones are not waterproof; the detector itself is IP68 rated to 16 ft (5 m), so underwater hunting needs Minelab's separately sold waterproof headphones.
Which Minelab Manticore bundle should I choose?
Choose the Essentials Bundle if what you want is protected, organized carry with nothing else changed. If you also want more detecting capability, step to the Recovery Bundle for the M9 9 in (23 cm) coil (3228-1007), the Field Bundle (Pro Pack) for the Pro-Find 40 pinpointer (3228-1006), or the Ultimate Bundle for both (3228-1008). Every one of them carries the same Manticore and the same backpack. If you do not need the backpack, the base Minelab Manticore is the lower-cost buy.
Can the Manticore in this bundle find gold?
Yes, genuinely: every Manticore carries a dedicated Goldfield mode among its 10 search modes, and Multi-IQ+ keeps small gold audible in mineralized ground, on top of the rings and jewelry any flagship finds. Minelab's free 2.0 software added an Enhanced Goldfield mode with greater small-gold sensitivity. The backpack matters more in gold country than anywhere, since goldfields are usually a hike from the truck. Full-time nugget hunters still step to a dedicated Minelab gold machine such as the Gold Monster 2000 or the GPX 6000 for maximum small-gold reach.
Is History Seekers an authorized Minelab dealer, and what warranty comes with this bundle?
History Seekers Metal Detectors is an authorized Minelab dealer; every Manticore Essentials Bundle we sell is new, sourced through Minelab's authorized US distributor, and carries the full 3-year Minelab warranty. The warranty covers the Manticore control box and search coil. Minelab's military discount program applies to the Manticore; contact us directly to order under it (not combinable with other promotions).
Compare the official Minelab Manticore configurations:
• Manticore Base Kit
• Essentials Bundle + Backpack ($49 savings)
• Recovery Bundle + M9 Coil ($149 savings)
• Field Bundle (Pro Pack) + Pro-Find 40 ($98 savings)
• Ultimate Bundle ($198 savings)
History Seekers Metal Detectors is an authorized Minelab dealer; every Manticore Essentials Bundle we sell is new, sourced through Minelab's authorized US distributor, and carries the full 3-year Minelab warranty. This is an official Minelab factory bundle, not a dealer-assembled kit. Minelab also offers a military discount program on its detectors; contact us directly at 256-284-2247 to order under it (not combinable with other promotions).
See it in the field
The Manticore at the heart of this bundle appears in History Seekers hunts on YouTube and Facebook, where over 1.1 million followers watch us dig relics, coins, and gold across the Southeast and beyond. We rotate machines depending on the site and the ground conditions, so it shows up across many hunts rather than one dedicated video. Every find you see was made with gear we sell and use ourselves.
One more thing worth knowing about who you are buying from. History Seekers is a small American business, not a big box retailer where nobody on staff has ever swung a detector, and not a warehouse that just moves boxes. Everyone here detects, from the top down: gold, relics, coins, jewelry, even float copper. Years of field experience before hire is not a coincidence, it is a requirement. The person who answers your questions may be the same one who packs your order and drives it to the UPS drop-off, and every purchase keeps everyday Americans working.
The story is more important than the artifact.
See everything that fits your machine:What Fits the Minelab Manticore