Ok here is my setup with parts I salvaged from the shingleback harness. I removed the arm straps to just leave the belt and the battery holder. I then tore off the battery holder so it was a separate unit from the belt. Oh well there goes my warranty
The belt came with a water canteen carrier and the normal green plastic water canteens that you buy are meant to fit in there but they don't its too tight a fit and its very difficult to do up the clips. Consequently the first day I used this I lost my water canteen as it fell out of the carrier. So I ditched the carrier.
So I needed something that was light weight, could carry a lot of gear, could be fitted with a hydration pack, did not kill my neck and shoulders like that commercial one and I could wear it all day if needs be.
I found a cheap $15 backpack at Bargain City that had good padded shoulder straps and lots of compartments so it seemed to fit the bill. I then went to Anaconda and got a hydration pack for $20 and removed the water bladder from it. I could have bought the bladder separately but that was going to cost me an extra $20 for some reason so I got the hydration pack instead. It was like a nylon version of the camel back setup. I kept it as I may use it down the track.
I then set about creating my ideal backpack / harness for my metal detector. After a few times in the bush with this new backpack / harness I found this setup worked great so I decided to replicate it so I could have one for the 2200 and one for the 5000. That way when my wife is with me I can quickly set her up with the 2200. It also means I don't have to swap out batteries when I am on my own and I have two lots of water with me and an extra medical kit if needs be.
The belt from the commercial harness was well made it had a webbing belt with was run through a thick, padded liner. I toyed with the idea of making the backpack and belt one unit but decided to keep the belt and the backpack as separate units so I could use the belt when I was chasing the alluvial gold with the highbanker.
The belt came with a pick holder which works well so all I did was add my Lesche tool holder, a finds bag and a pinpointer holder. Belt sorted. Now for the backpack.
Here is the front view of backpack:
Here is the back view of backpack:
Water Bladder goes in first and smallest compartment on back compartment, run the tubing over the shoulder and through the second smaller handhold loop at the top and down the shoulder strap:
Water Bladder fits in neatly when full and compartment can be fully closed with just the tube sitting out.
Notice also the small hole I cut in the top of the backpack so the external speaker cable could run down to the rooster booster.
I cut two small holes in the backpack one for the battery cord on the side which goes into the battery which is housed in the original commercial harnesses battery holder:
Shoulder straps already had plastic D-Rings attached I can replace these later with metal ones but for now these are fine have stood up well to wear and tear.
On the right hand side I put the external speaker I ran the cable down the shoulder strap and tied a knot about half way down with the cord and then used the metal clip on the back of the speaker to hold it onto the shoulder strap.
On the left I have my walkie talkie.
On the D-Ring on the right shoulder strap I added a key ring with a metal D-Ring attached which has a quick release clip to carry my small plastic shovel and a key ring to hold a compass and LED light. On the small shovel I added a zip tie as a carry handle to go into the quick release d-clip. I also attached my Garmin ETrex10 GPS unit.
The main compartment is spacious and has a separator inside normally used for a laptop I would imagine. This is where I store the webbing belt, knee pad, medical kit, koss headphones, camera, charger for the walkie talkie, charger for the minelab battery a torch with spare batteries, extra cable ties and clips, and a whistle.
Inside the second compartment I house the battery. I retained the battery holder from the commercial harness to help keep it waterproof.
This is the one for the 2200. On the 2200 the booster is attached to the detector itself so its not in there.
Heres the one for the 5000 with its Rooster Booster.
And here is everything that came out of it, like I said plenty of storage in these but because of the padded shoulder strap arrangements you don't really notice the weight so much as its all evenly distributed.
Hope this helps someone with their setup.
