Minelab X-TERRA ELITE Expedition Pack Metal Detector with PRO-FIND 40

In our experience the Minelab X-TERRA ELITE Expedition Pack with a Minelab PRO-FIND 40 pinpointer suits someone who hunts from fields to the surf line and wants a pinpointer that handles wet sand and shallow water. The Expedition Pack is the waterproof Multi-IQ X-TERRA ELITE from Minelab with two coils, the V12X 12 x 9 inch and the V8X 8 x 5 inch, and ML 85 wireless headphones in the box.

What is in the box with this Minelab X-TERRA ELITE Expedition Pack bundle

Minelab's standard contents for the X-TERRA ELITE Expedition Pack

• Minelab X-TERRA ELITE detector with three-piece collapsible shaft, handle, armrest and strap, and built-in 3.7 V, 5100 mAh lithium-ion battery
• V12X 12 x 9 inch elliptical Double-D coil with skidplate
• V8X 8 x 5 inch elliptical Double-D coil with skidplate
• ML 85 low-latency wireless headphones
• USB charging cable with magnetic connector
• Getting Started Guide

This Minelab X-TERRA ELITE Expedition Pack bundle also includes

• Minelab PRO-FIND 40 pinpointer with holster, lanyard and 9V battery (Minelab part 3226-0005)

What the add-ons in this Minelab X-TERRA ELITE Expedition Pack bundle do

PRO-FIND 40 pinpointer: in our experience a handheld pinpointer speeds up every recovery. Minelab gives the PRO-FIND 40 5 sensitivity levels, Ferrous Tone ID, vibration, an LED flashlight, a 9V battery for up to 20 hours and a 24-month warranty. It is waterproof to 3 meters (10 feet), less than the detector's 5 meters. See our Minelab pinpointers.

About the Minelab X-TERRA ELITE Expedition Pack

The Expedition Pack is the same X-TERRA ELITE detector with two extras in Minelab's own box: a second, smaller V8X 8 x 5 inch coil alongside the V12X 12 x 9 inch, and ML 85 low-latency wireless headphones. What we appreciate about the X-TERRA ELITE is that Minelab put simultaneous multi-frequency into a relatively affordable detector without stripping away the useful controls, and the Expedition Pack suits detectorists who split their time between open fields, trashy parks, old homesites and beaches, and want a coil and headphones for each from the first day. We would not claim it automatically detects deeper than the X-TERRA PRO everywhere; its advantage is a more versatile detection system for different targets and ground.

Multi-IQ processes multiple frequencies at once instead of running one selected frequency. A park can hold modern coins, older silver coins, gold jewelry and aluminum trash, all with different conductive characteristics, and Multi-IQ covers that range without you choosing a frequency first. On wet salt sand it also helps the detector manage the conductive ground response. Multi-IQ is the default in every profile and Minelab recommends it wherever possible; Park and Field can also run a single 15 kHz frequency, while Beach always runs Multi-IQ.

Minelab X-TERRA ELITE Expedition Pack search modes and key settings

• Six search profiles: Park 1 (General and Coins) for modern coins and larger jewelry, Park 2 (Fine Jewelry) for smaller targets among trash with a faster recovery speed, Field 1 (Coins and Artifacts) and Field 2 (Fine Coins and Artifacts), which both reject Target IDs 1 to 4, and Beach 1 (Dry and Wet Sand) and Beach 2 (Underwater and Surf). There is no Gold mode, and an All Metal shortcut lets you hear everything.
• Iron Bias (-1 to 2): in an older park full of bottle caps, a higher setting may reduce rusty caps that sound like coins. A coin lying next to a rusty nail shows the tradeoff: a high setting raises the risk of passing a good target with a mixed response, so Minelab suggests -1 or 0 when you do not want to miss non-ferrous targets among iron. We would begin with the factory setting and change it only when the site justifies it.
• Sensitivity (1 to 25) and noise cancel: near overhead power lines, more sensitivity makes random signals worse. Run Auto Noise Cancel, which picks the quietest of 19 channels, then set sensitivity where the detector is reasonably stable.
• Ground balance (Auto, Manual, Tracking): the range is -9 to 99, and every profile starts in Manual at 0. Minelab recommends Tracking on saltwater beaches.
• Target ID and discrimination: 119 Target IDs from -19 to 99 on a 30-segment discrimination scale. A deep coin can give an inconsistent ID and gold jewelry can overlap with aluminum trash, so watch for repeatability and audio quality, not just the number.
• Audio and extras: Target Tones 1, 2, 5, All Tones and Depth, a Ferrous Tone Volume (0 to 25) that turns iron down around an old farmhouse instead of silencing it, recovery speed 1 to 3, a red backlight, an LED flashlight and vibration.

Two coils and ML 85 headphones in the Expedition Pack

We would start with the V12X on a big, relatively clean farm field or a long stretch of beach: its larger footprint covers more ground per sweep and may reach some targets a little deeper on favorable ground. Walk up to an old farmhouse site where nails and scrap litter the soil, and the V12X can hear several objects in one pass; the V8X has a smaller footprint, so targets that sit close together are easier to isolate, at the cost of less coverage per sweep. The ML 85 is the headphone Minelab recommends for the X-TERRA ELITE's low-latency wireless audio, Minelab's own system rather than Bluetooth, and without a cable it stays out of the way while you swing, kneel and dig. We keep the ML 85 for land, sand and wading. See our metal detector headphones.

Beach and water hunting with the Minelab X-TERRA ELITE Expedition Pack

The beach is one of the strongest reasons to consider the X-TERRA ELITE. On an ocean beach the sand gets wetter toward the water, and conductive saltwater creates difficult conditions for single-frequency detectors; the Beach profiles use Multi-IQ to manage that ground response, and Minelab assigns residual salt a Target ID of 0. Minelab rates the detector IP68, submersible to 5 meters (16 feet), so it works dry sand, wet sand and shallow water at a lake or ocean beach within that rating. We would not suggest it performs identically to every more expensive beach detector: black sand, mineralization and electrical interference still affect it. For underwater detecting Minelab requires its waterproof headphones with the threaded connector, and in our experience ordinary wired or wireless headphones are not an underwater solution. Do not take the detector underwater while it is charging or running from a power bank. See our beach metal detectors.

Minelab X-TERRA ELITE Expedition Pack battery, weight and build

Minelab lists the X-TERRA ELITE at 1.3 kg (2.9 lb) including the battery. The shaft extends to 138 cm (54 inches) and collapses to 63 cm (25 inches). The built-in 3.7 V, 5100 mAh lithium-ion battery gives approximately 14 hours of typical use and takes about 5 to 6 hours to charge from flat over the magnetic USB cable. Besides the V12X and V8X in the box, Minelab says the V10X 10 x 7 inch and EQUINOX series coils fit the X-TERRA ELITE. See our metal detector coils.

Where the Minelab X-TERRA ELITE Expedition Pack works well, and where it does not

Parks, farm fields, freshwater beaches and the occasional ocean trip are home ground, and wet salt sand is where Multi-IQ earns its place over a single-frequency detector. It finds gold jewelry, but there is no Gold mode; for natural gold, see our gold detectors.

One mistake to avoid with the Minelab X-TERRA ELITE Expedition Pack

The mistake we caution beginners against is assuming Multi-IQ identifies every target accurately. You get a strong, repeatable signal with a promising Target ID in a park, dig it up and find aluminum trash. That is normal. Learn how targets respond on your own ground rather than treating the display as a guarantee.

Expedition Pack, standard X-TERRA ELITE, X-TERRA PRO or EQUINOX 900

The standard X-TERRA ELITE, with the V12X coil only, suits someone who hunts mostly open ground. The Minelab X-TERRA PRO runs one selected frequency at a time and has no Iron Bias; for someone who mainly searches dry parks and farm fields it may be all they need. The X-TERRA ELITE is worth the step up when you regularly move between inland sites and beaches, particularly saltwater. The Minelab EQUINOX 900 adds Gold modes, more single frequencies and finer recovery speed control, and also ships with two coils and ML 85 headphones; we point people to it when they will use those extras, for example on difficult historical sites or for gold prospecting.

Minelab X-TERRA ELITE Expedition Pack specifications

Minelab covers the X-TERRA ELITE control box and coil with a 3-year warranty in the USA.

Serious Detecting bundle (added free at checkout):

• Serious Detecting Finds Bag with 42 inch Waist Belt
• Double Serrated Hand Digger with Belt Holster
• Protective Gloves

For our full X-TERRA ELITE guide, settings advice and comparisons, see the Minelab X-TERRA ELITE collection.