Thanks everybody.Monte it's funny you want a smaller coil i keep wondering if i would get a bigger coil when they become available but i'm on wide open beaches.I guess they tried for a compromise that would suit most people.
Yes, the new 'Viper' DD coil was a compromise of their 5X8 DD and 8½X11 DD and it is a light-weight coil and works 'OK' for modestly littered to wide-open areas. But .... I would have been just fine if they would have used their 5X8 DD as it would have been a shorter front-to-rear length and that would have helped reduce some masking issues.
Matter-of-fact, I would like to have had a 6½X9 Concentric coil and that could have helped with stability of the VDI responses compared with a DD design. But since I have concentrated on trashier and brushier environments for the majority of my hunting since '83, smaller-size coils have proven to make the much better choice to handle the conditions. Prior to that, going back to mid-'68, I still preferred smaller-size coils in the 5" to 7" diameter for most urban Coin & Jewelry hunting tasks, although a 'mid-size' coil can do OK on many of today's detectors. And mid-size to me would be something like a round 7" to 9" Concentric coil or an elliptical coil such as 5X8 or 5X9½ and generally a Double-D design.
For me and the places I usually frequent, a round-shaped smaller-size coil of 4½" to 5½" or possibly 6", but no larger, would be fine, and I'd likely favor a Concentric design, but a good-working DD might be OK. For you and your beach hunting, or for me and other who might want a little better coverage or a touch more depth on a beach or a plowed field, pastureland or open rangeland, perhaps one of their 8½X11 DD's would be desired? I haven't used Garrett's 9X12 Concentric coil, but I would be interested in giving one a try.
On a competitor's model, the Minelab Vanquish 540, I have used their 9X12 DD and found it to be very comfortable to use in a wide-open area. The rod-mount position is almost dead-center to make it balance so well and it is light weight. I wouldn't mind another new coil from Garrett close to that size and weight and rod-mount location to add to the comfort of the Apex.
Monte