Buying a Quattro / Explorer

[george]

I am thinking of buying a Quattro but have heard reports of various problems with the machine such as -- Camlocks splitting, upper stem coming adrift,split coils etc.
Has anyone had any of these problems or can you give me your experience with either the Quattro or Explorer build quality to convince me to buy a Quattro.
George

 

[Mike (Virginia Beach)]

The build quality of the Explorer II is the best Explorer yet and I like pretty much everything about it. And since the Quattro is pretty much physically identical to it, I like it too. Carbon fiber lower shaft, 10.5" coil, sturdy upper shaft and cam-lock system, rear-mounted battery for decent balance and a lighweight and compact control housing...what's not to like? Both are built like a tank and I've had no problems with either. My sister's Quattro had the little metal pressure plate fall out of the lower cam-lock but it was easy to fix and by her own admission she was probably leaning on it too much. I was able to put it back in and it's been fine. It would take a lot to BREAK anything on the Explorer II or the Quattro in my opinion. I really like the carbon fiber lower shaft and the cam-lock system...makes for a solid machine...feels good swinging it. And while they aren't the lightest machines around, the weight and balance are such that I can swing either for hours. My Excal is a lot heavier.

So you have quite a few different "I'm either buying this or that..." posts floating around. What is it down to NOW? What is it your're primarily looking for in a machine? What do you mostly intend to do with it?

 

[Angela (Australia)]

All I had was the little metal plate fall out from under the upper cam lock, must have unstuck (beleive it's stuck on with glue). My dealer simply replaced the whole shaft, very cheaply, so I was fortunate, but other than that, no other mishaps. Tha Quattro, as Mike said, is very well built, strong and sturdy, and mine has had a lot of use.
Ang

 

[Ken (Australia)]

Hi George, I've had a Quattro for about 12 months. I go out detecting once a week, mostly twice, for at least 3 to 4 hours and sometimes all day. As I'm fairly tall I have the lower shaft extended as far as it will go without wobbling and just leave it there, even when I'm travelling. I've had no problems at all and the machine shows no sign of fatigue at this time. ......Ken.