Metal Detecting a Hobby for Every Budget

Intro: 

Hey Everybody. Welcome! to Episode 45 of the metal detecting show podcast. My Name is Ciaran and I have been Metal Detecting for nearly 30 Years. This week I address the internets most asked question about Metal detecting and that is what can should I buy based on a specific budget.

Music

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Content:

News News News its hard to give any updates at the minute as it is all covid and no opportunity to get out detecting im at the point now where even looking at other peoples content is depressing me so I have fallen into a rabbit hole of looking to the future of the podcast as you can here this week ive started to mix it up with the music that drove everyone crazy plus im not as heavily scripting the podcast for this week this is an experiment in quality but also in preparation for my 2021 plans where I plan to do some live streams and more youtube videos which all require a certain level of fluidity which scripting doesn’t allow.

So this week’s episode you could say is continuing on from the how much bang for your buck episode we did a few weeks ago because this week I want to look at what I would buy if I had a budget between 0 - 300 Dollars, between 300 - 500 dollars between 500 -800 dollars between 800 and a 1000 dollars and finally 1000 dollars plus this type of question comes up all the time online.  

This was probably prompted by last weeks episode where I mentioned how manufactures focus on particular price points and these ranges seem to match those pretty close.

ok so before we get into the detail I am going to assume we are not spending money on a spade, gloves or a pouch or bag or headphone for that matter. i will only use each budget to purchase a pin pointer and a metal detector but I must purchase both and of course this is only based on my research and shouldn’t be held up as fact to others. 

I have essentially spent the week virtual shopping with my imaginary budget trying to get the best deals and stay under budget. 

I also only focused on known reputable brands from reputable dealers online and on Ebay and if anybody comes at me stating that they can get a way better machine from China or a machine that is a blatant knock off of a Garrett which seems to be the trend these days Im not listening. 

Starting with the 0 to 300 Dollars price point this actually was the hardest to find because remember we have to buy a quality pin pointer and a quality detector together and because of this I couldn’t find both a pin pointer and a metal detector new for under this budget so you have to get one of these second hand. 

My recommendation for this price bracket would be to go for one of the following detectors all of which retail new for approx. 250 dollars.

these are the Fisher F22 ,the Nokta Makro simplex Plus basic package or a Garrett Ace 300 however buying new only leaves you about 50 dollars to buy any good pin pointer which you could get from either Ebay or an ex demonstration model from a brand partner. 

However The other option which is my recommendation is to buy a second hand detector for about 150 dollars and purchase a brand new pin pointer. so invest first in your pin pointer a top of the line one will go for between 100 and 150 dollars then invest the remaining budget in a second hand Nokta Makro simplex plus.

my logic being that no matter what detector you buy at this price point you will be upgrading within 18 months especially if you enjoy the hobby however you will not need to upgrade the pin pointer as the best are well within your budget at this bracket and something I noticed just this week is that second hand pin pointers really hold their value much better than second hand detectors so if you decide to get out of the hobby you will at least be able to recoup more of your initial outlay saving you some cash in the end.

Next bracket is 300 to 500 dollars and this definitely seems to be the sweet spot for picking up value with all the major brands offering bundles just under the 500 dollar mark here like the following 

Minelab have the Vanquish 540 bundled with the pro find 20, Nokta Makro have the simplex plus deluxe package  with wireless headphones and with the pulse dive pin pointer no scuba coil though and Quest metal detectors with the Quest 30 and the x pointer probe and again with wireless head phones.

 all as I said under 500 dollars or equivalent. So this leaves you in a predicament do you go for the soupier technology of the vanquish which has multi IQ or multi frequency and sometimes referred to as the poor man’s equinox or do you go with the bundle that offers the most accessories 

I think I would go with the minilab bundle here just so I could experience the multi frequency of the multi IQ from Minelab but there is definitely value to be had at this price point of 500 dollars.

The next price point is from 500 dollars to 800 dollars and im afraid there is very little in the market at this price point remember we need to get a pinpointer also.

the only configuration that comes in at budget would be the Minelab equinox 600 with any pin pointer of your choice or the Garrett ACE Apex which to be honest I’m not too familiar with but reviewing the spec it doesn’t seem to compare well to the other models in this bracket as its not water proof, can’t be updated and then theres problems with the arm rest so that’s that. 

There are of course other models that come in under 800 dollars such as the Anfibio and Multi Kruzer from nokta and the OrX from XP however every one of those don’t leave enough meat on the bone for you to pick up a pin pointer also. 

Unless of course you want to buy one of these or a better detector second hand then you can squeeze it in. however at this price point  second hand machines are either a mistaken original purchase which would be rare or im afraid have many hours up on them as once you go over the 500 dollar mark your outside the range of a casual or an impulse buy. 

Next we have the 800 to 1000 dollar range and if the 300 to 500 dollar range was the sweet spot for value the 800 to 1000 dollar range is where all the technology lies. At this price point you can pick up and equinox 800 plus any of the reputable pin pointers but you also have the choice of the Orx from XP the Nokta Makro Anfibio our Kruzer Garrett AT MAX All the Fishers models there is a lot of choice all leaving budget to get the pin pointer. 

Finally to the 1000+ dollar bucket disregarding all the specialised detectors and gold nugget hunters leaves only the full Deus range from Xp and the CTX from Minelab really. I love my CTX but I know for every person who loves their CTX there is another that loves the Deus and the war rages on and I don’t know if thats down to confirmation bias or do we actually believe they are better but here is the controversial bit if I had an opportunity to do it again would I buy the CTX or the Deus no I wouldn’t these are two expensive for metal detectors considering there has been no advance in the technology with these models. 

the technology sits in the 800 to 1000 range and you would be wasting your money purchasing outdated technology in the 1000+ bracket.

To wrap up if your starting out and you have a tight budget in the 0 – 300 dollar range go for it you can make it work but it will take time to make sure you make the right purchases. You might have to wait for a secondhand metal detector to show up for sale on ebay or any of the forums.

Please Don’t buy a detector that looks like it came from the 80’s your not setting yourself up for success and will not have an great opinion of the hobby after buy the best you can afford.

and as for at the other end of the scale and if you are lucky enough not to have to budget just because you have the most expensive detector money can buy it doesn’t mean you have the best detector available as right now, any of the detectors in the 800 to the 1000 dollar range will beat your 10 year old behemoth. 

Wrap Up 

That’s it for this week’s I hope you liked this episode of the metal detecting show podcast.

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If you like this content and would like more please don't hesitate to tell your friends and don't forget to hit that subscribe button.

Once again, I hope you have enjoyed this episode and we will chat to you all again next week. 

Get out there eyes down and Happy Hunting.