Top 5 Beginner Metal Detectors 2021

Intro: 

Hey Everybody. Welcome! To Episode 66 of the metal detecting show podcast. My Name is Ciaran and I have been Metal Detecting for nearly 30 Years. I want to revisit a list of recommendations I made all the way back in episode no 1 and that’s an updated revision of my top 5 beginner detectors.

Music

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Content:

Hey everyone I hope your hunting has been plentiful and happy this week I myself go out early this week for a good old mudlarking hunt,

 why didn’t I go detecting well work has been mental and I just wanted a no complication splash and dash early morning hunt I was so busy I didn’t even get time to charge up my gear so needs must I suppose,

 but it wasn’t for nought I found several complete old bottles from the turn of the 20th century but the piece de resistance was a bottom half of a hand made flint bottle that had the name of my village clearly embossed on it so as you can imagine researching this bottle has been my go to distraction of choice this week. 

Ill stick a pic in the shows Instagram for you to have a look. So check it out. On the news front there has been very little in new products or accessories from the major brands still no news on the multi frequency machine from nokta or the cscope evo 6000 but we waiting in quiet optomisism.

So this week I want to give you my list of recommendations that I give when people ask me whats a good detector to begin with. I believe this is a fundamental decision that can make or break your perception of the hobby and getting your choice wrong can be detrimental. 

The is two criteria that I like to stick too at the beginner level the first being price I always advise someone to spend somewhere in the region of 300 bucks this is for several reasons. The first is it is enough budget to guarantee a quality machine but affordable as 300 buck is small enough to save or to gather over a few odd jobs at the weekend. 

It is also an easy target to reach for when you want to be able to say my detector has paid for itself in the first 2 years. Plus it is not so expensive that if you don’t like it you won’t be down too much money if you don’t like the hobby and believe me there are metal detectorists out there just waiting to snap up a bargain from someone who has bought a first expensive detector and didn’t like hobby and gave up. 300 buck is a good first step but not to big a step to be painful if you want to pack it in.

The second criteria is that a beginner detector must have is a full feature set or at least attempt to, features like VDI for Target ID, discrimination, ground balance either manual or Automatic, sensitivity etc etc. 

Other criteria that can be included but probably not as important are is it a reputable brand does the detector have a legitimate sales channel or are all its sales via amazon for example easiest way to ensure this is to use a reputable REseller of detectors. 

Does it have a good online community to help you when you need it all these things are important when selecting a first detector. 

Before I get into my top 5 I want highlight what not to buy don’t buy a cheap chinesium knock off don’t go expensive just for the flex appeal  and don’t buy a detector that is designed for a specific niche  for example I see a lot of beginners buying a minelab go find for example now there is nothing wrong with this detector except it is designed to be used and perfect for hiking alez adventureswithgoat so it is the ultimate mobile detector but if your planned hunting will be on fields then there is a problem with this niche detector the coils is just too small for field detecting. 

I think you get the idea. 

So my top 5 beginner detectors for 2021 in no particular order are 

To start with The dark horse of the list the Fisher F22 one of the most highly rated detectors online and in everyone’s top 5 beginner detectors lists. Completely weather proof and rock solid the F22 excels with its simplicity. For example although it doesn’t have a rechargeable battery it operates with 2 aa batteries that can give 25 plus hours of hunting and I know when I started out with my first detector I would have killed for this feature as the cost of 2 9v battery’s every week was a right pain in the ass. This bullet proof detector comes with sensitivity adjustment, VDI, discrimination,4 modes of operation, Pinpoint the list goes on and on all packed into a super lightweight frame. 

Next on my list is Americas Sweetheart the Garrett ACE 300 comes with similar features as the F22 but not as granular in its scale but comes with a nice suite of accessories including headphones and a key feature is the adjustable frequency allowing you to minimise chatter from the field. Another key win for Garrett is the community and range of accessories available due to the extensive Garrett ecosystem and choice of after market coils. 

Up next I would recommend the Nokta Makro Simplex the Taylor swift of detectors right now most listeners will remember my review of this super popular and a solid hit across the board detector with all the advanced features crammed into a sub 300 bucks package, again features ESSENTIALLY the same as the F22 and the Ace 300 but coupled with a rock solid conductivity target id and bluetooth module allowing you to drive a set of wireless headphones a luxury of a more expensive detector and all powered by a 2300 mah rechargeable battery, however the build quality has been done on a budget but you are most definitely getting more than you pay for here. Or as I said in my review greater than the sum of its parts.

Right were in the endgame now up next I would recommend the Minelab Vanquish 440 which comes with the majority of the features of the equinox 600/800 and the previous detector an advanced level detector for half the price doesn’t come with Bluetooth nor is it waterproof like the rest on the list it is however equipped with multi IQ which is the latest in detecting tech till someone comes out with something newer. This is a detector that could sit on the intermediate bracket or even the advanced with a few accessories. Not as popular as it should be but worth every penny. 

Finally on the list is the Quest Q30 one to potentially take Taylors Swifts simplex Crown just listen to the list of features coming as standard 

Single frequency 14kHz
 15Levels Speaker / Vibration / 3.5mm Wire Headphones
 SMARTPHONES COMPATIBILITY:Built-in Bluetooth Module which im not sure allows wifi headphones 
 5Meters Waterproof which is amazing. 
 BATTERY : Built-in 3000mAh Li-Po Battery for 14Hrs Operating
 RECHARGE PORT very similar to the equinox a Durable and Corrosion-Resist Magnetic USB System  
 LED DISPLAY: 2 Levels LED Back Lights For Low Light Condition something I wish all detectors had especially the equinox.
 METAL ID: 99 Metal I.D. Level for Target Identification
 GROUND BALANCE: both Automatic(pump) or manually (selecting): 

4 Detecting Programs Park / Field / Beach / Gold 
 TARGET ID with 25 Segments Resolution Easy to Select and Mask
 customisations*: Target ID Selection, Threshold, Tones, FeSen wihich is essentially assigning a tone to Iron signals 

Fully updateable like the simplex and built to Quests usual high manufacturing standards All features seem to ramp up the features available from the other detectors on the list definitely the one to watch in 2021. 

so that my beginner detector list, fisher F22 garratt ace 300, nokta makro simplex, minelab 440 and the quest Q30 why didn’t I rank them, well because it doesn’t matter which is best all these detectors do the same job very well with some packing advanced features and tech and all are priced around 300 bucks and I have no qualms about using as my daily detector or recommending any of these and ultimately no detector is best. All I want is someone to come away from listening this week with a solid recommendation from someone who is not trying to up sell them a detector that may not be suitable for a beginner so I suppose this is my Safe list of 300 buck Detectors.

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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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.