Which is the best all-purpose metal detector on the market right now?

Metal detection can be a very exciting and adventurous hobby, but also an energy, time and money consuming one, if you don’t know what you want and need.

If you are a newbie in this whole metal detection thing, there are some things you should research before spending your money on the first metal detector you find.

How to choose a metal detector

Even though all metal detectors detect metal, there are a lot of aspects and features to consider when in the market for such a device. Not all metal detectors are equally great for all types of uses, on all types of terrains and so on. Here are some general aspects to consider when in the market for a detector:

• What are you going to use the detector for? Do you need it as a cool toy for your kids, do you want to use it for coin or jewelry detection, do you want to use it for gold nugget hunting, relic hunting, etc.? Will you want to use it on the ground, on the beach, underwater and so on? Narrowing it all down will help you know better what to research for, depending on your needs
• This article is not written for professionals, but for the less-skilled, more entry-level hobbyist who wants some guidance. Assuming you are a beginner, expect to spend somewhere from $150 to $400 for a decent metal detector. Anything below $150 isn’t worth considering, unless you just want a toy-like detector. Just as an additional information, true high-tech detectors can even go as high as $10,000, in case you consider $150 to be an ‘’outrageous” price
• Coil shape and size. The coil is the part at the bottom of the metal detector, which finds the metals. It can have an oval shape or concentric and the size of the coil shows how deep the metal detector can go; the bigger the search coil, the better and the more expensive the detector will be
• What kind of technology does it use: very low frequency (VLF) is very common, there’s also pulse induction (PI), multiple frequency (MF)
• Don’t neglect the weight of the detector; you want to be able to carry it with you without hating the entire trip after half an hour
• This is a wide topic and there’s a lot to consider. Do you want a metal detector with a screen or not, do you want it to work under water or not? You should also choose a detector that has ‘discrimination’ capability, meaning it is capable to make a difference between metals and filter out the ones you are not interested in

Garrett AT Pro – One of the best all-terrain detectors on the market

Garrett is a renowned brand when it comes to metal detectors. The company is American and has been on the market since 1964. Garrett manufactures a wide range of detectors, for various purposes and skill levels.

The AT Pro metal detector is a mid-priced machine with high-end features. It is an all-terrain detector and it is great for relics, coins, jewelry and gold nuggets.

Main specifications:

• Total weight: 3.03 lbs.
• Standard search coil: 8.5” x 11” DD Proformance (submersible)
• Depth adjustments: 8
• 6 search modes: 3 standard and 3 pro
• Iron discrimination segments: 40
• Accept/reject discrimination
• 4 AA batteries included
• Electronic pinpointing
• Frequency: 15 kHz

Price. The AT-Pro is not the most affordable metal detector you can find, but given its premium features, it is definitely a bargain. You can buy it for approximately $552. In the kit you get the metal detector, the 4 AA batteries, an operation manual and a pair of headphones with signal volume regulator. If you want to buy the submersible headphones, you have to get them separately, for $99.95. The AT-Pro detector comes with a 2 year limited warranty (parts and labor).

What are the features of the AT-Pro?

The AT-Pro is a very versatile machine. It is an all-terrain detector and it can be suited for a variety of purposes, as mentioned above. You can use it in the park, at the beach and it is even submersible (up to 10 feet deep).

The great thing about it is that it is not heavy, it only weighs a bit over 3 pounds. The 15 kHz frequency is higher than a lot of VLF competitors, which is great when you want to detect small targets. This machine can obtain impressive results in detecting gold nuggets and jewelry.

The detector can be used in two modes: Standard and Pro. The standard mode is mainly designed for beginners. It has 3 audio tones (they vary depending on the metal conductivity). It is a pretty basic mode. The Pro mode on the other hand also gives you info about the depth, shape and composition of the metal. The Pro mode is really useful if you know how to use it, because it makes you lose less time digging for the wrong metals.

The AT-Pro has manual and auto ground balance, so you can adjust it properly.

While the kit contains the 8.5 X 11” DD coil, you can also replace it with other coils, according to your needs: 4” DD sniper, 5 X 8” DD, 6.5 X 9”, 9 X 12” are also available for purchase.

The AT-Pro also features a great recovery speed so you can easily filter out trash objects from your true targets.

The screen of the AT-Pro doesn’t have a back light, but other than that, the display is easy to read and understand.

Another useful feature is the digital target ID, with a scale from 0 to 99 which is useful for distinguishing one target’s conductivity from another.

Overall, the AT-Pro is a very complex and versatile metal detector, which offers a lot of advanced features at a fair price. The fact that it is an all-terrain detector, submersible, the fact that it has ground balance, both manual and automatic and the fact that the kit includes pretty much everything you need to start your hunting adventures, make the AT-Pro a great bargain.