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Best Metal Detectors for Kids Reviews- Updated for 2020

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May 17, 2019

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Overview

Are you looking to introduce a new hobby to your kids? Well, kids love exploring nature, and there is no better way to do this than hunting for treasures with a metal detector. This is where the best metal detectors come in. As with any other gadgets designed for beginners, metal detectors for children don’t have to be sophisticated to deliver a lot of fun. However, it is crucial to buy a model that is lightweight, functional, easy to use, and has some cool features. Buying the right metal detector will go a long way to keeping your child engaged and fostering their treasure hunting skills.

When it comes to searching for metal detectors for kids, the task may seem easy, after all there are a lot of inexpensive models sold at big box stores. Just grab one and go, right? Not so fast, buying the best metal detector for a kid can be bit nerve-wracking and confusing. A metal detector is a precision piece of scientific equipment. Today there are many models on the market with a variety of features and price points, making it hard for you to pick the best detector for your child. Check out this guide to metal detecting to learn more about key terms and vocabulary related to the hobby.

As a rule of thumb, any unit under $100 should be considered a toy. It will detect metal, but it will lack key features such as discrimination, sensitivity, and ground balance. Without these features any piece of metal, trash, junk, bottle caps, or foil will register the same as jewellery, coins or gold nuggets!. Digging up junk all day can be frustrating for the kid using the detector and the parents whose lawn was just ruined.

You should also stick to reputable brands such as Garrett, Bounty Hunter, Teknetics, Fisher or Tesoro. If you really love your child you can grab them a top of the line Minelab metal detector. Or, once you see the price, probably not. There a lot of knockoffs and cheap imports that cost less money , but will not work well or break soon after opening. The brands listed above are high quality, have hundreds or thousands of good reviews, and come with good to great warranties. It is worth a little extra money to get a quality detector that your kid can use and abuse while hunting for treasure.

There are times when good metal detectors go on a crazy sale on sites like Amazon and drop below $100. There are also model year end clearance sales, where you can get the best metal detector from 2018 for a fraction of the new 2019 model. If you see one on a sale like this grab it!

Amongst the many metal detectors designed for kids , we have reviewed a few that are a safe bet. These devices come with top-notch features while retaining an affordable price. They are arranged by weight, the lightest first and the heaviest last. Younger children will tire quickly if the detector is too heavy. Kids under age 10 should not buy a 4 pound detector. Generally speaking kids age 5-9 should stick to a lightweight metal detector under 3 pounds. Children over age 10-15 can use any of these detectors and kids over 15 should avoid any junior models.

That having been said, weight should not be the only consideration when buying a metal detector. The Fisher F22, checking in at a sevelt 2.3 pounds, is one of the most popular and best selling metal detectors of all time. It is important to decide which features are important you and your child and read all the reviews before buying a metal detector

Top 8 Best Metal Detectors for Kids

Bounty Hunter Junior

If your kid loves the excitement of searching for buried treasures, then the Bounty Hunter Junior makes a great choice to start them on a lifetime hobby of metal detecting. With this purchase, you will get headphones that lets the kid listen in on the possible beeps from the metallic items buried beneath the earth. Different from other models, the Bounty Hunter Junior also comes with an integrated screen that displays fun faces on the screen, enabling the kid to know whether to dig or not and not overwhelming the junior treasure hunter with too much information.

Plus, the Bounty Hunter Junior comes with a discrimination feature that gets rid of junk signals like nails, Iron plates, etc. What’s more, the metal detector comes with sensitivity control for depth detection. This gives the kid a rough estimate of how deep he or she is going to locate the find. Thanks to the advanced features added to supplement its performance, this model offers an exciting grown up experience for kids as they hunt for precious metals or coins. More importantly, this model comes in a lightweight yet solid and all-weather construction, making it convenient for all kids.

Teknetics Digitek

Boasting of an ergonomic design, amateurs, and professional treasures can use the Teknetics Digitek for hours without being overly fatigued. This model gives you a great chance at finding fortunes at all terrains. The Teknetics Digitek is also designed with the same quality standard as an adult detector. Therefore, if you are looking for metal detectors that the kids and teens will not outgrow, this model is a perfect choice.

Having been equipped with advanced features, the Teknetics Digitek will not only enable your kid to enjoy the detecting experience but also find treasure quickly. Besides coming in an ultra- lightweight design, this model has an impressive 7.69 KHz operating frequency allowing the user to tackle a large area. More importantly, this model comes with the discrimination feature that can notch out the unwanted targets.

Check Price of Teknetics Digitek

Fisher F22

Don’t let tough terrain and weather stop you from searching your treasures. With the Fisher 22 metal detector, you can transverse any terrain while searching for a specific target metal. This is a professionally designed metal detector, which is fully weatherproof. This means, besides searching on the dry land, you can dip it in water, especially at the beach, widening your scope. For enhanced performance, the Fisher F22 is powered by powerful batteries that deliver a runtime of up to four hours. In comparison to other models, the Fisher F22 offers better performance as it detects objects buried up to 9 inches. Moreover, this metal detector is equipped with a target ID that lets you identify the metal under the surface before digging it up.

Check Price of Fisher F22

Bounty Hunter Gold Digger Metal Detector

The Bounty Hunter Gold Digger Metal Detector is a stylish and innovative device that is suitable for detecting in all terrains. Whether you want to hunt for your treasures at the park, on the beach or your backyard, this model enables you to take your adventures wherever you want. Featuring a customizable sensitivity, the Bounty Hunter Gold Digger lets you detect a coin-sized object buried up to 6 inches deep. Notably, this unit has a seven inch closed concentric search coil that is submersible in water. Young users also appreciate its automatic tuning plus ground balance that enables you to hunt for treasures on all soils. More importantly, the Bounty Hunter Gold Digger has a trash eliminator that discriminates against unwanted metals via virtue signal strength.

Check Price of Bounty Hunter Gold Digger

TK4 Tracker IV by Bounty Hunter

Are you looking to step up your kid’s treasure hunt up a notch but don’t have a lot of money to spend? The TK4 Tracker IV makes a perfect choice for people looking for superior performance while remaining at a lower cost. This sturdily constructed metal detector offers impressive treasure discovery even in extreme conditions. Coming in a compact design, this model has a capability of finding coin-sized targets buried up to 8” deep. The TK4 Tracker IV detects most precious metals including silver and gold, coins, jewellery and relics. While it doesn’t come with a digital display, it has a knob interface that helps you fidget with power, sensitivity and power controls. Moreover,the TK4 Tracker IV has a discrimination mode that enables the user to focus on searching for particular metals. Best of all, you can also easily switch to all metal detection when you want to widen your scope.

Check Price of Bounty Hunter TK4 Tracker IV

Tesoro Compadre

Paring unmatched precision and lightweight construction the Tesoro Compadre is an ideal solution for detecting in trashy areas for coins, jewelry, relic, and ring hunting. You will love the fast lighting response that surgically identifies the target amongst the trash. Boasting of the advanced target centering reticle, the Tesoro Compadre pinpoints the target quickly. Additionally, this unit has a full range of discrimination that lets you focus on finding a specific metal. Most importantly, the Tesoro Compadre is lightweight, simple to use, and affordable, making it an excellent choice for your kids.

Check Price of Tesoro Compadre

Garrett Ace 150

If you are looking for a affordable, simple to use, and lightweight metal detector, you will not go wrong with the Garrett Ace 150. These attributes make it a perfect choice for beginners and kids. The Garrett Ace 150 intuitive control panel is incredibly easy to navigate. Better yet, the machine comes with adjustable sensitivity and modes that helps in estimating the depth of the metal as well as its type. The Garrett Ace 150 comes with three basic modes that let you to either search for Jewelry, coins or all metals. The main setback that comes with this model is that it is not waterproof.

Check Price of Garrett Ace 150

Bounty Hunter QSI Quick Silver

Designed for novice treasure hunters, the Bounty hunter QSI metal detectors combines preset ground balance and rugged construction. This makes it ideal to use in all terrains regardless of the prevailing weather conditions. In comparison to other models, the ground balance feature neutralizes the response that is often brought about by the minerals underground. This eliminates the false positives and chatter from the metal detector. Another feature that makes the Bounty Hunter QSI Quick Silver stand out in comparison to the completion is the waterproof coil. This feature enables you to hunt your treasures everywhere including near the beach, lakes, puddles and all other bodies of water. Boasting of adjustable sensitivity, this model detects coins that are buried up to eight inches deep. What’s more, by utilizing the target ID, the user can easily know when to dig out the treasures or not.

Check Price of Bounty Hunter QSI Quick Silver

Buying Guide

You can not go wrong with any of the metal detectors for kids listed above but there are some advice to help you make the best buying decision:

1. Weight – The metal detectors listed above range from a light of 1.3 pounds to heavy of 4.17 pounds.  4.17 pounds is about the weight of a bag of flour, rather heavy for a young child to carry around for extended periods of time.  Make sure you buy a detector the kid can handle comfortably for an extended duration. If they can not lift the detector they will not use it.  If you want your child to grow into a detector, consider purchasing a harness to lighten the load.
2. Coil Size – The coils send and receive the signals that locate the metal in the ground. If they are too small it will be very difficult to actually find anything, if they are too big a kid will have trouble swinging the detector properly. A 4” coil is the best compromise between detecting ability and ease of use. On some models, you can upgrade the coils later if necessary.
3. Technology – While slightly more expensive, try to get a Very low Frequency, or VLF, detector. VLF provides the ability to locate more treasure in a wider range of ground types.
4. Beaches and Saltwater – However, if your kid is planning on using their metal detector exclusively at the beach, you will need to purchase a more expensive Pulse Induction or Multi Frequency model. Most VLF metal detectors can not handle the mineralization caused by saltwater.
5. LCD Screen – The Tensoro Compadre an excellent metal detector with one knob on the control box. It is simple to understand and easy to operate. Most other metal detectors have an LCD Screen that displays more information. Screen or no screen is a matter of personal preference, but too much information or options could be overwhelming for a child.
6. Features – At a minimum, look for a machine with discrimination, that filters out certain trash metals. The other features are optional, but can add to the metal detecting experience. There are many other features, sensitivity control, ground balance, target ID, and different search modes, that will enhance the hobby experience, but might not be necessary for young children.
7. Waterproof – The only thing kids love more than dirt is water. The metal detector is going to get wet, from puddles, lakes, rivers, rain, dew, or the hose. It is worth the extra money to buy a metal detector with waterproof search coils. You also might want to wrap the control box in a plastic bag if it is not weatherproof. This will prevent any moisture to the control box. The control box is a computer and it will cease to function if it gets wet.
8. Brand and Warranty – Kids break stuff. It is important to consider the manufacturer and the warranty on any kids metal detector you purchase. Buying from a reputable brand, like Tensoro, Fisher, Ace or Garrett, will give you piece of mind that you are getting a quality machine that the manufacturer stands behind. Be sure to read guide, the warranty, and register the metal detector before using it.
9. Accessories – At a minimum you should get your junior detectorist a small shovel, to dig up treasure, and a pouch, to carry the treasure. There are a lot of other accessories that may prove useful down the road, see a list here.
10. Guidelines – Be sure to review the basic guidelines of metal detecting with you child. Do not dig without permission, do not go on private property, treat artifacts with respect, and so on. Also, if you live in a residential area, be careful of underground wires. You do not have to call DigSafe, but there might be shallow wire for landscaping, walkway lights of satellite dishes.

Conclusion

Metal detecting is a great hobby for kids and adults alike. If you review information above you should feel confident that you can make a good decision about which metal detector to buy for you child. It’s important to buy a model that is in your budget and has some cool features to keep your child engaged. Before making any purchase, check out the latest user reviews on site like Amazon. Metal detecting technology is always changing and new models might have been released that are better than the 2018 and 2019 versions. Reading the reviews is also a good way to learn how to use your metal detector and better understand the strengths and weaknesses of the detector.

Metal detecting will get kids and adults off the couch and out into nature. Junior treasure hunters will love the thrill of the hunt and the excitement of making a find. The hobby is not easy at first and it takes some patience to figure out how the detector work, but once the you understand the basics, metal detecting is fun for all ages. There are many online forums with advice on how to use every detector and where to look for the best chance to find treasure. People into metal detecting love share advice and information on how to excel at the hobby.

The above metal detectors for kids come with basic features and an affordable price. Kids should get years of enjoyment out of these metal detectors no matter what your budget.. No metal detector is perfect so be sure to check user reviews from a variety of sources before buying a metal detector. Also, read the instruction guide and watch some online videos the setup and use of your new detector. Selecting any of them should help develop your kid’s exploration, hunting, search, as well as decision skills.

Find the right metal detector, then find your treasure!