Best detectors
Best Lightweight Metal Detectors: Published Weights, and the $20 Fix
Quick answer
Published weights across current machines run from about 2 lb for the Fisher F22 to just under 3 lb for most flagships, a spread of under a pound. The Nokta Simplex Ultra at 2.6 lb on a carbon fibre shaft is the best light machine. A LimbSaver Comfort-Tech Metal Detector Sling does more for fatigue than any of it.
Weight is the specification that decides how long you detect, and how long you detect decides what you find. That is a genuinely more important relationship than depth, because an extra inch of depth is worth nothing on ground you went home from at eleven in the morning. So the question is worth taking seriously, but it has to be taken seriously with the actual numbers in front of you, because the numbers are smaller than the marketing implies.
Here is the uncomfortable part. Published weights across every current general purpose machine sit between roughly 2 and 3 pounds. That is a spread of under a pound across the whole market, which is less than a full water bottle. Meanwhile a sling or a harness costing between $20.23 and $36.99 moves the load off your forearm entirely, which changes the experience far more than shaving four ounces off the machine. If you are buying for comfort, buy the support first. The weight comparison chart has the published figures in one place, and the seniors roundup takes the same argument further.
Top pick
Nokta Simplex Ultra
Nokta publishes 2.6 lb on a fully carbon fibre shaft that retracts to 25 inches, with full waterproofing to 16 feet, which is the lightest current machine that gives up nothing in capability.
Price was accurate when this page was compiled and changes often.
On this page
How much does a metal detector actually weigh?
Less than people expect, and the differences between machines are small. Fisher publishes the Fisher F22 at approximately 2 pounds and Teknetics publishes the Teknetics G2+ at just over 2 pounds, which are the lightest full-size machines here. At the other end, Minelab publishes the Minelab X-Terra Pro at 2.9 lb and Garrett publishes the Garrett Vortex VX9 at 2.9 lb, or 3.05 lb with the searchcoil cover fitted. That last figure is the honest one and the most useful on this page, because it is the only place a maker admits what the accessories add.
Which means the real weight question is not the machine, it is the balance. A detector is a lever with the mass at the far end, and a coil hanging 30 inches from your wrist feels heavier than the same mass held close in. Minelab publishes the Minelab EQX 06 Coil (6 inch) at 10.68 oz with its skidplate and the Minelab EQX 15 Coil (15 inch) at 1.46 lb with its skidplate, which is a difference of over half a pound entirely at the end of the lever. Fitting a large coil to a light machine can make it feel heavier than a heavier machine with a small coil, and that is not an illusion.
The third factor is packed length, which matters if you walk in to sites. Minelab publishes a 24 inch packed length for the Minelab Equinox 700 and Minelab Equinox 900 on 3-piece carbon fibre shafts, Nokta publishes 25 inches for the Nokta Simplex Ultra, and Garrett publishes a fold from 56.7 to 24.8 inches for the Minelab Manticore. A machine that fits in a pack is a machine you take, which is worth more than four ounces.
What do the makers publish for weight?
Only published figures appear below. Where a maker states no weight for a model, the cell says so. Note which figures include a coil cover.
Published weights run from approximately 2 lb for the Fisher F22 to 3.05 lb for the Garrett Vortex VX9 with its coil cover fitted, a spread of about one pound across the entire market.
| Machine | Price | Published weight | Shaft and packed length published | Notes from the listing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fisher F22 | $229.00 | Approximately 2 lb | Not published in this listing | Padded hand grip and arm cup, weatherproof |
| Teknetics G2+ | $299.00 | Just over 2 lb | Adjustable stem | Carries an 11 inch DD coil at that weight |
| Garrett ACE Apex | $384.99 | 2.5 lb | Not published in this listing | Lithium battery rated to 15 hours |
| Bounty Hunter Land Ranger Pro | $173.00 | 2.5 lb | Not published in this listing | Ergonomic handle and padded armrest |
| Bounty Hunter Tracker IV | $120.76 | 2.6 lb | Adjustable shaft | Padded armrest, up to 25 hours runtime |
| Nokta Simplex Ultra | $299.00 | 2.6 lb | Carbon fibre, retracts to 25 inches | Described by Nokta as well balanced |
| Nokta The Legend 2 | $999.00 | 2.6 lb | Not published in this listing | 6700 mAh battery, up to 33 percent more runtime |
| Nokta Triple Score Pro Pack | $499.00 | 2.7 lb | Not published in this listing | Three search modes, IP68 to 16 ft |
| Minelab Equinox 700 | $749.00 | 2.8 lb | 3-piece carbon fibre, 24 inches packed | Fully waterproof to 16 ft |
| Minelab Equinox 900 | $999.00 | 2.8 lb | 3-piece carbon fibre, 24 inches packed | Ships with two coils |
| Minelab Vanquish 540 Pro-Pack | $399.00 | 2.8 lb | Collapses to 30 inches, snap-lock | Two coils in the pack |
| Minelab X-Terra Pro | $282.14 | 2.9 lb | 3-piece, 25 inches packed | IP68 to 16 ft |
| Garrett Vortex VX9 | $599.99 | 2.9 lb, or 3.05 lb with the coil cover | Collapses to 24.75 inches | The only maker here publishing both figures |
| Garrett ACE 200 | $149.99 | Under 3 lb | Adjustable stem | Waterproof coil, control box is not |
| Minelab Manticore | $1,499.00 | Not published in this listing | Folds 56.7 to 24.8 inches | Described as ultra-lightweight without a figure |
Prices come from the catalog and move. Weights are quoted from the maker listings named in the sources and are not consistent about whether a coil cover is included. Nothing here has been weighed by us.
What is the lightest machine worth buying cheaply?
The Fisher F22 at approximately 2 pounds, which is the lightest published weight of any full capability machine on this page and costs $229.00. Below that you are into machines built for children, which are light because they are small and simple rather than because anything clever has been done. That is a fine reason to buy one for a child and a poor reason to buy one for yourself.
Fisher F22
$229.00Fisher publishes approximately 2 pounds with a padded hand grip and arm cup, weatherproof construction, a 0 to 99 numeric target ID with 4-tone audio and detection to nine inches. Nothing else here combines that weight with a real target ID number at this price.
Best for: anyone who wants the lightest machine without buying a toy
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Bounty Hunter Tracker IV
$120.76Bounty Hunter publishes 2.6 lb with a padded armrest and adjustable shaft, an 8 inch waterproof coil, three search modes and up to 25 hours of runtime from batteries. No screen means nothing to squint at and nothing to configure, which some people genuinely prefer.
Best for: a light, simple machine with no menu at all
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Minelab GO-FIND 44
$218.99Minelab supplies this with a 10 inch 7.8 kHz waterproof coil and a carry bag, and it folds down far smaller than a conventional 3-piece shaft. Minelab does not publish a weight for it in this listing, but the fold is the point: it travels in luggage rather than needing a roof rack.
Best for: travel, holidays and sharing a machine around a family
Check price on AmazonWhat does carbon fibre actually buy?
Stiffness more than weight saved. A carbon shaft resists flex, so the coil stays at a consistent height through the sweep instead of bouncing, which matters for depth consistency as much as for comfort. Nokta publishes the Nokta Simplex Ultra as fully carbon fibre at 2.6 lb, and Minelab publishes 3-piece carbon fibre shafts on the Minelab Equinox 700 at 2.8 lb. The weight difference between them is smaller than a full coffee cup.
Nokta Simplex Ultra
$299.00Nokta publishes a fully carbon fibre shaft retracting to 25 inches, 2.6 lb, full waterproofing to 16 feet and online firmware updates over USB, and describes it as well balanced for extended hours. It is the lightest machine here that gives up nothing in capability to get there.
Best for: long sessions where weight and balance decide when you stop
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Garrett ACE Apex
$384.99Garrett publishes 2.5 lb with a built-in lithium battery rated to 15 hours, a 6 by 11 DD Viper coil, Multi-Flex frequency selection and Z-Lynk wireless. A rechargeable machine with no AA holder in the shaft keeps mass out of the far end where you feel it most.
Best for: Garrett owners who want the lightest current body
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Teknetics G2+
$299.00Teknetics publishes just over 2 pounds while carrying an 11 inch DD open elliptical coil, with FeTone adjustable iron audio, V-Break tone breakpoints and Ground Grab balancing. Carrying that much coil at that weight is genuinely unusual, and open coil frames are part of how it is done.
Best for: covering ground on iron-heavy sites without the arm ache
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LimbSaver Comfort-Tech Metal Detector Sling
$20.23LimbSaver publishes an adjustable shoulder sling that distributes the weight over your upper body, made from vibration-damping NAVCOM material, with a universal one-click connection for right or left hand use. At $20.23 it removes more perceived weight than any machine upgrade on this page.
Best for: anybody detecting more than an hour at a time
Check price on AmazonAre the flagships actually heavy?
No, and that is the surprise. Minelab publishes the Minelab Equinox 900 at 2.8 lb and Nokta publishes the Nokta The Legend 2 at 2.6 lb, both lighter than plenty of budget machines, because carbon fibre shafts and internal lithium batteries are standard at this level. The genuinely light flagship argument belongs to the XP Deus II for a different reason: XP removes the cable from the whole system.
Nokta The Legend 2
$999.00Nokta publishes 2.6 lb and describes it as well balanced for detecting extended hours, alongside 99 target IDs with harmonic tones, 15 user profiles and a 6700 mAh battery increasing runtime by up to 33 percent. It is the lightest published weight of any flagship here.
Best for: all-day hunting without giving up flagship features
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Minelab Equinox 700
$749.00Minelab publishes 2.8 lb on 3-piece carbon fibre shafts with a 24 inch packed length, Multi-IQ plus four single frequencies and full waterproofing to 16 feet. Two tenths of a pound over the lightest machine here, in exchange for every feature most people will ever use.
Best for: the sensible answer for almost everyone reading this page
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XP Deus II
$1,299.00XP publishes a fully wireless system from coil to headphones with no cable at all, IP68 to 66 feet, 12 multi-frequency programs and 49 single frequencies, with a 5 year warranty. XP does not publish a weight in this listing, so judge it on the wireless architecture rather than on a number.
Best for: people who find the cable more annoying than the mass
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Detecting Harness and Swing Support
$36.99A full harness rather than a sling, published with 8 adjustment points, 8 attachment points, a padded back cushion and a one-handed bungee adjustment, with a waist belt to 59 inches. If your machine is heavy and you are not replacing it, this is the correct purchase and it costs $36.99.
Best for: heavy machines, big coils and shoulder trouble
Check price on AmazonWho should not buy this tier: Do not buy a flagship to solve a weight problem. The entire published spread across this market is about one pound, so the money buys you ounces, while a LimbSaver Comfort-Tech Metal Detector Sling at $20.23 or a Detecting Harness and Swing Support at $36.99 takes the whole load off your forearm for a fraction of the price. Do not buy the lightest machine and then fit the largest coil, because a Minelab EQX 15 Coil (15 inch) at 1.46 lb with its skidplate sits at the far end of the lever and undoes the saving. And do not buy a children machine because it is light: they are light because they are small and short, and an adult swinging one bends forward all day, which is worse for your back than half a pound ever was.
How do you make any machine feel lighter?
- Set the shaft to your height. Standing upright with your arm relaxed, the coil should sit flat on the ground just ahead of your toes without you leaning. Most people run the shaft too short, which forces a stoop, and a stoop costs more than any weight difference between machines.
- Fit a sling or harness. A LimbSaver Comfort-Tech Metal Detector Sling distributes the load across your upper body rather than through your wrist and forearm. LimbSaver publishes a universal one-click connection that works for right or left hand use, so it moves between machines.
- Match the coil to the site. Fit the small coil for trashy ground and keep the large one for open fields. Minelab publishes the Minelab EQX 06 Coil (6 inch) at 10.68 oz against 1.46 lb for the Minelab EQX 15 Coil (15 inch), so the choice is over half a pound at the end of the lever as well as a separation decision.
- Move the batteries off the shaft. On machines that take a holder, a spare loaded Spare AA Battery Holder for Garrett Detectors in the pouch means you carry the mass on your belt instead of your wrist, and a battery change takes two seconds rather than five minutes of searching.
- Rest before you hurt. Swap swinging arms every twenty minutes and take the machine off the arm entirely while you dig. The injury detectorists actually get is a repetitive strain in the forearm, and it arrives from hours of identical motion rather than from mass.
How we chose
We have not lifted any of these machines and no weight on this page was measured by us. Every figure is the maker own published weight, quoted from the listing or manual named in the sources below, and several manufacturers publish no weight at all for a given model, in which case the table says so rather than estimating. Be aware that published weights are inconsistent in what they include: some are with the coil and skidplate fitted, some are not, and Garrett is unusual in publishing both figures for the Vortex VX9. Compare the numbers as indicative rather than exact.
Sources
- Fisher F22 and Teknetics G2+ published specifications
- Nokta Simplex Ultra and The Legend 2 product listings
- Minelab Equinox 700 and 900 instruction manual and coil specifications
- Garrett Vortex VX9 and ACE Apex published specifications
- LimbSaver Comfort-Tech sling and detecting harness product listings
Frequently asked questions
How much does a metal detector weigh?
Published weights for current general purpose machines run from about 2 pounds to about 3 pounds. Fisher publishes approximately 2 lb for the Fisher F22, Nokta publishes 2.6 lb for the Nokta Simplex Ultra and Garrett publishes 2.9 lb for the Garrett Vortex VX9, or 3.05 lb with the coil cover fitted. The whole market therefore spans about one pound, which is less than most buyers assume.
Does a lighter detector find less?
No. Weight is a function of shaft material, battery type and coil size, none of which sets detection capability. Nokta publishes The Legend 2 at 2.6 lb as a flagship, lighter than several budget machines. What does affect finds is how long you keep swinging, so a machine you can carry all day genuinely finds more than a heavier one you put down at lunchtime.
Is a detecting sling or harness worth it?
Yes, and it is the cheapest comfort upgrade available. A sling transfers the load from your forearm to your shoulders and torso, which addresses the repetitive strain that detectorists actually suffer from. LimbSaver publishes an adjustable sling at $20.23 that works for right or left hand use, and a full harness with 8 adjustment points costs $36.99.
Does the coil add much weight?
More than you think, because it sits at the far end of the lever. Minelab publishes the 6 inch EQX 06 at 10.68 oz with its skidplate and the 15 inch EQX 15 at 1.46 lb with its skidplate. That is over half a pound of difference at maximum leverage, so fitting the largest coil to the lightest machine can make it feel heavier than a heavier machine with a small coil.
Which is the lightest metal detector you can buy?
Among full capability machines, Fisher publishes the Fisher F22 at approximately 2 pounds and Teknetics publishes the Teknetics G2+ at just over 2 pounds while carrying an 11 inch coil. Lighter machines exist but are built for children, with short shafts and simplified electronics, so an adult using one ends up stooping, which causes more trouble than the weight saved.
Researched, not professional advice. This page is compiled from published specifications, manuals and owner-review consensus, not hands-on testing. Target ID numbers, depth figures and settings vary with soil chemistry, moisture, target size, depth, orientation and firmware version, so treat every figure here as a starting point and verify it against your own machine's manual and your own ground. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.