Shopping list
The Metal Detecting Shopping List
Quick answer
A complete metal detecting kit costs $436 at the beginner level (7 items), $1,490 for the buy-once intermediate build (9 items) and $2,492 at the expert level (12 items). The detector is roughly 60 to 70 percent of every total, and the pinpointer is the line that changes your results most per dollar spent.
This is the same gear as the three kit pages, rearranged. There it is grouped by build so you can read the argument for each one; here it is grouped by what the item does, so you can compare the three budgets line by line and buy in whatever order suits you. Nothing here is a bundle: every line is bought separately, and most people assemble a kit over a season rather than in one go.
If you only take one thing from this page, take the order. Buy the detector and the pinpointer first, then something that cuts a clean plug, then headphones. Everything after that is comfort, and comfort is what decides whether you are still detecting in year three.
The machine most people should buy
Minelab Equinox 700
It anchors the intermediate kit, which is the build that does not need replacing as you improve. The beginner kit exists to cost less, and the expert kit exists for people who already know what their current machine fails at.
Price was accurate when this page was compiled and changes often.
| Build | Items | Total | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner | 7 | $436 | Finding out whether you like the hobby |
| Intermediate | 9 | $1,490 | You already know you are staying |
| Expert | 12 | $2,492 | You know what your current machine fails at |
Totals are the sum of the current catalog price of every item in that build. Prices change often, so confirm each one before ordering.
The machine
Beginner
Intermediate
Nothing at this tier. That is deliberate, not an omission.
Recovery
Intermediate
Expert
Nothing at this tier. That is deliberate, not an omission.
Carry
Beginner
Intermediate
Nothing at this tier. That is deliberate, not an omission.
Expert
Nothing at this tier. That is deliberate, not an omission.
Audio and power
Beginner
Intermediate
Nothing at this tier. That is deliberate, not an omission.
Expert
Nothing at this tier. That is deliberate, not an omission.
The machine and coils
Beginner
Nothing at this tier. That is deliberate, not an omission.
Intermediate
Expert
Nothing at this tier. That is deliberate, not an omission.
Carry and comfort
Beginner
Nothing at this tier. That is deliberate, not an omission.
Intermediate
Audio
Beginner
Nothing at this tier. That is deliberate, not an omission.
Intermediate
Expert
Nothing at this tier. That is deliberate, not an omission.
Recovery on land
Beginner
Nothing at this tier. That is deliberate, not an omission.
Intermediate
Nothing at this tier. That is deliberate, not an omission.
Recovery in water and sand
Beginner
Nothing at this tier. That is deliberate, not an omission.
Intermediate
Nothing at this tier. That is deliberate, not an omission.
The order to buy in
Almost nobody buys a kit in one purchase, and there is a sensible order. The detector and the pinpointer come first, because together they decide both what you find and how quickly you recover it. A serrated digger is third, because a garden trowel will not cut a plug you can replace invisibly and replacing the turf properly is what keeps a permission. Headphones are fourth: the faint deep signals are the old ones and a speaker in open wind loses them.
Everything after that is comfort, which sounds skippable and is not. Knee pads, a sling or harness and gloves are what let somebody detect for six hours at a time in their sixties, and the most common reason people leave this hobby is not disappointment with their machine.
What to skip at every level
Skip bundles that pair a usable pinpointer with a detector not worth carrying, which is most of what is sold as a starter bundle. Skip the large coil until you have run the stock coil for a season and can say what it is failing at. Skip a titanium sand scoop unless you genuinely hunt salt water. And skip upgrading the machine while your recovery time is still the thing limiting how many targets you get through in an afternoon, which the dig time budget calculator will tell you in about a minute.
Researched, not professional advice. Compiled from manufacturer specifications, manuals and owner-review consensus, not hands-on testing. Prices were accurate when this list was compiled and change often. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.