Bounty Hunter Educational Junior Metal Detector with Coin Collecting Kit

Comment: the metal detector works well, as it was winter here, and my grandson used it immediately outside. The ground was frozen, and it picked up a signal right away about a foot down he found an old metal object. Very satisfied.

Comment: I bought this item for a steal on Amazon ($35.00 to be exact). I was not happy even at that price and decided to return the product. Don't get me wrong. I have a budding treasure hunter (8 years) and she was thrilled by the ability to throw coins on the lawn and find them. However, after repeated tests I determined the max depth at which any metal object could be reliably detected was 2-3 inches in soft earth. We took this item to the beach and found it completely worthless beyond what I term an "imagination toy."

After extensive research, it appears spending anything less than $150.00 will keep you in the toy category despite claims contrary. As a toy, and at $35.00, perhaps it has a function.

Some specific observations:

-Item is made of mostly cheap plastic and cheap metal (pole is metal). The battery cover would not stay secure (requires 2 9 volt batteries) and the batteries bounce around inside the handle (annoying).

-All the nuts and bolts on this item are poorly fitted and made of cheap material. Therefore, when you adjust the pole (for height) or adjust the detector (angle) they will not stay in place.

-No volume adjustment.

-Did not receive the coin collector items in my box.

-Kids enjoyed the "process" of treasure hunting regardless of the aforementioned issues.

If you insist on buying this item, wait for a price drop of around $40.00 and accept this is a toy.

Comment: I was not impressed with this item. I bought this and the national geographic metal detector so my two young daughters could go metal detecting with me. I bought this one for my older daughter and the less expensive national geographic one for my younger daughter since I didn't want to spend a great deal on something that might break.

Surprisingly, The bounty hunter item really didn't seem to signal items nearly as often as the less expensive national geographic detector. I would have been happy with it if I had purchased two, but when compared side by side with the national geographic detector (which looks more like a toy), I was disappointed with the performance as was my daughter. We gave up using this item and they took turns with the national geographic one.

Comment: Well, atleast I always have. This is one of those few gifts for my kids that I got simply because I never had one as a child. You know, always dreaming of buried pirate, indian, whatever treasure. The metal detector says junior, but honestly I don't know what other features you would need with this. The sensitivity can be adjusted and it made for a nice afternoon exploring in central park a few months back. We didn't find any treasure, but the kids had some fun digging up whatever metal we came across. It doesn't use up too much battery juice and still seems to be fully charged after on-and-off use over the summer. A great buy at $34. Get one today for your child.

Comment: This was a birthday gift which my grandson eagerly tried. His only complaint is that he'd like to be taken somewhere besides his yard to search. (That's for the metal detector.) I'm not sure how much he'll use the coin collector, plus it doesn't include all 50 states.