National Geographic Metal Detector

 (23 customer reviews)

This is without a doubt the best fifteen bucks (back in 2006) we have spent on a toy for our 7-year-old son, but it isn't a toy. It's a highly functional, albeit inexpensive, metal detector. We've had it now for 3 years and take it camping, on picnics, to the beach, etc.
It will easily find something as small as a rusty staple, and will detect a railroad spike as far as 4 1/4 inches down -- very good if you consider how small the detection coil is. When camping, the kids love to find and dig up ancient tent stakes, rusty nails, and the occasional coins.
Adjusting the sensitivity is trivial, just hold it away from any metal, and turn the sensitivity knob until the red detector LED just goes out. Another reviewer has noted that the three-piece shaft breaks easily, which did happen with ours, but a little duct tape goes a long way and this shouldn't stop you from buying one.
If you get one, make sure to bury some coins and other treasures in the garden for the kids to...Read more

My wife dropped her engagement ring in the grass along a sidewalk path near our house yesterday. We spent hours on our hands and knees looking for the darned thing. After reading the reviews here, I went to the local Target and bought one of these "toys". It still took me over an hour, but I did finally find the ring! Now my daughters are using it to search for buried "treasures" in the backyard. I'm amazed at how many rusty nails and pennies they're turning up. This thing is great. Well worth the $15.

As noted by other customers this really is not a toy, it saved me over $500 in surveyor fees. I was trying to find my property points and after calling the local tax comission they suggested I contacted a surveyor or that I used a metal detector. The surveyor wanted $450 plus wathever charger and taxes they incurred in notifying the tax assessors. I went out and bought the National Geographic Metal Detector and found all my points within 30 minutes of searching. One of them was at least 5 inches deep!! That's impressive if you think about the diameter of a piece of rebar(about1/2 inch) Now I can use the money I saved to build my privacy fence and the kids can set out and find treasures with a highly accurate "toy".