Choosing between metal detectors becomes difficult surprisingly quickly. Specifications tell you part of the story, but they don't always explain what the differences actually mean once you're out detecting. We've researched 12 popular detectors from Minelab, Nokta and XP, bringing together manufacturer specifications, independent reviews and available field evidence. From that research we've created a series of comparison guides looking at the machines from different angles.

Metal detector pricing creates an obvious assumption: spend twice as much and you should get a detector that finds twice as much. Our research across 12 current machines doesn't support anything quite that simple. Around £300, you can already buy a fully waterproof detector with simultaneous multi-frequency, wireless capability and a modern rechargeable battery. Move towards £500 and the differences increasingly appear in adjustment, weight, audio, discrimination and the amou

Beach detecting has a habit of exposing differences between metal detectors that can be much less obvious on an inland field. Dry sand is relatively straightforward and can be searched successfully with a wide range of detectors. Move onto wet salt sand and the situation changes. Salt water is conductive, so the detector is no longer trying to identify metal against a relatively neutral background. Add black sand, mineralisation, rapidly changing moisture levels or shallow su

Waterproofing should be one of the simplest metal detector specifications to compare. A detector is either waterproof or it isn't, and manufacturers usually provide a maximum depth to make the distinction even clearer. In practice, things become complicated very quickly. Most of the modern detectors in our 12-machine comparison are specified as waterproof to 5 metres. That includes inexpensive machines such as the Nokta Simplex Ultra and Minelab Vanquish 360 as well as consid

Metal detector weight looks like one of the easiest specifications to compare. Find the manufacturer's figure, put the machines in a table and the lightest detector wins. Unfortunately, it isn't quite that simple. Across the 12 detectors we've researched, quoted weights range from around 750 g to 1.3 kg. On the face of it, that suggests the lightest machines weigh little more than half as much as the heaviest. Some of that difference is genuine, particularly when comparing XP

Simultaneous multi-frequency has become one of the most heavily promoted technologies in modern metal detecting. Look across current machines from Minelab, Nokta and XP and you'll see Multi-IQ, Multi-IQ+, FMF and other versions of the same broad idea appearing everywhere from relatively inexpensive detectors to premium machines costing well over £1,000. It's tempting to reduce the argument to something simple: multi-frequency is newer, therefore multi-frequency is better. The

The Nokta Simplex Ultra, Score and Legend make an interesting comparison because they don't form the straightforward progression you might expect. The Simplex Ultra is the most traditional of the three, operating at a fixed 15 kHz, but it gives the detectorist a surprisingly broad range of controls for the money. The Score introduces the more advanced technology of simultaneous multi-frequency, yet deliberately removes some of those manual adjustments. The Legend then combine

The XP ICON, Deus 1 and Deus II are clearly members of the same family. All three use XP's distinctive wireless architecture, all are exceptionally light compared with many conventional detectors, and all use telescopic stems with much of the detector's electronics contained within the search coil rather than relying on a conventional coil cable running to a control box. Look beyond the physical similarities, though, and they are three quite different detector platforms. The

Minelab's current detector range can look more complicated than it really is. The six machines in this comparison span three families — Vanquish, X-Terra and the more advanced Equinox and Manticore platforms — but there is plenty of overlap between them. Five of the six are fully waterproof to 5 metres. Several use Minelab's Multi-IQ simultaneous multi-frequency technology, most use broadly similar Target ID scales, and some even share compatible coils. That can make it diffi

Once you reach premium metal detectors, the comparison becomes more difficult. The Minelab Equinox 900, XP Deus II and Minelab Manticore all provide simultaneous multi-frequency operation, extensive adjustment and serious all-terrain capability. None is short of settings and none can sensibly be judged by asking which has the longest specification list. The important differences are elsewhere. The Equinox 900 combines Minelab Multi-IQ with a conventional layout, extensive con

Moving from a £300 metal detector towards £500 does not suddenly buy twice the depth or twice the finds. What it does buy is more choice over how the detector works. The three machines in this comparison — the Minelab Vanquish 560, Minelab X-Terra Elite and XP Icon — all use simultaneous multi-frequency technology. But beyond that similarity, they take quite different approaches. The Vanquish 560 retains a relatively simple operating system while adding more control than the

A budget of around £300 now buys considerably more metal detector than it did a few years ago. In this comparison we are looking at four machines that occupied roughly the same part of the UK market when we researched them: Minelab Vanquish 360 — £259 Nokta Simplex Ultra — £299.95 Nokta Score — £299.95 Minelab X-Terra Pro — £349 The prices are dated observations rather than permanent RRPs, but they put these four detectors close enough together to create an interesting choice

Choosing between metal detectors becomes difficult surprisingly quickly. At first glance, the specifications seem to provide an easy answer. One detector costs £300 and another costs more than £1,000. One operates at a single frequency while another uses simultaneous multi-frequency. Some weigh around 1.3 kg while the lightest XP configurations come in considerably below that. But none of those figures tells the whole story. A £300 simultaneous multi-frequency detector does n