In This Guide
Why Accessories Matter
Your metal detector gets you to the target. Your accessories determine how fast you recover it, how long you stay in the field, and how much you enjoy the experience. A detectorist with a mid-range machine and excellent accessories will consistently outhunt someone swinging a flagship detector with a garden trowel and no pinpointer.
This guide covers every category of accessory worth investing in, with specific recommendations based on real field use. We prioritize tools that genuinely improve your hunting efficiency over gadgets that sound good on paper but collect dust in your gear bag.
Pinpointers
A pinpointer is a handheld probe that locates the exact position of a target inside your hole or dirt pile. Without one, you're guessing — poking around with your fingers, potentially scratching coins, and spending two to three minutes per recovery that a pinpointer would resolve in ten seconds. There is no accessory with a higher impact on your finds-per-hour rate.
What to Look For
Waterproofing is non-negotiable. You will be sticking this device into wet holes, muddy soil, and occasionally creeks. An IP68-rated or fully submersible unit protects your investment. Proportional audio — where the tone gets faster and louder as you get closer to the target — helps you zero in precisely. Vibration mode is essential for underwater use where you can't hear audio. Retune capability lets you narrow the detection field for precise pinpointing in iron-heavy ground.
Garrett Pro-Pointer AT
The industry standard for over a decade, often called 'The Carrot' for its bright orange color. Waterproof to 20 feet, three sensitivity levels, proportional audio and vibration. One-button operation keeps things simple. The fast retune function is invaluable in iron-laden sites — press the button to instantly narrow the detection field and isolate your target from surrounding junk.
Minelab Pro-Find 40
Minelab's flagship pinpointer with a feature no competitor matches: Ferrous Tone ID. The probe emits two distinct audio tones — one for iron, one for non-ferrous metals — before you ever start digging. In high-iron environments like Civil War sites or old farmsteads, this saves you from recovering endless nails. Built-in rechargeable battery, fully waterproof, and DIF (Detector Interference Free) technology prevents false signals when your pinpointer is near your detector.
Nokta PulseDive
A unique 2-in-1 device: handheld pinpointer and, with the included 5.5-inch coil attachment, a small underwater detector. Pulse Induction technology means it handles saltwater and mineralized ground without the false signals that plague VLF pinpointers at the beach. Waterproof to an impressive 200 feet — overkill for most detecting, but serious divers and snorkelers use it as a primary underwater search tool.
Budget Pick
The DR.ÖTEK MT6-Pro performs well above its price point with IP68 waterproofing, proportional audio, vibration, and a built-in LED flashlight — all for roughly a third of the Garrett's price. If you're on a tight budget, this is the one to get.
Digging Tools
Your digging tool determines how clean your recoveries are, how fast you work, and how your body feels after a six-hour hunt. The wrong tool — a garden trowel, a dull camping shovel — slows you down, tears turf, and wears you out. Purpose-built detecting tools use heat-treated steel, serrated edges, and ergonomic handles designed for the specific motions detectorists repeat thousands of times per season.
Hand Diggers / Trowels
For park detecting and any situation where you're kneeling to cut plugs, a hand digger is your primary tool. The two most popular options in the hobby:
Lesche Digging Tool
Hand-built in the United States from heavy-gauge stainless steel with a 12-inch serrated blade. The serrated edge cuts through roots and sod that a smooth blade bounces off. Available in left-hand and right-hand configurations. One edge is serrated for cutting; the other is smooth for slicing clean plugs. Detectorists have been using Lesche tools for over forty years — they're the benchmark for a reason.
Garrett Edge Digger
A compact, affordable trowel with a 7.5-inch carbon-steel serrated blade and finger-grooved handle. Comes with a belt sheath for carry. Not as heavy-duty as the Lesche, but lighter and more portable — ideal for park hunting where you're cutting shallow plugs in maintained turf. One of the most popular entry-level digging tools in the hobby.
Full-Size Shovels
For field hunting, permission sites, and anywhere you're digging deeper than six inches, a full-size detecting shovel pays for itself in saved time and effort. Look for a serrated blade that cuts through roots, a footstep for leverage, and a handle length that lets you dig without bending excessively.
Lesche Sampson T-Handle Shovel
The workhorse of relic detecting. Aircraft-quality 4130 steel, heat-treated and tempered, with a serrated 4×8-inch blade and a T-handle for two-handed leverage. The 28-inch total length is ideal for kneeling digs. Compact enough to carry in one hand alongside your detector. Handles rocky soil, dense root networks, and compacted clay that lesser shovels can't penetrate.
Radius Root Slayer
A longer-handle shovel (44 inches) built for standing-position digging in fields and wooded areas. Serrated edges on both sides of the carbon-steel blade slice through root mats that stop conventional shovels cold. The O-handle grip provides excellent control and leverage. Popular among relic hunters who cover large areas and need to move a lot of soil efficiently.
Headphones
Good headphones are the difference between hearing a faint, deep signal and walking right over it. They also extend battery life significantly on detectors that support headphone output, block wind and ambient noise, and keep your detecting private in public spaces.
Wired vs. Wireless
Wired headphones offer zero latency — the audio from your detector reaches your ears instantly. This matters because even a small delay between the coil passing over a target and you hearing the tone can affect your ability to pinpoint. Wired models are also cheaper and never need charging. The tradeoff is the cable, which can catch on brush and restrict movement.
Wireless headphones provide freedom of movement but introduce latency. The amount depends on the protocol: aptX Low Latency and similar codecs keep delay under 40 milliseconds, which most detectorists find acceptable. Standard Bluetooth without a low-latency codec can have 150–200ms delay, which is noticeable and frustrating. If going wireless, confirm the headphones and your detector both support a low-latency protocol.
Important
Not all headphones work with all detectors. Check your detector's headphone jack type (3.5mm, 6.3mm, or wireless protocol) before buying. Some machines — particularly Minelab and XP models — use proprietary wireless connections that only work with their own headphones or approved adapters.
Aftermarket Search Coils
Swapping your stock search coil for an aftermarket option is one of the most impactful upgrades you can make — often more effective than upgrading the detector itself.
Small coils (5–7 inches) dramatically improve target separation in trashy areas. In an old park or home site with nails, pull tabs, and bottle caps scattered through the soil, a small coil lets your detector isolate good targets that a larger coil would mask. The tradeoff is reduced depth and less ground coverage per sweep.
Large coils (12–15+ inches) extend detection depth and cover more ground per sweep. Ideal for open fields, plowed farmland, and anywhere targets are deep and trash is sparse. The tradeoff is heavier weight, reduced target separation, and more ground noise in mineralized soil.
Brands like Detech and NEL manufacture quality aftermarket coils for most major detector brands. Before buying, confirm compatibility with your specific detector model and firmware version — some third-party coils require specific firmware to function correctly.
Finds Pouches & Carry Gear
A belt-mounted finds pouch with separate compartments is simple but essential. One pocket for good finds; one for trash. This keeps you organized, prevents accidental loss of small finds, and ensures you're packing out every piece of junk you dig. Multi-pocket designs with a snap-close top for valuables are ideal. Most cost under twenty dollars and pay for themselves in convenience immediately.
For carrying your detector, a padded detector bag protects the machine during transport. Detector-specific backpacks exist but aren't necessary for most people — a large duffel or padded case works fine.
Sand Scoops (Beach Detecting)
Beach detecting requires a sand scoop rather than (or in addition to) a shovel. A scoop lets you lift a volume of sand, shake it to drain the sand through the holes, and retain the target — much faster than digging in loose, refilling sand.
Scoops come in two materials: stainless steel is heavier but virtually indestructible, and aluminum is lighter but dents more easily. Long-handle scoops for standing-depth work and short-handle scoops for surf-zone use are the two main categories. The hole pattern matters — small holes retain small targets like chains and earrings; large holes drain sand faster but can lose tiny items.
Clothing & Field Essentials
Detecting is an outdoor sport, and dressing appropriately makes the difference between a five-hour session and a miserable two-hour retreat.
Knee pads are essential for park detecting where you're kneeling repeatedly. Garden knee pads from any hardware store work fine. Gloves protect your hands from sharp edges in the soil — broken glass, rusty metal, and thorns. A heavy-duty pair of gardening or work gloves is ideal. Sun protection — hat, sunscreen, and sunglasses — matters more than you'd think when you're spending hours outdoors looking down at the ground.
A small spray bottle of water helps clean finds in the field for identification. A headlamp extends your hunt past sunset and helps you see into dark holes. Bug spray and tick repellent are non-negotiable in wooded or grassy areas, especially in warm months.
What to Skip
Not everything marketed to detectorists is worth buying. Save your money on:
Cheap knockoff pinpointers under twenty dollars. They typically have a single sensitivity level, unstable ground response, and a detection range measured in fractions of an inch. You'll replace it within months. Buy a reputable unit once.
Magnetic "pinpointers." These are neodymium magnets on a stick. They find iron. They don't find gold, silver, copper, or any non-ferrous target — which is almost everything you actually want. Not a real pinpointer.
Gimmicky multi-tools. All-in-one devices that promise to be a shovel, trowel, and probe in one unit do none of those jobs well. Buy purpose-built tools.
Detector covers and cosmetic accessories. A factory detector is already designed for field use. Rain covers, carbon-fiber shafts, and decorative wraps are almost always unnecessary expense for recreational users.
Putting Together Your Starter Kit
If you're buying everything at once, here's a prioritized checklist. Buy items in this order as your budget allows:
Must-have (Day 1): Metal detector, pinpointer, hand digger, finds pouch.
Should-have (Within first month): Quality headphones, knee pads, gloves.
Nice-to-have (After you know your style): Full-size shovel (if you hunt fields), sand scoop (if you detect beaches), aftermarket search coil (once you know what conditions you hunt most), detector bag for transport.
Budget Estimate
A complete starter kit (detector + pinpointer + digger + pouch + headphones) falls in the $–$$ range total depending on the detector you choose. The accessories together typically cost less than a quarter of what the detector costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I really need a pinpointer?
Technically, you can detect without one. Practically, you'll spend two to three times longer on every recovery and risk damaging finds. A pinpointer pays for itself in saved time within your first few hunts. It's the single highest-impact accessory you can buy.
What's the best digging tool for a beginner?
For park detecting, the Lesche Digging Tool or Garrett Edge Digger covers most situations. The Garrett is lighter and more affordable; the Lesche is more durable for heavy-duty use. Either will serve you well for years.
Should I buy wired or wireless headphones?
Wired headphones are the safer choice for beginners — zero latency, no charging, lower cost. Go wireless only if your detector specifically supports a low-latency protocol like aptX LL. Standard Bluetooth latency can interfere with accurate target identification.
When should I buy an aftermarket search coil?
After you've logged enough hours to know what conditions you hunt most. If you're frequently in trashy parks, a smaller coil will help. If you're chasing deep relics in open fields, a larger coil will help. Your stock coil covers most scenarios perfectly well while you're learning.
How do I carry everything to the site?
Most detectorists carry the detector in one hand and wear a belt setup: finds pouch on one hip, pinpointer holster on the other, digger in a belt sheath. Full-size shovels are carried over the shoulder or strapped to the detector shaft. A small backpack handles headphones, water, sunscreen, and spare batteries.
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