Bounty Hunter TK4 Tracker IV Metal Detector with Waterproof 8-Inch Coil, Versatile Detection Modes, Durable Construction, and Easy-to-Use Controls for All-Terrain Treasure Hunting Adventures

So, basically, the only reason I purchased this was to find my mom's gold pendant in our backyard. We were cutting down a tree and building a fence, and at some point, her necklace had apparently snapped and fallen off. She told me there was no way we'd be able to find it in our large backyard, so naturally, being her child and all, I was immediately consumed by the need to prove her wrong.For starters, the price is fantastic compared to other metal detectors on Amazon. This made me a bit nervous, but the reviews were positive enough to convince me. The quality is remarkable and exceeded my expectations. Its lightweight, sturdy, and the grip was perfect for my blistered post-yardwork hands. Batteries weren't included, but it just needs two 9v batteries.It was easy to assemble (attaching two parts and putting batteries in). Additionally, it was extremely simple to figure out and use—this is crucial for my dad and I, as we frequently toss instruction manuals aside without reading them. It took us about 3 minutes to understand and adjust the sensitivity controls, and only an additional 5 minutes to figure out the "metal" we were detecting was actually the shovel we kept placing right next to it. If two ADHD adults who share one braincell can operate it, then basically anyone can.We found 13 screws, 11 nails, multiple sprinklers, random bits of metal scraps, a friendly slug (not metal but it was cool), my dad's keys (they fell out of his pocket into the grass, lucky for him we had a metal detector), and a bunch of other miscellaneous things. And, of course, I found my mom's gold pendant. Unfortunately, I probably could've done this without the metal detector, as it was actually just sitting on the cement a hundred feet away from the area we thought she lost it in. However, due to its size and my whole family's lack of vision, none of us would've seen it. I actually had to kneel down and squint to figure out what the metal detector was beeping at.Regardless, the praise I received inflated my ego, and now I'm at risk of the Gods striking me down for my hubris.In conclusion—I proved my mother wrong, returned her beloved pendant, had fun with my dad and sister, made my whole family think I was an expert treasure hunter, and now I have a super rad device that I kinda wanna take out to the desert next weekend. Tons of fun, 10/10. Highly recommend.

I remember as a kid wanting a metal detector. And I have a vague recollection of actually using one when I was about 10 years old. It belonged to a friend of mine. I don't remember much about it other than how it made me feel. It was like someone gave me a treasure map and said, "Go find the treasure." I was excited at the idea that maybe I was going to find something worth thousands of dollars. No, hundreds of thousands of dollars. It was my destiny! Hehe. Well, that's what I felt when I was a kid holding that thing for the first time.Anyway, forward a good number of years, and now I have a couple nephews around that age. I think long and hard about what to get them for Christmas. I always get them interesting, unusual gifts each year. I try to imagine what I would have wanted when I was their age. And I insist on it having some aspect that makes them think or learn about stuff.And so for Christmas 2010 (a little over a year ago), I was making a list of all kinds of stuff I might want to give them for Christmas. Then it came back to me how I would have loved a metal detector growing up. And so, that's what I got them. My youngest nephew was 9 years old and the other was 12, by the way, when I gave them this.I'm real picky about what I get, though. It took me a while of shopping and looking at specs and reviews before I decided that this was the best metal detector for the price. Most people said they thought it was of better build quality than most others for this price. It's ergonomic also, which was important to me since I didn't want my nephews to feel like it was too heavy or putting too much strain on their wrists. It can be used by kids or adults.No, it doesn't have the fancy displays and bells and whistles that some of the more expensive models have, but that stuff isn't even something most people care about. What people care about is if it can find stuff. And according to my nephews' results and all the other reviewers out there, it is definitely up to that task. You don't need a fancy LCD or LED display. Those things add very little to the overall experience, and I personally think having an old fashioned analog display like this is actually cooler. It certainly makes it easier to understand, especially if you're a kid. And you don't have to worry about not being able to see the display in bright sunlight like you do with LCD displays.This product even has swappable parts, so you can swap out the head with another one that detects more gold or another one which detects a smaller area or a larger depth. The head that comes with the unit is pretty good for finding metals in general, though, so I doubt we'll ever get those other parts. But it's that sort of thing that caught my eye about this product. It says that the manufacturer has put a lot of thought into its design and doesn't just want to sell you a new unit each time.Actually, this metal detector went to only one of my two nephews, the older (12 years old at the time) one. I thought about getting them both one each, but I expected they would share it. And I was right. My brother tells me they both love it. The older nephew moves it around while the younger one digs for the treasure. They're a two man team, and it goes a lot faster that way since one can continue looking while the other is digging away. It was maybe just a little too big for the younger nephew (9 years old at the time), but he could still use it just fine.Anyway, my brother tells me they bring it with them on family trips and vacations. Especially to the beach. Apparently they've already found some things of real value. They found a watch valued at over $250 on the beach one day. They found an expensive knife once. They find coins. And of course bottle caps. This just adds a whole other dimension to any family outing. My brother tells me that they look forward to being able to use the metal detector whenever they go on trips now. They take it everywhere.Here's something you'll want to do. I told my brother before giving them this Christmas gift from me that he had to throw some coins around the yard ahead of time. Then when they open up the present, I told him to tell them that there are coins hidden in the yard for them to find and go to it! They enjoyed that a lot, and it got them hooked on day one. I think my brother said they found most of the coins he put out there, too. And they found some stuff he didn't even know about. Cool!As for the educational value of this, it's phenomenal. The kids learn about electro-magnetic fields and metals. They also dig up pieces of history and try to research what it is they've found. And poking around nature, they get to see the natural world, which is something a lot of kids don't do these days.Actually, for older teenage kids and adults, there's yet another educational level to this, which I didn't even know about until I saw something on TV about it. Apparently there are "historical" treasure hunters out there. They learn about historical places that used to exist but are now just uninhabited wilderness or maybe public parks and such. They're not historically famous places like Valley Forge or something. Those places don't let you do any metal detecting, I don't think. But at these non-famous places, you can use your metal detector and dig all you want. Since they're obscure places, they may not have already been gone over by others with metal detectors yet. And that means you can sometimes find really interesting things.So to any parents, grandparents, aunts, or uncles out there, this is a great gift to get the young ones. It has stood the test of time. My nephews are still excited about it and take it everywhere. They now have iPhones, iPads, PS3's, and laptop PC's. You can give them yet another video game to add to their collection, and it will be cool for all of a couple weeks or so. The metal detector isn't something they'll outgrow or get bored of that easily. It's something they'll keep coming back to when they get bored of all the other stuff they have. It also gets them out of the house and into the real world for a change. For the price, it's well worth it for the entertainment and educational value. I highly recommend it.Hope that helps.