Hunting for gold is a ton of fun for both beginners and experienced prospectors (not to mention profitable). One of the best things about it is that you really don’t need much equipment to get started. With a few simple tools you have everything you need to actually find gold.
Many of these are the same tools that have been used for generations by kids and adults of all ages to find that beautiful yellow metal. You don’t need to be an expert to use them and your results will get better over time.
We’re going to show you the basic equipment you should take with you as well as some additional gear that can make your life easier (though it isn’t essential). Gold hunting gear is relatively cheap and will last a long time if you buy the right stuff!
Gold panning vs detecting
The first decision you need to make is if you want to use a gold pan and/or sluice or a metal detector. For most beginners, we recommend trying gold panning with or without a sluice to see if you enjoy it. The equipment is much cheaper and you will end up using a gold pan even if you buy a metal detector.
Gold panning involves placing riverbed material in a pan and using water to separate gold from lighter minerals. The gold, being denser, settles at the bottom, allowing prospectors to sift away lighter material through swirling and rinsing actions.
Here is a great video that shows how to pan for gold:
Metal detecting uses electromagnetic fields to detect metal objects underground, including gold nuggets using a metal detector. Metal detectors are ideal for finding larger gold pieces in soil rather than small flakes, especially in dry, non-river environments.
The Essential Gold Panning Equipment
Panning for gold is a fairly simple process and doesn’t require much equipment. If you’re just starting out there are some really good kits that include all of the basic equipment that you can buy or you can assemble the basics yourself.
The essential gear you should consider is (we’ll provide specific recommendations further down):
- Gold pans
- Classifier/Sieve
- Snuffer Bottle
- Gold vial
- Hand trowel or small shovel
- Crevice tool
- Bucket
All of this gear is relatively small and can be easily carried by a single person for long distances if necessary.
If you’re new to panning and want to start without spending a lot of money on equipment your most cost-effective option would be to buy a quality kit. There are a couple of really quality options out there that include all of the specialized equipment you will need:
Quality Gold Panning Kits
These are the kits that include quality equipment that you will be able to use for a long time. We’ll provide kit recommendations here and provide in-depth descriptions about each piece of equipment and why you might need it further down.
I’m going to share recommendations for both adults as well as children:
FOR ADULTS
SE Gold Panning Kit (click to purchase)
The SE Gold Panning Kit has good-quality versions of the basic equipment every gold panner needs. You have:
- A quality 14-inch and 10-inch pan
- Classifier to filter out larger rocks
- Snuffer bottle to suck up the gold
- Gold vials to collect the gold
- Tweezers and magnifying glass to see small pieces of gold
One critique of this kit is that the snuffer bottle isn’t very good. It’s “ok” but you might want to pick up a good snuffer bottle here. The only additions to this that you would need to bring would be:
- Hand trowel or small shovel (something like this hand trowel)
- Crevice tool like a small crowbar or metal pick (like this)
- Bucket
Those three are not really specialized tools and you can find them in any hardware or garden store and you may already have at home. This is a great starting point for most gold prospecters and you can get everything for under $50 most of the time.
Another good alternative would be the ASR Outdoor 11pc Gold Rush Gold Prospecting Kit. It has a few more additional pieces of equipment and is decent quality as well.
If you’re just starting out and can’t decide what to go with try out the SE Gold Panning Kit first. It’s a great starter option and you can always upgrade from there if you get REALLY into it!
FOR CHILDREN
If you have a child that is interested in panning for gold another good option is the ASR Outdoor Gold Panning Kit with Paydirt Beginner Prospecting Equipment.
This kit is a lot more basic but still has enough for any child to have a great time panning. Most children won’t need more than a single pan, snuffer bottle, and gold vial.
The best part about this kit though is that it comes with what’s called Paydirt. Paydirt is dirt and sediment that contains REAL GOLD. It’s a great way to practice panning, even at home, and come away with real gold at the end. It’s a ton of fun for kids.
Each pay dirt bag contains fine gold flour and coarse gold flakes in the 20-30 mesh size range. If you want to practice without buying the kit you can buy more Paydirt here. It’s a lot of fun!
Individual gear recommendations (essentials)
If you would prefer to buy the gear individually, or just need a few specific pieces, we have some recommendations for those as well. These have served us well and balance between high quality and reasonable prices:
Gold pans
You will want to use both 14-inch and 10-inch gold pans because each serves a unique purpose. The 14-inch pan is ideal for processing larger volumes of material quickly, making it excellent for initial screening and rough panning.
The smaller 10-inch pan, however, provides greater control, making it easier to concentrate and separate fine gold particles during the final stages. You can get away with using just one but it’s a lot more difficult.
We would recommend the following pans to start:
Both black and green options will work well. It really just comes down to personal preference.
We would recommend that you avoid Estwing pans which have a good shape but tend to be flimsy and pans with small bottoms. A wide-bottomed pan is easier to pan with.
Classifiers and sieves
Classifiers are essential in gold panning to separate larger debris, such as rocks and gravel, from finer material that may contain gold. They are mesh screens, typically placed over a gold pan or bucket, allowing only smaller particles to pass through.
This step speeds up the panning process by filtering out unwanted material, making it easier to concentrate on potential gold-bearing sediment. Using classifiers also helps prevent gold from being lost in coarse sediment, increasing recovery efficiency.
Here is a short video showing you how they work:
A good set of classifiers to start with would be:
This set has three screens and is a great starting point. As you get more experienced you may buy more screens but that isn’t necessary right now.
Snuffer bottles
A snuffer bottle is a small, squeezable bottle used by gold panners to collect fine gold particles. After swirling the pan to separate gold from sediment, panners use the bottle’s suction to pick up visible gold flakes.
This tool helps secure tiny particles without losing them in the process. Here is a really good one:
Gold vials
A gold vial is a small container, usually made of glass or plastic, used by gold panners to store their collected gold flakes and nuggets securely. After extracting gold with a snuffer bottle or tweezers, panners transfer their finds into the vial, which keeps the gold safe and makes transportation easy.
You can use any kind of plastic vials you have lying around honestly. This isn’t specialized equipment. We like:
Crevice tools
A crevice tool is a narrow, pointed instrument used by gold panners to extract sediment from cracks and crevices in bedrock, where gold often accumulates. By reaching into these tight spaces, the crevice tool helps uncover gold deposits hidden in hard-to-reach areas, improving the chances of finding fine particles and nuggets.
You don’t need a special crevice tool, in fact, many experienced prospects use something like a screw driver or small crowbar. If you do want something more specialized you can try:
Hand trowels and small shovels
A hand trowel and small shovel are essential tools for gold panners to dig and collect sediment from stream beds or crevices where gold may settle. The shovel handles larger material removal, while the trowel is used for precise digging in tighter spaces, ensuring efficient collection of potentially gold-rich material.
You can use any small shovels you have lying around for this type of work. You don’t need any kind of special shovel to move dirt and rocks around!
A garden trowel like this is perfectly fine as well as any shovel that is easy for you to carry around.
Buckets
Any sturdy bucket you have or can find at a hardware store will work here. The main thing to consider is if you are using a classifier or sieve. If you are, you want to make sure that the classifier will fit securely on top of the bucket.
Most classifiers these days are made to fit on top of standard 5-gallon bucket sizes, like something you would get at Home Depot.
Additional gear worth considering
We’ve covered the essentials above, and those can get you pretty far, but if you REALLY want to start of strong you should consider buying a sluice. It will allow you to filter through A LOT more material than just a pan.
A sluice is a channel with riffles used by gold panners to separate gold from sediment. Positioned in a flowing stream, the sluice lets water carry lighter materials away, while heavier particles like gold settle behind the riffles. This process allows panners to process larger amounts of material efficiently.
With a sluice, the longer it is the harder it will be to set up so we recommend that beginners start off with something under two feet long. A great one to start with is:
Essential Metal Detecting Equipment
The other popular way for prospectors to find gold is by using a metal detector. This is a more expensive method for searching but it can often be faster and more lucrative.
Here is an overview of how it works and what it looks like:
If you want to try metal detecting for gold (and who doesn’t?) there are really only a few pieces of equipment you need to get started:
Metal detector
The metal detector you decide to start with will make or break your experience. There are a lot of metal detectors out there under $200-$300 and we have yet to find one that is actually worth recommending.
All the ones we have tried are so shoddy and prone to a LOT of errors. We spend all of our time digging in the ground to find nothing or junk.
The cheapest metal detector that we actually recommend is the Nokta Simplex Ultra Waterproof Metal Detector. It’s a very solid detector that you will be able to use for a long time. It isn’t “cheap” but it’s definitely on the low end of the price points for detectors.
If you want to actually find a decent amount of gold you need to invest a bit into your detecting equipment. If you’re not ready to commit at this level then you should absolutely try gold panning first. You can easily get started for under $50.
Pinpointer
A pinpointer is a handheld tool used by gold metal detectors to precisely locate small gold targets after detecting a general area. Once a detector signals gold, the pinpointer helps pinpoint its exact location within soil or rocks, speeding up recovery and reducing digging, which minimizes disturbance to the area.
There are several good pinpointers out there but we like the Garrett Pro Pointer. Again, there are much cheaper options out there but we really haven’t found any that are worth using. They are just so broad that they constantly beep even when gold isn’t anywhere close.
Rock pick
Last but not least, every gold prospector needs a solid rock pick. A rock pick or pickaxe is an essential tool for gold metal detectors to break up hard ground, rocks, or compacted soil where gold might be hidden.
After a metal detector indicates a potential target, the pickaxe allows prospectors to dig and expose deeper or buried material, improving access to gold deposits in challenging terrains.
You can use any combinate of pick, shovel, rock pick or pick axe here but we tend to recommend beginners go with something like Fiskars Pro Pickaxe 1.5 lb Mattock. It’s small enough to easily carry and durable enough for deep holes.
It will last a long time if you take care of it!
Now that we’ve covered our gear recommendations it’s time for you to decide on panning or metal detecting. Both are a ton of fun and can yield some great gold!
