Winbest Pro Edition Metal Detector by BARSKA

I picked up one of these metal detectors back in April, when they were on sale as a Lightening Deal. Years ago I had owned a metal detector and remembered we had a lot of fun using it - so I thought this might be neat to play with this summer. (And I was apparently right.)The metal detector I had over 20 years ago had been made of metal and had been pretty heavy (not to mention the weight all the C batteries it took to power it. This one by Winbest is very light, almost to the point it feels like a toy (several people asked me if it was a real metal detector after picking it up and discovering how light it is). Part of the reason for the light weight is this unit is powered by two 9-volt batteries - the main reason is it's made mostly out of plastic and aluminum. I like that it is so light weight, as that makes it easy to carry around and young kids can use it with no problems (the shaft length is adjustable which is good for kids who might be a bit lower to the ground than an adult).The metal detector comes disassembled - so there is some assembly required. Nothing too complicated, just attaching a few parts to other parts, and you don't even need any tools - everything screws together with knobs designed to be tightened with your fingers.Operation of this metal detector is pretty straight forward - you adjust the sensitivity and then sweep the head of the detector back and forth till you hear a squeal indicating the head is over some sort of metal. There are three knobs that control things - a volume knob for setting how loud the squeal will be (there is a headphone jack if you prefer to not bother other people), a knob for setting how sensitive the detector is (set too high and you get a lot of false positives), and a knob for adjusting what sort of metal the detector will detect (I recommend keeping this on the default setting). Plus there is an analog meter that displays a scale from 0-10 (if I remember right it's an indication of how strong a signal is - or how big a piece of metal is. I never really look at it as the sound of the squeal will tell you pretty much the same thing.)I can say we used this detector quite a bit this spring - when my relatives came down and stayed in one of the local RV parks I loaned it to them and they had a blast with it - even though they mainly just found old soda/beer can pull-tops. I think it's the possibility of discovering something of value that is what makes for the thrill.One thing I should mention - if you get a metal detector, don't use it around the outside of your home - or at least not within say 10 feet of it. The reason for that recommendation is that when houses get built there is a lot of trash left behind. So if you do explore near your house - expect to find a lot of bent nail, and other pieces of metal debris.We came up with a game using this metal detector. I have about a dozen of the old Eisenhower dollar coins (culls with the cladding flaking off), and we hide them in the grass and have someone try to find them within a set amount of time. Simple little game, but you would be surprised at how evolved people get playing it (not only the kids, the adults too).This metal detector can detect metal to about a 6" depth - least that has been my experience with the one I bought. Which is fine with me, the soil here is hard clay and you don't really want to dig a lot of holes (even small ones) deeper than that. The detector head is water proof - but I wouldn't use it in anything deeper than a few inches.So to wrap it up, I really am happy I bought this metal detector when I did - it's been a fun activity this summer, even if we didn't find any buried treasure (yet).Just in case it might be of interest to anyone, the box this comes in is big - but not overly large, 23 1/2" x 4 1/2" x 8".Review for - Winbest by Barska Pro Edition Metal Detector model BE11638

Excellent for finding your arrows and more on the range.For metal detecting like treasure hunting there is a learning curve. But I'm still trying:)

Put together easily. Excellent sensitivity. First thing I did was walk around the house and it easily located the sub floor nails so I knew it wasn't a lemon.. Good for wall studs too. Went outside in my crushed rock parking area and found quickly bits and pieces of various metals where over the years I had worked with car parts, plumbing things and electrical conduit boxes etc..Found most of the long ago shallow trenched power and telephone lines running between outbuildings. Recently had dug into my DSL line after forgetting it was there.Not real heavy duty but very adequately made for most careful people. Am eager to go to the beach and school swing sets to see what treasure fell into the sand. Will use it for property markers and finding lost nails when I re-roof soon. More than a toy but will eventually be used mostly for fun. I like it. Something that will make points with grand kids during birthday parties and beach outings. Maybe it'll save me a flat tire.Update Day 2: Got serious today and went out to look around a big cedar tree for a branch lopper head that came off the wooden handles and fell into the thick underbrush 2 years ago. I had then walked all over that root infested ground using a shovel to find the cutter head. No luck and I figured it had kicked off a branch on the way down and was forever lost, threw the handles away. TODAY I used the detector and in 2 minutes found a toothpaste tube. Then 5 minutes later the machine screamed at me and digging into the roots and peat I grabbed the cutter head. I then found two galvanized electrical conduit pipes in my scrap pile which fit the legs of the cutter head perfectly; with a few blows of a hammer. I now have a good looking, great cutting machine which pays most of the cost of the detector.

I'm new to metal detecting and wanted something economical to see if it was something I liked and since having this unit, I've been out every single day playing with it. It's a cheap unit that really has no bells or whistles but it does allow the user to weed out scrap metal however I'm still finding beer cans just not as many. I have found object nearly 8" in muddy soil and a small 4" piece of wire nearly 12" down in sandy soil. I did have trouble putting the item together as the adjustable stem kept falling off but nothing a rubber band couldn't fix to replace the plastic washer in the coupler joining the two poles together. (Of course I bought it used so a new one may not have that issue) As far as detecting metal, it works great and so far I've found a tennis ball filled with about 140 pennies, some hot wheels cars, and of course junk metal. It's a very accurate unit. Just don't expect much and you will be satisfied.Other than the issues out of the box with a used item, the detector has been a lot of fun but I will be upgrading to a better model soon. I'm sure this one will go to the kids to play with. If you don't mind some ingenuity to fix minor issues, this unit is a great first time trial detector. Better to go cheap first to see if you even like the hobby. I'm "sadly" hooked.5 stars if the unit wasn't missing parts, my only complaint for the seller.

I was admittedly leery about this purchase due to the low cost factor, to start I just want to say DON'T BE. My husband had been talking about wanting a metal detector for our annual trips to the beach and this one works great. He is more than please as everytime he has taken it out, the back yard that is now full of holes and the local park, he comes home with "treasure". Mostly coins but most exciting to him was a metal baseball bat he found in high weeds that retails for $249.00. The only reason I did not give 5 stars was as expected if you read the other reviews this metal detector could be just a smidge longer. Please know that my husband is well over 6 feet tall and that was is only complaint. Also noted, the little plastic part used to assemble the long rods together was a little tricky. But having read the reviews we knew what to expect. It took several attempts to get it together properly but knowing what we were in for made it not that big of a deal. Once together it is very durable, even able to withstand the abuse of four children ages 5-12 years dragging it around the back yard. Even the kids were able to dig up a dime and a quarter all on there own!!! Now if I can just get some one to come fix my lawn from the ditches they dug....that would be great;)