The Backyard Prospectors editorial team creates research-led buying guides for recreational metal detecting and related recovery gear.
We compare manufacturer specifications, manuals, model status, included equipment, and current retail context. Each commercial article is organized around the reader’s actual decision: terrain, target type, water exposure, weight, controls, accessory compatibility, budget, and learning curve.
We do not present desk research as personal testing. If an article has not been field tested by us, its claims stay within published evidence and clearly explained inference. Conditions such as mineralization, salt, target orientation, sweep technique, and local access rules can change results, so we avoid guarantees about depth or finds.
Our editing standard is simple: answer the buying question early, name who should skip a product, keep product identities exact, and correct or consolidate pages that no longer serve a distinct search intent.
Read more about the process on the About page and in the editorial policy.