Reviewing The Nokta FindX Pro

     The Nokta FindX and FindX Pro is an entry level metal detector with a friendly price that most beginners will no doubt be considering, quite possibly the reason you’re here reading this review! We took these detectors right past the test gardens out into the real world testing them out on the beach, and in the fields to help answer those questions that we receive on a regular basis. We totally understand the low cost market has become overloaded with metal detectors, and making the right choice at the entry level can be very important, because you could possibly end up with something that doesn’t meet the basic expected standard.

     The FindX most asked question falls right into the statement of being a beach detector because it has a beach search mode (one of the 3 or 4 search modes depending on the FindX model). The quick answer to “will it handle a saltwater beach?” is yes, the FindX will function perfectly fine on a saltwater beach! You might be wondering why this would be asked so often because after all it does have a beach search mode option right? Many people have been burned by these claims in the past by manufactures, thinking that “Beach Mode” will in fact function

perfectly fine on any beach! While a freshwater beach and a saltwater beach are very different with mineralization, most of these entry level metal detectors will not function very well on a saltwater beach where the sand is wet and conductive with heavy salt mineralization causing excessive chatter with false signals. A beginner detectorist can easily get frustrated trying to figure out why they are having issues in these conditions, not realizing that the metal detector wasn’t designed for a high conductive saltwater beach. Even some more expensive metal detectors not considered to be entry level at all, will in fact have the same issues in these conditions. While there are many options for beach detectorists, sometimes choosing the right metal detector can require a little research or contacting a reputable dealer like LMS Metal Detecting for advice.

     So now that you know the FindX could surely be considered a saltwater beach detector, let’s look at the differences between the FindX and FindX Pro. The Pro version is fully waterproof up to 16 feet deep (5m) where the standard model just has a waterproof coil, meaning the control panel should never be submersed into water or subject to heavy rain conditions without damage being caused to the metal detector. You’ll also notice the Pro model includes an additional Jewelry Search Mode… so you might be thinking about the beach again with all that lost jewelry found on vacation beaches. Let’s break it down some. Jewelry search mode will function rather well on all dry sand beaches, including a dry saltwater beach, but will become very unstable on a wet saltwater beach, again you’ll need to be running in the beach search mode program for a wet saltwater beach. So why not just continue to use beach search mode overall while hunting on the beach? Well, we noticed while testing the FindX that there are some advantages to using the jewelry search mode in the dry sand areas. An electro gold plated ring will sound much better in jewelry search mode than if you were using beach search mode. This also included field or park mode, the low quality ring just sounded better overall in jewelry mode, so one would be more likely to dig the target while not missing a ring! We won’t get into why it sounded better in jewelry mode… that would get us off the rails of just reviewing the FindX and into how metal detectors work! So, just remember beach mode for wet sand and tide hunting and switch up to jewelry mode for dry sand areas and you’ll do fine.

     Now onto looking at Field and Park modes and how they differ. As expected, the FindX will have a slightly better recovery speed on targets very close together in park mode, and jewelry mode, and less so in field mode where normally there is less trash with targets much further apart. We expected to see a little more depth gained in field mode, but really could not determine a noticeable difference. We also didn’t really notice a difference with sensitivity to smaller targets in either program, and will explain why a little further into this review.

     The FindX uses an operating frequency of 15KHz which is pretty common for entry level metal detectors, upgrading to a true multi frequency metal detector would be better, but not offered at this price range. Remember the beginner might not end up enjoying the hobby and decide it’s not for them. So trying things out at this price range is sometimes a wise decision.

It is important to keep in mind when making a decision, some accessories that can be purchased separately may have a huge impact on how enjoyable your experience could be. Proper digging tools, and/or a full size sand scoop, along with a pinpointer for making it easier to locate the target when trying to recover it will make for a much better day out!

     Overall through all of the testing we have done with the FindX, we have found it to be a very stable (even with the use of other high-end detectors in use nearby) an easy to use metal detector for the beginner wanting to give the hobby a try! However, we do want to mention one thing that was very noticeable while testing the FindX. We mentioned sensitivity a little bit earlier in this review and felt that we needed to explain in more detail our sensitivity conclusion. The beginner most likely won’t notice this at all, and we completely understand the reasoning for Nokta wanting to make this metal detector so user friendly for someone getting started as a good turn-on-and-go metal detector. While a more advanced user will notice that the metal detector is very stable. In fact, maybe too stable! We feel like the maximum sensitivity setting has purposely been throttled back to keep things in check for the new user learning how to metal detect, resulting in a lack of depth that might otherwise have been reached. As advanced users we found ourselves wanting to bump up the sensitivity level more than it will let you, reaching that unstable threshold level to help squeeze-out some more depth. So how deep will the FindX hit targets you might ask? We found it to be fine with coin sized targets at 6 to 7 inches maximum depth, while the sensitivity was maxed-out. Through all of the testing we never found a reason or need to lower the sensitivity from its maximum setting at all. This of course is not a deal breaker at this price range because the metal detector still does a fine job with what it’s been designed for. It is a good entry level metal detector that will function well under most all conditions without fussing with a lot of settings.

We suspect a new FindX user that has come to enjoy the outdoor sport of metal detecting will be happy overall with the purchase, and will most likely be looking into an upgrade maybe one year after getting started with the FindX or FindX Pro.

You also might find it useful to know that we are located very close to Myrtle Beach, and sometimes as an option we will recommend the FindX to customers who have contacted us in a frantic immediate need of help locating their lost ring on the beach. If they know about where it was lost and a reasonably short time (one day or less) has passed we will mention the option of locating it themselves with the purchase of a FindX metal detector, which is about the same cost that we charge for locating the lost item for them. With this metal detectors low cost, very short learning curve, and ability with some beach conditions they can normally recover the lost item without the need of calling in expert help. Also, if they choose to find it themselves, then they normally have just crossed the line into the wonderful world of metal detecting, with a brand new metal detector to play with on the beach after taking care of that lost ring situation!