| 1 | High-sensitivity compact detector | Very-low-frequency induction balance | 15–30 kHz | 15–20 cm concentric coil | Approximately 5–12 cm for foil packaging or small metal fragments | Small garden areas, picnic grounds, and shallow buried food packaging | Use low sensitivity near mineralized soil, sweep slowly, and check each signal from two directions. | ★★★★★ |
| 2 | General-purpose adjustable detector | Multi-frequency VLF | Simultaneous or selectable multi-frequency | 22–28 cm elliptical coil | Approximately 8–18 cm for aluminum foil, pull tabs, or small tins | Mixed soil conditions where foil and iron targets may appear together | Ground-balance before searching, use discrimination sparingly, and dig only repeatable signals. | ★★★★★ |
| 3 | Lightweight beginner detector | Single-frequency VLF | 8–12 kHz | 20–25 cm concentric coil | Approximately 6–15 cm for common metal wrappers or shallow containers | Easy, low-fatigue searches in parks and dry soil | Keep the coil level and close to the ground without striking hard surfaces; confirm targets with a handheld pinpointer. | ★★★★☆ |
| 4 | Saltwater-capable detector | Multi-frequency VLF with salt compensation | Multi-frequency | 20–28 cm waterproof elliptical coil | Approximately 5–15 cm in wet sand; less in highly conductive saltwater | Beaches and damp picnic areas where salt or moisture causes interference | Use beach or salt mode, reduce sensitivity if the detector becomes unstable, and rinse equipment with fresh water afterward. | ★★★★☆ |
| 5 | Large-coil depth-oriented detector | Low-frequency VLF | 5–8 kHz | 28–33 cm double-D coil | Approximately 12–25 cm for larger metal tins; weaker on very small foil | Open ground where the suspected target is a biscuit tin or larger metal container | Use slow, overlapping sweeps and avoid excessive discrimination, which can suppress weak or irregular signals. | ★★★★☆ |
| 6 | Pulse-induction detector | Pulse induction | Not normally specified as a single operating frequency | 25–35 cm mono or double-D coil | Approximately 15–30 cm for larger ferrous or non-ferrous containers | Highly mineralized soil, black sand, or ground where VLF detectors are unstable | Expect limited target identification; use a small recovery tool and carefully separate metal objects from food remains. | ★★★☆☆ |
| 7 | Pinpointer-assisted recovery setup | Handheld induction detector | Typically several kHz to tens of kHz | Integrated probe coil | Approximately 2–7 cm from the probe tip | Locating a shallow wrapper, tin edge, or small metal fragment after the main detector gives a signal | Scan the excavated soil and hole walls, recover targets with minimal digging, and fill every hole after inspection. | ★★★☆☆ |