Metal Detector for Kids, DEWINNER 7.4 Inch Waterproof Kid Metal Detectors Gold Detector Lightweight Search Coil (24"-35") Adjustable Metal Detector for Junior & Youth with High Accuracy

Bought as Christmas presents for 2 grandsons and was a massive hit with both.

This is great fun for kids - didn’t find any real treasure but had great fun with it.You do need a 9v battery - but then you are good to go.It’s a reasonable price for a bit of fun, and the kids enjoyed it.Comes with a carry bag for storage, and a fork and trowel.It’s fun - it’s not meant to be a top of the range detector.We have nothing to compare it to - but seems to pick up discarded metal bits of rubbish.Once the weather improves no doubt the kids will want to go on another treasure hunt.

As ordered

Both the box this detector is delivered in, & the User's Manual, describe this as a Dewinner DE-237 Child Detector. Before my grand-daughter & I tested it, we (mostly me) assembled it, including inserting a 9V battery. We switched it on, then I placed the detection head close to my grand-daughter .. it failed to detect the child, even when I held against her jumper over her stomach! Not much of a child detector then!Inside, the user manual helpfully explained that it was in fact a metal detector "The metal detector is ready to play" - Yipee!So, more seriously, before use, the only adjustments available are the length of the handle & the angle of the detector head, or as they refer to it, the 'search coil', to best suit the user, to make it simple for them to gently sweep the 'search coil' over the surface, parallel to the ground being searched for hidden treasure. To operate the detector, the power switch at the front of the handle must first be turned on, which will momentarily light a red LED above it, which quickly changes to green to indicate the detector is ready to go detecting.To attempt to detect metal objects, the search coil must then be swung gently side to side, keeping the search coil close to the surface of the ground. It is OK for the surface of the search coil to get wet, but the pole/handle should be kept dry, to protect the electronics & to protect the metalwork from corrosion.Before searching with the metal detector, no calibration procedure has to be performed to set the sensitivity of the detector.During searching, the LCD display shows how much charge there is in the battery & shows 1, 2 or 3 part-concentric circles, to indicate radiation of signals into the earth below. If & when the search coil detects some metal, the red LED lights, beep sounds are emitted & the display indicates a horizontal target with an arrow pointing down through it. You must not swing the search coil over the ground too fast or you will miss getting a display of the target metal object.To encourage my grand-daughter, I had buried a few coins in a dug over but not yet planted part of my vegetable garden, placing them about an inch or so below the surface, plus a few other metal objects, such as a moderate-sized bolt & a large nut, similar depth, intending that biggish objects at shallow depth should be easily & reliably detected. I had noted where I placed them & was disappointed that even when the search head was moved slowly over them, they were not reliably & clearly displayed. Some I needed to dig into the surface for to make sure I had not mis-remembered their location, as they were not detected. Afterwards, I dropped the key to the rear door of our garage on the surface of the lawn & swept the search head over it; it generally provided temporary indication of its presence if the detector passed over it within an inch or 2 above its surface, but if no indication was forthcoming, I found that I could lower the centre of the search coil into contact with the key without getting the arrow & target indication. Such unreliability of indication of metal provides no incentive to children searching for treasure or ancient artifacts!Not surprisingly, my grand-daughter swiftly lost interest in metal detecting & we never got as far as awarding her any of the included stickers for detecting achievements.Whilst I did not expect this children's metal detector to be as sensitive & accurate as a several-hundred-pounds-worth adult/professional metal detector, it needs to be a lot more sensitive & accurate than this Dewinner one is if it is ever going to encourage them to take up metal detecting seriously, to make their fortune or to explore the past.Admittedly, this 'child detector'/metal detector does not cost a huge amount of money, but there must be better value-for-money to be found than this. Whilst I have not tested it to validate its claims, the DR.ÖTEK Metal Detector for Kids being sold on Amazon has far greater adjustability & claims to be able to detect metal objects down to 15 cm below the surface; its price is currently £59.49, roughly 40% more than this Dewinner one, but if it does what it says it can do, I would suggest it offers far better value. I am not recommending the £59.49 DR.ÖTEK Metal Detector for Kids I have mentioned here, because I have not tested it, what I am recommending is that you search widely & evaluate your options before buying a metal detector for your child, or children, because it will enthuse them only if it performs well for them.Having corresponded with Dewinner, it appears that the metal detector for kids which I received was typical product standard, not a particularly duff one. I am shocked that they market such a rubbish product. NOT RECOMMENDED – AVOID!

Just the right sort of present for my 7yr old grandson. He was thrilled. Easy to use and assemble anď good value for money.

When I first received this metal detector the packaging immediately made me chuckle, as the box says "Child Detector". Clearly a bit of a translation issue here, but that doesn't detract from the product itself. I'd say this is a good entry level detector for use by kids, as a entry point into the hobby. Assembly was easy enough, the detection range seems for be around 15-20cm.Overall a nice gift for kids who are interested in this hobby.

From the young man who this was purchased for....brilliant, I can go find stuff

Fairly easy to assemble in sections,plastic lightweight build all around materials ,basic and rudimentary design same as quality,10-15cmsscanning depth range, arm adjustment allowing approx 20cm .Great toy for younger kids.Overall is working ok-ish and fine detecting some of the metals, no major problems but on the expensive side as no value for money product.Other than that it could be ok for some .