Gold Prospectors Guide: Our Top Tools For the Modern Day Prospector

Upgrade Your Gold Prospecting Arsenal with these must-have tools to round out your gear.

If you’re new to prospecting and looking to build out your prospecting tool arsenal, the list below is a good place to start. If you’re a seasoned prospector, you probably own several of them. If I lost any one of these pieces of gear, I would replace it immediately. – Larry

Estwing 18″ Gad Pry Bar – You absolutley need this bar! Ridiculously lightweight. The foot lever works great for prying and levering large rocks out of the way. Do NOT mistake this for a normal pry bar. Great for scraping and breaking up compacted material. This is arguably one of the most useful prospecting tools you can own.

A blue and silver pencil with a ruler on top of it.

Wyeth Scott – 3 Ton Ratchet Puller With 35′ Of 5/16″ Amsteel Blue Rope
This is far and a way the best puller I have ever used. Built like a tank, the included block makes directional pulling a breeze. This is no ordinary come-along. The Amsteel Blue rope does NOT store energy. If your rigging comes off the load or you somehow manage to break the 10,000 lb rated rope, it simply falls to the ground. It won’t snap back. The rope also floats. When handling the rope, there are no wickers to hurt your hands and fingers. Simple to operate and NEVER fails or binds. If you’ve ever used an inferior come along you know how frustrating that can be. (A TOTAL GAME CHANGER)

A red hand winch with blue rope and two hooks.

Fiskars IscoCore Club Hammer – This hammer is AWESOME. Ultra shock absorbent and delivers a big blow. If you want to bust open a lot of rock and want to save your hands & wrists, this is the hammer to get.

A hammer with an orange handle and black handle.

OASIS MARINE 3700 GPH 12v Bilge Pump – A total workhorse. Great balance of performance and value. We have field tested this pump for 3 years now. This is the recommended pump for the GoldiBox Backpack Dredge.

Minelab PRO-Gold 15″ Dual Riffle Gold Pan – Our new favorite pan. The 15″ bottom is perfect and the finishing riffles work great. We love this pan. The gold “pops” against the blue color. If you’re looking for a new pan or want to replace your existing pan, this is a great choice.

Garrett Super Sluice 15″ Gold Pan – This was my go to pan for years until I cracked it. Huge 15″ bottom makes panning a dream. If you don’t go with the Minelab Pro pan (listed above), this is a great second choice.

Minelab Gold Monster 1000 – Ultra light. Simple to use. Super sensitive to fine gold. We seldom metal detect, but when we do, this is what we use. This unit is so darn light and it just works. From a value/performance perspective it’s a great metal detector for the beginner and veteran prospector alike. It won’t break the bank, is easy to use, and as mentioned before, it finds really small gold. Of course, it finds the bigger nugs too. This pleasantly surprises every time.

A metal detector with various accessories on it.

TUSA Freedom HD Scuba Diving Mask – Thin face? Larger nose? Trouble finding a mask that fits? This mask solves all those problems and provides a HUGE field of view. I love this mask!