Nokta Simplex Ultra

Brand: Nokta Legend

Simplex Ultra is the budget end of Nokta's waterproof line, sealed to 16 ft with a carbon fibre shaft that retracts to 25 inches. It works at a single frequency near 12 kHz, so it is not a salt water specialist like the multi frequency machines, but the dedicated beach mode plus manual ground balance handle damp sand and mild mineralisation without constant chatter. Wireless headphones, vibration alerts, a built in LED torch and free firmware updates come as standard, and the rechargeable pack lasts a long day.

Right choice for a beginner, a teenager or a grandparent hunting coins in shallow water, and light enough to swing for hours. Wrong choice for the wet slope of a heavily salted Atlantic beach at high sensitivity, where it loses depth to Equinox and Legend class detectors. Menu is short, which most owners treat as a feature.