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Beginner’s panning kit: I go with Garrett because too many of the others include pans you’ll eventually toss aside in favor of something better. Garrett makes a whole line of well designed, popular pans (I mention one below which isn’t in the kit but is a nice addition.) Check out the Garrett kit here. Side comment: here’s a great video from Dan Hurd on gold panning. Skip to the 5-minute mark to see him start the panning process if you are impatient lol!
Gold Pans: For use in the field, I like the Proline Professional pan, or the Garrett Supersluice pan. The Proline Professional 14” is lighter weight which is nice but the green one is a bit too light green colored to see small gold easily, so I go with the black instead. Grab one direct from the manufacturers here. The wide smooth bottom of that big dark green Garrett 15″ pan does an impressive job letting you see the smallest gold, even out in the field. And it’s tough enough to take anything you throw at it…or throw it at! You can even sit on it, but don’t. You can buy the Garrett by clicking on the image:
For finish panning, I prefer something much smaller. I use several inexpensive black 10” pans at once (see separate article on finish processing your cons below). These are small enough that you can finish pan with one into a Garrett Supersluice pan filled with water. Any smooth bottom black or dark green pan like this one or this one will do the job. Or maybe even better, this one includes a bunch of vials and a tweezers for just $0.26 more!
In-stream Sluices: I recommend sluice without metal riffles. My favorite used to be something from the
Angus Mackirk line but those are no longer available. After some testing, I got a Dream Mat multi-sluice which I absolutely love. It seems to hold onto the gold better than the McKirk when water levels vary and is almost as quick to clean out. It can also be run with unclassified material without losing gold – which is the “holy grail” of sluices as far as I am concerned! Making the switch to the Dream Mat sluice feeding unclassified material has increased my production by quite a bit. Here is the link to get a Dream Mat for yourself. The exact sluice I bought and now run regularly is the 10×38 Compact Combo Mat Sluice. Here’s a link to the slightly smaller version of the same thing which costs a bit less: 8×38 Compact Combo Mat Sluice If you want the exact one I use, just scroll to the bottom of that page to see the 10×38 version. Don’t feel compelled to buy the same one I have of course, they make lots of great sluices.
For higher water-flow conditions, I favor the Grizzly Goldtrap line of sluices, but they can be tough to find these days since they don’t really seem to be in production. If your favorite spot consistently has a lot of flow and you can’t find a Grizzly Goldtrap, I suggest getting a larger Dream Mat product, such as this one. But, whichever one you choose, use this discount code KS$5
By the way, I also use this Dream Mat in my Gold Cube along with the standard-issue vortex mats.
Highbankers: There’s really only one standout in the crowd – the Gold Cube. Add the trommel
topper to it and you have the easiest operating, most efficient one-person mining operation around. Set up right on the gold in the stream, use only 1200-2000 gallons per hour (trust me, that ain’t much, so your battery lasts a long time) and catch really fine gold. They say “cube it or lose it” for a reason. Use this link to get one: https://goldcube.net/ or read more about the Gold Cube and its various accessories here: https://findinggoldincolorado.com/using-a-gold-cube-in-colorado/
Drywashers: In 2016 I switched from a big Keene 151 (worked fine but far too big for 1-2 people) to the very backpack-able Whippet Drywasher. At under 15 pounds (including the battery!) its exceptionally easy to get to the dig site, even if you have a long hike from the road. Being a battery operated, puffer-style machine its quiet and pleasant to work around for hours. With a hopper which holds almost 5 gallons of material, it’ll keep up with you as you dig! Finally, the precision design means it catches much more fine gold (-50 mesh and even the -100 mesh which almost all other drywashers miss) than the big Keene I used to run. Expensive, precision made, light weight, worth it…but no longer available unless you find a used one. Can’t find a used one? Then I recommend getting a small, light weight, battery powered, puffer style machine. Drywashers eat a lot of dirt very quickly this means even the smaller units will keep up with you. Light weight means you can go over the hill to the next gully, that others are reluctant to trek to, with their heavier gear. Here’s an example https://www.keene.store/?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=DW212V
Finish Processing Gear: Take a look at this post on what to use and how to do your finish processing of your concentrates without fancy equipment. https://findinggoldincolorado.com/finish-processing-your-concentrates-after-a-day-of-digging/
Guide Books: Check out all of our books to help you find gold in Colorado https://findinggoldincolorado.com/fgicbooks/.
Also, if you get cold feet in the river put these on over your socks before you put your boots or waders
on. These socks are made of Polar Fleece and cut to fit over your boot socks, as shown in the picture. I love them so much; I bought two pair – they are amazing! Click the image to jump to them on Amazon https://amzn.to/3TdyJfc
Finally, consider joining the Facebook group ‘Finding Gold in Colorado’ to join the community of Colorado oriented gold prospectors and adventurers. Get your questions answered, advice found, and prospecting buddies arranged too!
This site costs money to keep up. The only way it pays for itself is shopping referrals. If you appreciate the info here, please click thru one of my Amazon ads the next time you want to shop online. It won’t cost you anything extra and it keeps the site going: www.findinggoldincolorado.com/shop-here/
What I suggest avoiding:
- Hungarian riffle-based sluices such as the Keene A52 (requires classifying, heavy, more difficult to run well – finicky). If you already have one of these, consider swapping out the guts with Gold Hog or Dream mats.
- Estwing pans (nice shape but too flimsy)
- Pans with small bottoms (a wide bottom is easier to pan with)
- Fancy gear meant to make finish processing of your concentrates easier. None of the fancy tools is as quick or effective as a good gold panner. Practice until you are good, watch some YouTube videos and scroll back up here to read my article on finish processing your concentrates the cheap and easy way!
14 thoughts on “Specific Gold Prospecting Gear Recommendations”
I use my Le Trap in Cache Creek. Not enough water to use a Bazooka or Grizzly Gold Trap; certainly not in August.
Thanks for the gold prospecting equipment recommendations! I know now what type of gear suits my needs since a friend invited me to search for gold in a landmine he knows. I guess I’ll go with Gold Cube’s Highbankers since it’s one of the most efficient one-person mining operations, as you’ve said. I also like what you said about what to avoid, such as the Hungarian riffle based sluices.
Have you ever used the the Dream mat conversion for a Gold Cube. If so, what is your opinion?
Yes! And I love it. My new standard setup 👍
Grizzley gold trap, explorer! Where can I get those extra long glove shown in the picture?
Thx. Heavy Pans to you!
You can get those at Harbor Freight. Another option is “trapper’s gloves” on Amazon. I like those better actually.
I hope it’s not too late for you to see my comment and question, Kevin. First of all thank you for your book, “Finding Gold in Colorado” — it’s a great book! Now, I gave a question… What Classifier size do you recommend for Colorado? I see a lot of people using 1/4, but I am not sure that is the right size for Colorado — by the way, I am a beginner prospector. Is the 1/8 Classifier better for the type of gold in Colorado?
Most of the time I use a 2 mesh because it’s faster and I don’t have to worry about losing a nugget!
Hi Kevin, based on your recommendation and link above I bought the Combo Dream Mat. I’ve used it 4 times so far and it seems to be working well catching fine gold in lower flow situations. I’ve still been classifying down to 1/2 inch, but you mention above that classifying isn’t required with these. I know I could significantly increase my production if I skipped classifying, but I guess I’ve been too paranoid about losing gold! Is there something unique about the design that alleviates the usual concerns about larger materials creating flow issues and leading to lost gold?
Yes, there is something unique about the spiral design. From the testing I have seen and my own usage, a rock rolling through will only very, very rarely disturb the gold hiding in one of the spirals. I haven’t seen the blowouts that you see in more traditional designs. Try it for yourself ad see how the sluice behaves.
That said, I would still be sure to classify if your material has any stickiness to it or actual clay. The classification process with break that up for you. On my claim, the overburden has some gold and isn’t sticky. I run that stuff straight through the sluice. Then when I get down to the sticky layer, which has the best gold, I start classifying to dissolve the sticky clay coating on the material. So, as you can see, I vary my technique based on the material I am running. That is what I really advise doing.