“Waterproof” is the most misleading word in the detector industry, and it costs people money every year. There are three distinct levels, and manufacturers are not always careful to distinguish them.
1. Waterproof search coil only. The coil can be submerged; the control box cannot. Fine for wet grass, puddles and shallow wading where the box stays dry. Many entry-level machines are this — and describe themselves simply as “waterproof”.
2. Weather-resistant control box. Survives British rain, not submersion. Drop it in a stream and the claim expires with the warranty’s goodwill.
3. Fully submersible, with a published depth rating. The whole machine goes underwater to a stated depth. This is the only level that means what buyers assume “waterproof” means.
Most fully-submersible machines are rated to 5 metres — the Manticore, Equinox 900, X-Terra Elite and X-Terra Pro all sit here, as does the IP68-rated Legend 2. The XP Deus II stands apart at 20 metres — the only mainstream flagship genuinely built for diving.
Match the rating to what you actually do: wading and surf need 5m and honesty about which parts submerge; diving needs the Deus II class. When in doubt, ask us exactly what a rating covers — 01724 845608.
Honest advice for your ground and budget · 01724 845608 · Mon–Fri 9am–5pm · Sat 10am–12pm
Crawfords Metal Detectors is an authorised Minelab dealer and an official stockist of XP and Nokta. We test and sell the products we review.
