Nokta The Legend Metal Detector Reviews

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Retail Price: $749.00 (€662.00, £561.00)

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Nokta The Legend Can Be an Unrivaled Performer If Tuned Right

by Sergei UpstateNY, USA -
December 20, 2024

My review is based on my experience using the Nokta Legend metal detector since May 2023. This detector was extensively put through various air/bench tests, mineral effect tests, as well as experiments in my 100-target test garden and field-testing in real hunt sites under various search conditions.

If it were not for the almost daily testing, experimentation and use of the Legend throughout the first season, I would not have been able to discover a few remarkable capabilities of this detector that are not mentioned in the instruction manual (all the details will be given in my in-depth write-up - "The Truth about Nokta The Legend", which I am currently working on).

My review contains the pros and cons of the Legend metal detector, which were revealed either immediately or later during its testing and use. All the pros and cons will be described and explained in more detail in my future article mentioned above. The article will also include solutions (if any) to the problems associated with the cons described. In cases where only the manufacturer can correct the shortcomings, I included my suggestions to Nokta in this review.

Before outlining the pros and cons of the Legend, I would like to note that due to the incredibly low price of the Nokta Legend and its simplistic instruction manual, you should not think that this is just an ordinary mid-range, 'all-purpose' multi-frequency metal detector. 'Value for Money' does not apply here because, in some challenging metal detection situations, the Legend can outperform a competitor’s metal detector that costs two or three times more than the Legend.

In the fields, my Legend has done it several times when I used it side by side with competing detectors operated by experienced users! This was most likely due to the fact that all of the Legend's rivals - the latest multi-frequency metal detectors, lack certain features and settings that make a big difference. But the Legend has them all!

Here are examples of key features missing from competing metal detectors. The adjustable 'Audio Gain' setting is not available in the Minelab Equinox metal detectors. In the Minelab Manticore metal detector, this feature does not exist in a simple level-adjustable form as it only offers three factory preset options of modulation, is only available for three of the four audio modes, and requires menu diving to get to its selectable options.

Another adjustable key setting, 'Tone Volume', is not available in the XP Deus 2 machine. And there is one 'uncommon' adjustable feature in the Legend, that I call 'unintentionally muted Threshold' as it is not supposed to be in the firmware version v1.11, but it happens to be in mine. None of the Legend's multi-frequency rivals have this 'hidden' depth-increasing feature (it will be detailed in my future article).

Like its competitors, the Nokta Legend has multi-frequency options. The Legend's advantage over its competitors is that its multi-frequency performance can be greatly enhanced by the most advanced Tonal Discrimination and a wider range of customization compared to competitive metal detectors.

In my local hunt sites, the Legend outperforms the Minelab Equinox 600-900 metal detectors in low to moderate iron trash areas, and the XP Deus 2 in super trashy areas. The Deus 2 cannot compete with the Legend in such areas because the Deus 2 does not have the optional 6" (LG15) and 6x9" (LG24) 'sniper' coils that are available for the Legend. In less challenging search conditions, the Legend is on par with the XP Deus 2. By the way, the Legend outperforms the XP Deus 1 in all search conditions.

The Nokta Legend is a capable machine. If you fine-tune it right for any particular coin/relic hunting task under existing search conditions, you will turn your Legend into a high-performance metal detector that will allow you to complete your task with maximum results. Considering the pros I listed below, the Legend undoubtedly can be used professionally. But to do this, you need to fulfill all the requirements described in my future write-up.

In today's metal detecting reality, most hunt sites have been cleaned out of GOOD signals. The Legend gives me the opportunity to bring coin and relic hunting back to life at such sites by offering me wider avenues to create and use comprehensive combinations of settings ('search programs') that allow me to successfully complete previously unfeasible tasks.

These tasks, impossible to execute with the metal detectors I have used before, include discerning coins significantly disguised with ground mineralization, coins completely masked by iron, and coins that other modern multi-frequency metal detectors cannot distinguished from iron junk. By successfully performing these and several other challenging tasks, the Legend is able to make the 'pounded' sites productive again, thus bringing you lots of metal detecting fun!

That is why the Nokta Legend metal detector is now my workhorse for most coin and non-ferrous relic hunting tasks. All the other metal detectors in my arsenal are resting. And only some of them are rarely called into action when a certain coin/relic hunting activity needs to be done, and the Legend is not the best candidate for this due to its unbalanced weight, especially when the LG35 search coil is used. Because of it, the two types of coin/relic hunting activities for which I could but do not use the Legend are 'large search area reconnaissance' and 'deep coin cache hunting'.

After searching for coins/relics with my Legend and experimenting with it for two seasons, I eventually was able to define and summarize all the following pros and cons of this metal detector. Although there are 26 cons of the Legend outlined below, none of them are critical to the detector performance. However, I gave the Legend 4.5 stars because of these shortcomings, and Nokta should address them.

10 PROs of Nokta The Legend:

PRO #1:
'Built-To-Last' Construction of a Carbon-Fiber Telescopic Stem - Since I started testing and experimenting with the Nokta Legend metal detector in the fields almost daily in May 2023, putting the device together and disassembling it each time, I have not had any issues with its telescopic 3-piece stem so far. What I like about this stem is that you can lock it into place at whatever position you want, and it folds down small enough to fit in a medium-sized bag or backpack.

Because the stem has a trapezoidal cross-section, it does not wobble, and its lower shaft does not rotate on its axis - this makes it easy and quick to assemble the detector, especially in the dark, and eliminates imperfect alignment of the search coil with the control box. The latter has been an issue with Minelab metal detectors.

The rest of the Legend's mechanicals are remarkably sturdy as well. Other than a couple of minor issues with the searchcoil cover and the 'out-of-step' armrest design (see details in the 'Cons' section below), I have not had any of the mechanical issues that typically plague competing metal detectors. Such issues include cracked coil lugs, loose cam locks, a wobbly handle, a 'playful' control box (it can be moved left and right), a broken lower shaft, or a broken armrest.

Also worth mentioning is the angle between the upper shaft and the Legend's L-handle. This angle is less than that of other modern metal detectors with similar telescopic stems - which makes it easier, more accurate and less tiring to wiggle the coil while isolating a high-tone signal or maneuver the coil over uneven terrain and around surface obstacles. Also, the clever handle design also keeps your hand from riding up and rubbing the control box.

Finally, the Legend's construction is fully waterproof - which allows me to coin/relic hunt in the rain or snow, and also to quickly clean the Legend by simply submerging it in a stream or ditch of water nearby and brushing off any dirt from it. When metal detecting in the rain, I only keep Nokta wireless headphones under the hood of my rain jacket because these headphones are only weather resistant.

When I used the Legend with wired headphones to search for coins in a deep stream, I submerged it completely in water many times. The Legend's construction withstood the water pressure without a problem as I did not experience any leaks or dysfunctions.

• PRO #2:
Sufficient Assortment of 5 Search Coils - The Legend's coil options include two 'sniper' coils - 6"/15cm Round Double-D coil (Nokta LG15) and 9.5x6"/24x15cm Elliptical Double-D coil (Nokta LG24), a stock coil - 12x9"/30x23cm Elliptical Double-D (Nokta LG30), 11"/28cm Round Double-D coil (Nokta LG28) and 13.5x12.5"/35x31.5cm Elliptical Double-D coil (Nokta LG35)

This selection of search coils produced by Nokta itself is optimal because it undoubtedly covers the entire spectrum of metal detecting tasks and all possible metal detection situations. In other words, there is a coil for any search conditions you may encounter when detecting coins/relics.

Compared to its competitors, the Legend has the largest assortment of search coils. And this, of course, gives the Nokta Legend a huge advantage over all competing multi-frequency metal detectors.

For instance, the XP Deus 2 metal detector does not have a 'sniper' search coil in its limited assortment of coils and therefore cannot compete with the Legend in the 'nail blanket' area. The three searchcoils XP produces for the Deus 2 are 9"/22cm Round DD, 11"/28cm Round DD and 13x11"/33x28cm Elliptical DD.

The Minelab Equinox 900 metal detector also has only 3 search coils in its assortment of coils made by Minelab: 6"/15cm Round DD, 11"/28cm Round DD and 15x12"/38x30cm Elliptical DD. And there are also only 3 coils for Minelab Manticore - 8x5.5"/20x14cm Elliptical DD, 11"/28cm Round DD and 15x12"/38x30cm Elliptical DD.

If users of these two Minelab metal detectors need search coils that are different in size from the factory-made ones, they have no choice but to look for them on the aftermarket. However, aftermarket coils are not fine-tuned individually to any particular metal detector and therefore may cause reduced performance.

If the search conditions in your hunt sites do not vary much or your metal detecting objectives come down to only two or three, you do not need to have all five search coils available for the Legend. For example, in my case of coin/relic hunting mostly in the fields and in former homestead sites in wooded areas, I use mostly the 9.5x6" (LG24) and the 12x9" (LG30) coils - the highest performers in my sites.

The LG24 elliptical search coil provides some of the advantages of both LG15 and LG30 search coils. It provides excellent target separation similar to the LG15 coil, while providing greater area coverage and detection depth (close to that of the LG30 coil). And the LG30 elliptical search coil also provides adequate target separation while giving a broader sweep (covers more area) similar to that of the LG35 coil. Both LG24 and LG30 coils are capable of finding the largest and smallest of targets.

Once in a while, I use the 13.5x12.5" (LG35) coil to locate a coin cache when its presence is indicated by various clues at the site. And I use the 'sniper' 6"/15cm coil (LG15) in areas heavily littered with nails ('nail blankets') and/or other iron rubbish ('iron blankets'). This coil is a killer in heavy iron and at extremely trashy sites.

• PRO #3:
Attachable Spare Battery/Power Bank - Considering the Legend's low battery runtime (on average 12 hours) - which is the bane of all multi-frequency metal detectors today, the attachable spare battery is a must-have accessory. Another good reason to take it with you on every hunt is that you may miscalculate the remaining runtime of the built-in battery and end up with a dead battery in the middle of the hunt.

This has happened to me unexpectedly several times because the bars inside the battery icon are not designed to indicate a truly critically low battery level. Unfortunately, there is also no 'Low Battery' advance warning. A second before the battery is completely depleted, you will only hear a double low beep, the message 'Lo' will appear on the display, and the Legend will shuts down immediately!

When connected to the detector, the spare battery acts as a power bank that recharges the internal battery during metal detecting. This is definitely a clever solution to the common problem of the detector's internal battery draining when there is no way to recharge it in the field.

The charging time for the spare battery is longer than the charging time for the internal battery/power bank. Charging a depleted internal battery using a 5V 2A USB power adapter takes approximately 3-4 hours. Expect it to take 5-6 hours to charge a drained spare battery using the same adapter.

• PRO #4:
Unbelievably Long Battery Life of Wireless Headphones - I was really surprised to find out that the built-in battery of the Nokta wireless headphones can last 65 hours on a full charge! I used the Legend's 'Time Tracking' feature to determine such an insanely long battery runtime.

If I want to use the Legend with wireless headphones for six hours a day, these headphones will function almost 11 days without recharging! For comparison, the battery life of the Minelab Manticore headphones (ML105) is 35-40 hours, the Minelab Equinox headphones (ML85) - 35-40 hours, and the XP Deus 2 headphones (WS6, WSA II and WSA II XL) - only 14-17 hours.

• PRO #5:
The Legend's performance does not deteriorate in sub-zero temperatures - At the end of the 2023 season, I searched for coins/relics using the Legend until the first wet snow began to fall in mid-November. Temperatures dropped to -5°C (23°F) at night, and this was the best chance to test the Legend's performance in sub-zero temperatures.

Since the instruction manual does not specify an operating temperature range in the technical specifications section, I was not sure if the Legend would withstand freezing temperatures. Some modern metal detectors, including XP Deus 1 and 2, become dysfunctional at sub-zero temperatures. To my joy, the Legend withstood them very well as there were no glitches in the LCD screen, and the detector's performance did not deteriorate.

Unfortunately, I had to end the season when thick snow finally covered the ground, but the temperature had not yet dropped below -5°C. So, I was unable to determine the lower limit of the Legend's operating temperature range. But further testing at lower temperatures was not that important because, based on my own experience with 'winter metal detection', I can say that metal detecting in temperatures below -5°C is inconvenient and impractical unless you are metal detecting in wooded areas where the ground freezes to a depth of only 2-3 inches.

The main reason I do not recommend testing the Legend's sub-zero temperature limit during winter metal detecting is that the battery life of the built-in Li-Po battery may be permanently reduced by freezing temperatures. And this will be a big problem since the Legend's battery is not easy to replace.

• PRO #6:
The Lowest Price compared to all competing metal detectors makes the Nokta Legend the most affordable, high-performance, professional-grade multi-frequency metal detector on the market today. This is especially important when it is necessary to buy two more search coils - a 'sniper' coil and a large coil, in addition to the stock coil of a medium size in order to cover all possible coin/relic hunting situations.

The total price of the Legend with two optional search coils is around $1,068.00/€998.00 (MSRP). For comparison, let's look at how much it will cost to buy a competitor's metal detector with two additional coils. The Minelab Equinox 900 with two additional searchcoils will cost you $1,820.00/€1,701.00. The XP Deus 2 with two additional coils would go for $2,502.00/€2,333.00! And the price of the Minelab Manticore with two optional coils will be $2,985.00/€2,790.00!

Considering the Legend's remarkable capabilities that I have discovered through using this detector, experimenting with it, and field testing it together with several high-end machines, I can only say that the Legend is insanely underpriced!

• PRO #7:
The Most Advanced Tonal Discrimination - The level of effectiveness of any tonal metal detector, which is what the Nokta Legend primarily is, depends on the advancement level of its assortment of Tone Settings that are the basis for Tonal Discrimination. This level is reflected by the number of key features that allow the user to discern desired targets mostly by ear and use only fewer traditional techniques to verify questionable iron and non-ferrous targets in the most difficult cases.

Using Tonal Discrimination is the key to the most successful coin and non-iron relic hunting with the Legend. Tonal Discrimination allows you to maximize results while maintaining REASONABLE ear-friendly audio set to suit ANY personal preference and not rejecting undesirable metal objects. The latter means using 'Zero-Discrimination' (Discrimination pattern 'A') to avoid missing many desired targets.

By using Legend's Tonal Discrimination to its full potential, along with other key features, the user can create a wide variety of search sub-programs to successfully complete virtually any coin/relic hunting task that may arise during the search process. Not to mention several metal detecting tasks that, prior to the Legend's appearance, had been impossible to program and therefore impossible to perform with less advanced metal detectors. With those machines, only using old-school, time-consuming methods could save the day.

Of course, my statement about the Legend's ability to perform absolutely all coin hunting tasks is very subjective as it is based solely on my own experience using the Legend only in my local hunt sites. Since these sites represent a limited variety of search conditions, including the most challenging ones, I have no way of knowing whether the Legend could be programmed to operate effectively under other adverse conditions found in other parts of the world.

For me, the Legend's multi-function Tonal Discrimination makes this machine a top-notch tone detector and is certainly the basis for the Legend's surprisingly wide, if not the widest, range of customization (see below).

• PRO #8:
The Widest Range of Customization with a Minimum of Necessary Features allows the user to program the Nokta Legend to perform a wide variety of coin/relic hunting tasks. They include checking questionable targets, verifying deep low-, medium- or high-conductive coins, improving iffy signals for investigation, verifying deep coins and non-ferrous relics producing 'iron' signals, verifying iron objects that typically produce false positives, discerning faint responses from desired targets by means of 'inverse modulation', discerning coins partially masked by ground mineralization, identifying hot rocks, discerning coins that are partially masked by iron but cannot be separated from it, making 'undetectable' targets detectable by increasing detection depth without destabilizing the detector, distinguishing orientation-sensitive non-ferrous targets from ferrous targets of the same type, verifying aluminum foil, coke or steel bottle caps, unveiling good signals by muting minuscule trash without losing detection depth, verifying deep sizable metal objects or masses producing the same signals as those of shallow small trash, etc.

For all common coin/relic hunting situations, the Legend can be customized to perform on par with its more expensive competitors such as the Minelab Equinox 900, Minelab Manticore, and XP Deus 2, and even outperform them in a few challenging coin/relic detection tasks.

The Legend's wide range of customization allows the user to create different combinations of settings (custom search programs) to successfully detect coins/relics of any specific type and conductivity under any challenging search conditions. It also allows the user to fine-tune the Legend to any particular hunt site at a professional level. I should note that the Legend user can easily store and access 16 custom programs! Among the most advanced metal detectors on the market today, this is the largest number of user created/saved programs available in a metal detector.

Of course, the user's proficiency level foremost determines how well any customized search program will work in the existing search conditions. However, the total number of essential features and modes involved in creating the user program also plays a big role. Simply because the more key functions are customized and the more complex they are, the higher the chance of user error.

Since I specialize in coin and relic hunting, I only considered the customizable features and modes in the Legend that I typically use to program it for all coin/relic hunting tasks, both primary and secondary, that need to be performed on my hunt sites.

For comparison, I have counted the number of features and modes in rival metal detectors, that I would have to use in order to achieve similar effects in their performance at my hunt sites (although some effects may not be achieved due to the lack of certain features or appropriate search coils).

Here is what I got: 27 features in the Minelab Equinox 900, 35 features (some very complex) in the XP Deus 2, and 43 features (including a few complicated ones) in the Minelab Manticore. Based on this and the fact that there has not been a single coin/relic hunting task I could not program into the Legend so far, I consider the Legend a winner.

Another important aspect of customizing the detector is to adjust it to one's personal preferences. Of course, personal preferences play a big role in your experience with the detector, especially if you have hearing problems. But if you are new to the hobby, it will take you some time to develop your own preferences through active use of the detector and experimentation with it.

The Nokta Legend can be customized to match any personal preference. The advanced 'Tone' settings again play an important role in this as they allow you to make desired and unwanted targets sound the way you want them to sound. This means that you can assign any audio frequency and volume to any conductivity range so that its tone is pleasant or more perceptible to your ear. The 'Tone' settings provide a wide choice of sounds and sound offsets to suit not only different search conditions and search objectives, but also any personal preference.

Users who have suffered some hearing loss, including the natural loss of ability to hear low and high frequencies with age, will find the Legend's 'Tone Frequency' feature helpful. For users who have permanent hearing loss, the Legend has a customizable 'Vibration' feature. It provides feedback to the user by producing a vibration effect in the handle when a target is detected. Some other features allow you to set the detector stability level according to your tolerances, adjust the display backlight level for better visibility, adjust the detector audio depending on the environmental conditions, etc.

The Legend's wide range of settings can satisfy even greater user preferences. If you have previously used an advanced metal detector for a long period of time and got used to its way of reacting to certain types of desired targets, you can simulate not only its audio, but also its behavior towards such targets.

For example, I can make the Legend respond to tiny hammered coins with the same distinctive signal as that of the Minelab E-Trac metal detector. Having become accustomed to the specific sound characteristics of the responses from hammered coins detected by the E-Trac, I will definitely not miss a single hammered coin when searching for such coins with the Legend.!

Another good example is the simulation of the response of a Fisher F75+ metal detector equipped with a 15-inch search coil to a deep, medium-sized cache of coins. This case is a little more complicated than the previous one. It involves a medium-sized horseshoe buried deep enough to produce a weak response, and two cache simulators - a small 1-liter plastic container filled with copper coins buried 28"/70cm deep, and a medium-sized 2-liter ferrous can buried 35"/90cm deep.

Although the digital Legend does not have the same search mode specifically for cache hunting as that of the F75+, I can easily tune my Legend equipped with the LG35 coil (13.5x12.5" DD Elliptical coil) to indicate both 'coin caches' with a specific signal type which cannot be confused with the horseshoe response. As in the first example, since I know what signal to look for, I will not miss it or ignore it when coin cache hunting in real-life conditions.

It is important to note that the wide range of customization would not be beneficial if there was not a quick way to implement user search programs on the go while searching. Fortunately, this is possible with the Legend thanks to its user interface configuration (see details below). All of the Legend's competitors, except the XP Deus 2, do not offer such quick access to user programs and their quick activation.

All in all, the Legend has an advantage over its competitors when it comes to searching for coins and/or non-ferrous relics in areas depleted of clear 'coin-like' signals. This advantage lies in a combination of the user's ability to easily create a large number of effective custom programs, provided by the wide range of customization with a minimum of required features, and super quick switching between user programs.

• PRO #9:
Lightning-Fast Switching between Search Modes - This is one of the Legend's important characteristics as it is the basis for the 'Search & Investigate' style ('S&I' style) in which quick verification of targets plays an important role during the search.

Checking and identifying targets is based on the 'Mode Comparison' technique. Only by quickly switching between different search modes, pre-customized to identify specific properties of the detected targets, can you immediately identify good targets among the 'difficult' ones that produce either 'iffy' or 'iron-buzz' signals.

Thus, being able to quickly switch search modes on the go, you can achieve the highest finds rate and the best results with the Legend at the so-called 'searched-out' hunt sites, or sites that are still frequented by detectorists. Since any former home/village site typically has areas of low, medium, and high levels of iron trash, the 'Mode Comparison' technique is an effective tool not only for checking questionable targets, but also for quickly identifying nails and other iron junk without using a shovel.

The 'fast mode switching' technique significantly increases the efficiency and practicability of the 'Search and Investigate' style of coin/relic hunting in "hammered" hunt sites. Only those Legend users who hunt in this style can still find coins and non-ferrous relics in search areas that have long been cleaned out of one-way and two-way repeatable non-iron signals. Detectorists searching such areas in the traditional style, i.e. using just one search mode with custom settings, do not find much.

Searching in the 'S&I' style involves performing a combination of the primary task programmed in the appropriate Search Mode (the 'main' search program) and various target-checking and other sub-tasks pre-programmed in 3 more Search Modes (functioning as sub-programs) available in the User Profile setting. This combination of searching and immediate signal investigation is only possible thanks to the user-friendly interface and 'User Profile' configuration.

Each of 4 User Profiles available in the Nokta Legend metal detector contains 4 customizable search modes (displayed at the top of the main screen). Quick switching between them is done by pressing the 'left arrow' and 'right arrow' buttons. Whichever is pressed first depends on which search mode is used as the primary one.

During the search, switching modes can be easily done on the go with your thumb, without taking your hand off the handle. To check a 'difficult' target, you press one 'arrow' button once to enter the search mode that you have pre-configured for this auxiliary task. In less than 2 seconds you can begin examining the target. Once the target check is complete, you press the other 'arrow' button once to return to the primary search mode and continue metal detecting.

I should mention one very important capability of the Legend, which all of its multi-frequency rivals do not have. If during the search you have fine-tuned the mode-based settings of any currently used search mode to suit the changed search conditions, and you want to save them in this custom mode slot (the Legend has 16 of them!), you do not have to press any buttons to do so. In the Legend, all changes made to settings in any ACTIVE search mode are saved automatically!

This is super convenient because you do not need to interrupt your search to 'dive' into the menu in order to save new settings, as, for instance, users of the XP Deus multi-frequency metal detector must do. If the Deus user forgets to save the new settings before turning off the detector to take a tea break, he/she will have to adjust the same settings again after resuming the search.

The Minelab Equinox 900 metal detector has 8 preset Search Mode Profiles in which the user can modify and save, within certain limits, the current settings. But saving the customized settings is problematic because this requires pressing-and-holding the 'User Profile' button on the side of the control box. This cannot be done using just your thumb.

To save the current settings in the Equinox, you have to use both hands as you have to remove your hand from the handle to press that side-button while using another hand, that normally holds a shovel, to hold the control box firmly while pressing-and-holding the side-button. Of course, one can get used to this idiotic user-interface setup, so it is not a big problem.

The major problem with the Equinox 900 metal detector is that it does not have slots for saving custom profiles! The user can save only 1 combination of customized settings (1 'search program') to the 'User Profile'. And then the user can switch between only 2 different sets of custom settings: one in 'User Profile' and the other in the last-used Search Mode Profile.

One would think that at least switching between these two sets could be easy? No, because it is done by short pressing the same troublesome 'User Profile' side-button! In this case, lightning-fast switching between search modes on the go is out of question! Obviously, out of question is also switching between at least 3 custom programs - this is the required minimal number of custom sub-programs used for coin/relic hunting in the 'S&I' style.

If the Equinox 900 user encounters a 'questionable' target that requires a different set of 'target-checking' settings, the user will have to create and save that new set in the User Profile; thus, losing the current set of settings. If the user wants to activate a Search Mode Profile other than the one last used or the profile in the 'User Profile' slot, the user has to 'dive' into the menu.

It is not better for users of the Minelab Manticore metal detector as it also features the above-mentioned button on the side of the control box and, to switch to any other search mode, multiple button-presses are required. Its instruction manual does not even mention how to save custom search programs or user profiles! Why? Because this detector also does not have the ability to store customized search modes except for the current search mode that the user can modify and save as the 'Favorite' mode.

It looks like painless use of the 'S&I' style with the Minelab multi-frequency metal detectors is out of the question. Their users will have to dive into menus and tweak key settings every time they need to use a different 'target-checking' sub-program, conduct a different coin/relic detection task, or adapt the detector to changing search conditions during the search. It seems weird that Minelab multi-frequency devices, which provide users with excellent tools for creating custom search programs, give no place to store them with easy access.

Of all the Legend's rivals, only the XP Deus metal detectors offer their users the same quick '1-button-press' way to navigate between custom and factory preset search programs while searching for coins/relics using the 'S&I' style. It is done by pressing the '-' and '+' buttons. The Deus has 12 slots to store custom search programs.

With the Legend, the conveniently configured user interface allows the user to quickly switch between 16 customizable search modes, factory-programmed with unique operating algorithms. This allows the Legend user to hunt efficiently using the 'S&I' style, quickly verifying good targets among 'difficult' ones on the go. This is especially important when coin/relic hunting in sites that have been cleaned out of 1-way and 2-way repeatable 'coin-like' signals.

The 'fast mode switch' technique allows the user to save a lot of time by not digging up the true ferrous targets that produce weak iron signals or using time-consuming methods to identify such targets, especially when there are many weak iron signals in the search area. While this technique allows the user to switch between sub-programs that make up a 'composite' search program contained within the User Profile, there is another beneficial navigation technique (see below) that allows the user to switch between different composite custom programs.

• PRO #10:
Fast-Switching between User Profiles - This is another important navigation procedure that allows the user to quickly switch between 4 User Profiles available in the Nokta The Legend metal detector. Since each User Profile contains 4 customizable search modes that can serve as sub-programs making up a 'composite' search program ('main' program), the user can easily switch between 4 such programs on the go during the search.

Switching between two or three pre-customized composite programs is often required during coin/relic hunting in any former home/village site which typically contains areas of low, medium, and high levels of trash. Each of these areas has specific search conditions that require the use of a special combination of settings (search program) and the appropriate search coil to find coins/relics in this area.

I programmed my Legend with 4 composite search programs, one for each User Profile, to perform the following 4 main tasks in my hunt sites of former human habitation and activity: 'general coin & non-ferrous relic hunting', 'target separation', 'coin unmasking', and 'deep coin hunting'. So when I enter an area with different trash conditions or a different objective must be accomplished during my search, I quickly switch to the user profile containing the corresponding custom program instead of changing various settings in the current program. If necessary, I change the coil to the appropriate one and correctly re-ground balance my Legend.

This 'user profile switching' technique is not as lightning-fast as the 'mode switch' technique we discussed above; however, I consider it fast because it only takes a few more seconds to activate another 'main' custom program. To toggle between User Profiles, you navigate through them using just 3 buttons, and the total number of button-presses can be reduced to only 4 if you use a simple trick (it will be described in my future article).

Of all the Legend's rivals, only the XP Deus metal detectors offer their users easy switching between custom programs. In the Deus 2's sub-menu 'Programs', there are 12 empty slots for saving custom programs. Just like in the 'fast mode switching' procedure that we discussed earlier, the navigation through search programs in the Deus is done by pressing '+' and '-' buttons.

Switching between User Profiles with just a few 'button presses' on the go will allow you to continue to effectively detect desired targets without spending additional time adjusting and re-adjusting settings as your search conditions change. Plus, all changes to the settings you make are saved automatically! As you can see, the easy 'profile switch' technique gives the Legend user a great advantage when coin/relic hunting in variable search conditions and should therefore be used without hesitation. But I strongly recommend writing down all your combinations of settings and keeping them with you while metal detecting.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Author Info

Sergei UpstateNY

Sergei UpstateNY is the founder, designer, content writer, photographer and editor of MetalDetectingWorld.com. His main specialization is field testing of metal detectors and accessories provided by manufacturers in exchange for detailed test reports and articles published on this website. His extensive experience spans coin cache hunting, coin cluster hunting, coin shooting and relic hunting. Occupation: potato digger in farm fields.

Specifications of Nokta The Legend:

• Technology: VLF Multi-Frequency
• Frequencies: Multi(2), 4kHz, 10kHz, 15kHz, 20kHz, 40kHz
• Audio Frequencies: 100Hz - 1200Hz, Adjustable
• Construction: Waterproof up to 10ft (3m) deep
• Length: 25 - 52" (63 - 132cm), Adjustable
• Interchangeable Search Coils: Yes
• Search Coils: 11" (28 cm) and 6" (15 cm) DD Search Coils
• Arm Rest: Adjustable
• Arm Rest Strap: Yes
• Adjustable Shaft: Yes
• Apps: None
• GPS: No
• Depth Indication: Yes
• Control Box Mount: Standard
• Number of Frequencies: 5
• Exclusive Feature: FerroCheck to Inspect Trash Targets
• Programmable Target Id: Yes
• Target Id Segments: 60
• Audio Tones: 60
• Tone Volume: Yes
• Tone Break: Yes
• Tone Pitch: Yes
• Threshold: Adjustable
• Discrimination: Adjustable (All Metal, Ferrous Off, Ground Effect Off, Notch Discrimination)
• Notch Filter: Yes
• Pinpoint Mode: Yes
• Frequency Shift: Yes
• Noise Cancellation: Yes
• Adjustable Speed of Target Response
• Sensitivity Setting: 30 Levels
• Ground Balance: Automatic, Manual, Tracking
• Vibration Mode: Yes
• Search Modes: 4
• Search Mode Types: Beach, Park, Field, Gold Field
• Custom User Profiles: 4
• LED Search Flashlight: Yes
• Display Type: LCD
• Backlit Display: Yes
• Volume Control: Yes
• Bluetooth Compatible: Yes
• Digital Clock: Yes
• Time Tracker: Yes
• Interchangeable Headphones: Yes
• Headphones: Low-Latency Bluetooth Wireless Headphones (included)
• Battery: 5050mAh Lithium Polymer
• Battery Life: 8-20 hours, depending on the operating frequency and settings
• Rechargeable System: Yes
• Weight: 3 lbs. (1.4 kg)
• Warranty: 2 Year Limited Warranty