Best supporting kit
Best Metal Detecting Pouches: Finds, Trash and the Pinpointer
Quick answer
A finds pouch needs three compartments: one for finds, one for trash and a holster for the pinpointer. The CKG Finds and Digger Pouch at $24.99 has all three. For wet ground buy a mesh bottom that drains, such as the Mesh Bottom Beach Finds Pouch with pinpointer holster at $21.95.
A finds pouch is the least interesting purchase in detecting and one of the two or three that most changes a day in the field. Without one, small finds go into a trouser pocket where they rub against keys, trash goes back on the ground because your hands are full, and the pinpointer gets put down beside a hole and left there. All three of those are avoidable for less than thirty dollars.
There is really only one layout that works, and every good pouch is a variation on it: a large main pocket for trash, a separate smaller closed pocket for finds, and somewhere to keep the pinpointer that is not the main pocket. Everything else is materials and belt hardware. If you hunt wet ground or sand, add one requirement: the bottom has to let water out, or the pouch becomes a bag of wet grit that scratches everything in it. The coin storage page explains why that scratching matters more than it sounds.
Top pick
CKG Finds and Digger Pouch
CKG publishes separate compartments for finds and trash, a dedicated pinpointer pocket that suits all models, drainage holes in the base, dimensions of 8.2 by 3.9 by 11.8 inches and three mounting options, at $24.99.
Price was accurate when this page was compiled and changes often.
On this page
What does a finds pouch actually have to do?
Four jobs, and a pouch that fails any one of them will annoy you every time you use it. It has to hold a day's trash without you thinking about it, because the moment carrying trash becomes inconvenient people start leaving it in the hole, and that is how permissions get withdrawn. It has to keep finds away from that trash, because a silver coin rubbing against a bottle cap for three hours arrives home damaged. It has to keep the pinpointer where your hand expects to find it. And it has to open and close one handed, because the other hand is holding a detector.
The compartment count is therefore the specification that matters, not the volume. CKG publishes a dedicated pinpointer pocket and separate storage for finds on the CKG Finds and Digger Pouch. Serious Detecting publishes an interior zippered treasure pocket on the Mesh Bottom Beach Finds Pouch with pinpointer holster specifically to separate treasure from trash. XP publishes a large directly accessible pocket for worthless objects plus a small zipped pocket for important ones on the XP Finds Pouch with MOLLE attachment. Three makers, same idea, independently.
Belt hardware is the second thing people underestimate. A pouch that rides on a thin strap will sag and swing once it has two pounds of scrap in it, and a swinging pouch catches the coil on the backswing. Look for a proper webbing belt with a real buckle. Calces365 publishes a 52 inch belt on the Waterproof Mesh Waist Pouch and Serious Detecting publishes 43 inches on the Mesh Bottom Beach Finds Pouch with pinpointer holster, which matters if you are wearing waders or a coat over it.
Beginner: anything is better than a pocket
The first pouch does not need to be clever. It needs to exist, and it needs to be cheap enough that you buy it now rather than promising yourself one later. Both picks here cost less than a tank of fuel and both solve the main problem, which is that trash currently has nowhere to go.
Buy the mesh version if there is any chance of wet ground in your first season. A drained pouch is never worse than a solid one, and a solid one full of wet sand is genuinely unpleasant.
Garrett Camo Digger's Pouch
$19.99Small, cheap and very hard to damage, at $19.99. Garrett has sold this pattern for years and it is the pouch a very large number of detectorists end up with by default, which tells you something about how little there is to go wrong.
Best for: a first pouch for dry ground
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Waterproof Mesh Waist Pouch
$12.99Calces365 publishes a 52 inch belt, a 10 by 11 inch body, a mesh bottom that lets water flow through and two pockets with a carabiner, at $12.99. It is the least you can spend and still have finds, trash and drainage handled.
Best for: beach and wet ground on a strict budget
Check price on AmazonIntermediate: the three-compartment pouches
This is where the layout gets solved properly. Both picks below give you a finds pocket that closes, a trash pocket that does not, and somewhere for the pinpointer, and both drain. That combination is what stops you thinking about the pouch at all, which is the point.
The pinpointer pocket is the part worth paying for. A pinpointer loose in a trash compartment gets buried under scrap within an hour, and a pinpointer put down on the grass beside a hole is a pinpointer you will buy again. The pinpointer roundup covers the tools themselves.
CKG Finds and Digger Pouch
$24.99CKG publishes separate compartments for finds and trash, a universal pinpointer pocket, drainage holes so the bag stays clean, dimensions of 8.2 by 3.9 by 11.8 inches and three ways to mount it, at $24.99. It is the layout everything else is measured against.
Best for: general use on any ground
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Mesh Bottom Beach Finds Pouch with pinpointer holster
$21.95Serious Detecting publishes two large zipper pockets, a 10 inch deep zippered treasure bag, an interior zipped pocket to separate treasure from trash, a mesh bottom that sifts sand and water, and a 43 inch adjustable belt, at $21.95.
Best for: beach hunting and wading
Check price on AmazonExpert: the modular and long-session options
Two different answers here for two different problems. The Garrett All Terrain Dig Pouch is simply bigger, with a proper belt, for the kind of trashy urban site where a small pouch fills by mid-morning and you start making decisions you should not have to make. The XP Finds Pouch with MOLLE attachment takes the other route: MOLLE webbing, so you add a pinpointer holster and a bottle holder rather than buying a second pouch.
Add a dedicated holster to either if your pinpointer does not have a home. It is the cheapest insurance on this page against losing a tool that costs a hundred dollars or more.
Garrett All Terrain Dig Pouch
$29.99Garrett builds the All Terrain Dig Pouch larger than its camo pouch, with a proper belt and room for a full day of scrap, at $29.99. On a site that is three quarters trash, capacity is what decides whether you finish the hunt or the pouch does.
Best for: long sessions on heavily trashed ground
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XP Finds Pouch with MOLLE attachment
$26.68XP publishes a universal MOLLE attachment system, a large directly accessible pocket for worthless objects, a zipped pocket for important ones, a water drainage system in the base and full washability, at $26.68.
Best for: people who prefer to build their own belt setup
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Pinpointer Belt Holster
$13.99A heavy stitched nylon holster that fits most round or square pinpointers, with a belt loop and a snap and hook-and-loop back so it goes on without removing the belt, at $13.99. A pinpointer loose in a pouch is a pinpointer left in a field.
Best for: keeping the pinpointer on the belt rather than in the grass
Check price on AmazonWho should not buy this tier: Do not buy the Garrett All Terrain Dig Pouch if you mostly hunt clean pasture, because a large pouch worn empty swings on the belt and catches the coil on the backswing, and you will end up cinching it down to the size of the cheap one. Do not buy the XP Finds Pouch with MOLLE attachment for its MOLLE unless you actually intend to hang things off it: paid for as a plain pouch it is more expensive than the CKG Finds and Digger Pouch and has one fewer dedicated pocket. And do not buy a solid-bottomed pouch of any kind for beach work, no matter how good the rest of it is.
How do the pouches compare?
Read the drainage column if you hunt anywhere wet and the compartment column if you hunt anywhere trashy. Those are the two decisions.
Four of the six pouches in this catalog publish a draining base, and three publish a dedicated pinpointer pocket, which are the two features that decide whether a pouch works on wet or trashy ground.
| Pouch | Price | Drains | Pinpointer pocket | Published belt or size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waterproof Mesh Waist Pouch | $12.99 | Mesh bottom | No, two general pockets | 52 inch belt, 10 by 11 inch |
| Garrett Camo Diggers Pouch | $19.99 | Not stated in this listing | No | Not stated in this listing |
| Serious Detecting Mesh Bottom Pouch | $21.95 | Mesh bottom | Yes, holster included | 43 inch belt, 10 inch deep bag |
| CKG Finds and Digger Pouch | $24.99 | Drainage holes | Yes, fits all models | 8.2 by 3.9 by 11.8 inch |
| XP Finds Pouch | $26.68 | Drainage system in base | Via MOLLE, sold separately | Adjustable strap or MOLLE |
| Garrett All Terrain Dig Pouch | $29.99 | Not stated in this listing | No | Belt included, larger body |
Every figure is as published in the manufacturer listing for that product. Where a maker does not state drainage or a dimension, the cell says so rather than assuming. None of these are measured results.
Why does keeping finds and trash apart matter so much?
Because abrasion is permanent. A silver coin that has sat in soil for a century carries a surface that is worth more than the metal under it, and three hours in a pocket with a bottle cap and a handful of nails will take that surface off. The damage looks like cleaning and it is not reversible. A closed finds pocket costs nothing and prevents the entire category of loss, which is the same argument the coin care page makes at greater length about cleaning.
The trash side matters for a different reason. Every code of conduct in the hobby asks you to remove the scrap you dig, and every landowner who has let a detectorist onto their field remembers whether it came back tidier or not. A pouch with room for a day of nails and pull tabs is what makes that easy rather than virtuous. The code of conduct and the hole filling guide cover the rest of that ground.
There is a practical argument too. Sorting a mixed pouch on the tailgate at the end of a session is how small finds get dropped in gravel. If the good things are already in their own zipped pocket, the trash goes straight into the bin and you go home. The digging tools page covers the other half of a clean recovery.
How we chose
We did not test any of these pouches in person. Dimensions, belt lengths and pocket counts are taken from each manufacturer listing and stated as such, and where a maker does not publish a measurement we leave it out rather than estimating. Picks were chosen on one question: does the layout keep finds, trash and the pinpointer apart without you having to think about it.
Sources
- CKG Finds and Digger Pouch product listing
- Serious Detecting Mesh Bottom Beach Finds Pouch product listing
- XP Finds Pouch product listing
- Garrett Camo Digger and All Terrain Dig Pouch product listings
- Calces365 Waterproof Mesh Waist Pouch product listing
Frequently asked questions
Do I really need a separate pouch for trash?
You need somewhere for it that is not your hand or the hole. Whether that is a second compartment or a second pouch is preference, but mixing scrap with finds is how coins get scratched and how small items get lost when you tip everything out. Pouches like the CKG Finds and Digger Pouch solve it with one purchase by giving finds their own closed pocket.
Is a mesh bottom worth it if I never hunt the beach?
It is never a disadvantage, and it helps more often than you would expect. Wet grass, rain and river banks all put water and grit into a pouch, and a drained base means it dries between sessions instead of staying damp. If you only ever hunt dry parks the benefit is small, but it costs nothing extra on the Waterproof Mesh Waist Pouch at $12.99.
Should the pinpointer live in the pouch or in a holster?
A holster, if the pouch does not have a dedicated pocket. A pinpointer buried under an hour of scrap is a pinpointer you stop using, and one put down beside a hole is one you buy again. A Pinpointer Belt Holster at $13.99 fits most round or square models and clips on without removing your belt, and a lanyard is cheaper still.
How big should a finds pouch be?
Big enough for a session's trash on your worst site, which for most people is somewhere around the 10 by 11 inch class. Bigger than that and an empty pouch swings on the belt and catches the coil. If you regularly hunt urban ground where every second signal is scrap, the larger Garrett All Terrain Dig Pouch is the one that will not fill by mid-morning.
Can I just use a gardening apron or a tool pouch?
You can, and plenty of people do. What you give up is drainage, a closing finds pocket and a belt designed to carry weight low on the hip. A builder's pouch will hold trash perfectly well, so if you already own one, add a small zipped tin or bag inside it for finds and a separate holster for the pinpointer and you have most of the benefit.
Researched, not professional advice. This page is compiled from published specifications, manuals and owner-review consensus, not hands-on testing. Target ID numbers, depth figures and settings vary with soil chemistry, moisture, target size, depth, orientation and firmware version, so treat every figure here as a starting point and verify it against your own machine's manual and your own ground. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.