What’s your preferred pan guys?
Most of us probably just use a pan to find a good spot to start digging so that we can then crank out a sluice box of some sort, and as we all know there are many different shapes and sizes out there. So what’s your preference? And why? Big rifles… Small rifles… 90 degree ruffles? Large or small base?
The reason I ask is selfish as I am on the hunt for a new pan and I realy am torn between a couple that I like the look of but I seem to be a bit of a moth to the shiny light of a big brand.
Please feel free to share your thoughts.
large black plastic pan, the gold shows up well , there cheap they work and you can do the dishes in them , or put them on your head upside down squint and pretend your a Chinese miner back in the day
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Can you please post a photo of how to wear it as a hat I would like to see this haha
Gidday mate. I’ve been using a black plastic pan with inset riffles rather than the protruding riffles, and that’s a great pan.
But like yourself, a moth to a flame. And upgraded to the minelab pro-gold pan set, which I have to say, I absolutely love. It’s got a nice large base to stratify material, great reasonably steep sides on it helps with speed. IMO. the blue of the pan actually shows gold up as well as a black pan, but shows up the black sands and concentrates heck of a lot better which is a great help prospecting. It also has micro rifles on a portion of the main pan, which I actually use frequently and find very useful Also comes with a few extra useful bits and Bob’s. And an excellent classifier.
I find the small pan extremely handy aswell. Cant recommend the kit enough tbh. Oh and it comes in a great little bag which, while some may say is abit gimmicky, is extremely useful.
Both double as a food dish at a pinch also or a hat ad previously mentioned 
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The last pan I bought was a metal pan, which is useful for cooking and ne other option that requires heat. Apart from that i have a green garret one, 1980s me thinks, and some regular black ones which i have picked up over time having been left behind by folks. They all do their job well, so cant really rate one over the other, the only thing I find is that a pan that doesnt flex under the weight of all the gold is best
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I prefer my black plastic. but I do use my vey small one for putting the gold in so it covers the bottom better for taking photos.
the steel one great if you sharpen the edges, throwing it at poaches like a Frisbee.
other usage of pans is a cold night in the tent they can be used as a bed pan. (that’s not your own pan )
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I prefer blue or green pans when cleaning up dredging concentrate as it provides a bit of contrast with the black sand if you’re trying to get the gold really clean.
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Cheers guys great info. Il ponder over all that b4 impulse buying I think
Blue pans are the best, particularly as blue and gold are exact opposites on a spectrum and so gold stands out better. As for pans I now use the new gold claw I’ve found it to be insanely fast yet it’s capture rate is as good as my proline regular model.
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Prefer the old time steel ones but no longer use it to conserve weight - instead use a larger black plastic.
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here is what i have done to one of my pans. cut a hole and put some packing round it and glued it all back . its called my speed pan all the gold just drops into the hole and stays there. very fast panning
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Interesting question and answers. As others more experienced and smarter than me have kinda said I think this is a bit like what kind of music you like to listen to. I hate indented riffles prefer outdented ones - but I am sure they still work for those that use them.
Sadly I’m not sure I have ever had enough gold in a pan for it to flex 8-( one day though!
As mentioned the metals ones do allow some versatility in heating - even just to dry off your gold in the wild - or a hottie for your sleeping bag - just a word to be careful not to burn yourself and drop it if you are drying gold or cooking! (not saying I have done that 
I prefer the pans like in kiwikeith pic - black three out-dented lines and an indent at the bottom (that is without the hole). That hole is kinda ingenious have to say, although how does that go if you have a lot of magnetite/hematite?
If you go plastic - sorry but Collingwood > Takaka - so never blue - only black and gold!
I have only ever had exterior ruffles but like the idea of indented rifles as it makes sense. I have just bought a blue one like this and will try out tomorrow. I realy appreciate all this feed back guys keep it coming