Description
Fine gold does not usually escape because you panned badly. It escapes because a smooth pan gives it nothing to hold onto. The XP Gold Pan 37 cm (15 in) is built around that single problem: four distinct working zones on one pan wall, each doing a different job, so material gets progressively poorer and your gold stays put.
The four panning zones
XP calls it Z4, and it is the reason this pan works differently from a conventional two-riffle pan. Instead of one texture across the whole wall, you get four surfaces and you rotate the pan to use whichever the material needs:
| Large 90 degree riffles | The first clearing step. Ideal for washing off bulk and capturing large to medium sized gold. |
| Mini riffles | A higher level of separation between sand and gold. They trap small gold dust and let the sand drain away. |
| Snake skin texture | XP's own surface, used where a conventional pan has a smooth sandy zone. It grips fine gold during the final finishing stage, and XP rates it more efficient than the conventional approach. |
| Wide flat base | Large capacity and a stable working floor, so a full pan is still controllable. |
| Blue color | Blue is complementary to yellow, which gives the best contrast against gold. You will spot color you would miss in a black pan. |
Why the 15 in size
This is the all-rounder and the pan most people should own first. At 37 cm (15 in) it holds enough material to make real progress on a creek, while the flat base keeps a heavy pan from becoming a wrestling match. It is the working pan: you move volume with it, then finish the last concentrate in something smaller.
Pair it with
A pan alone is half the job. Screen your material first with the XP Gold Classifier #10 (10 mm mesh) and then the XP Gold Classifier #5 (5 mm) if you want a second, finer cut. For finishing, the smaller XP Gold Pan 27 cm (11 in) takes the concentrate down to color. If you want all of it in one box, the XP Gold Pan Premium Kit pairs both pans with both classifiers and the collecting accessories, and the XP Gold Pan Starter Kit pairs this pan with the #10 classifier.
Who it is for
Anyone panning a creek for real: first-timers who want one good pan instead of two bad ones, and experienced prospectors who want the snake skin surface for the finishing stage. It also stacks with the other XP pans and classifiers, so it travels as part of one compact unit.
Where this fits
Our Gold Recovery Equipment Guide explains the full chain from digging to bottling and where a pan does and does not earn its keep, or browse the rest of our gold recovery equipment. XP designed this range to pair with their high frequency XP metal detectors.
Who you are buying from
History Seekers is a small American business and a working detecting channel: over 1.1 million people follow our hunts on Facebook and YouTube. We are an authorized XP dealer, everyone here detects and prospects, and the person who answers your call has real dirt time.
The story is more important than the artifact.