Banjo sluice/pan?

[Roscue2]

Saw one of these at a local store that dabbles a little in gold prospecting equipment. Wondering if anyone here has ever used one?

It literally looked like a banjo, where you would put the dirt in the bowl at the head, and the stem had the small strip of carpet running along its length. There's a video on it on utube showing that you operate it like a pan. Obviously, this product is for small prospecting outings, but it is interesting. HH and GL

 

[yankee joe]

Be ware, I think this just an other in long line of gimmics designed to separate the new unlearned prospector from his hard earned money. I have seen many of these items come and go over the last forty years. Such as the square gold pan, the spiral panner and the list goes on. The bottom line is it works, but you need to get the gold from the river first. I think the equipment designers need to spend there time on up grading dredges and high bankers first. Just my 2 cents.

 

[azdigger]

I bought one and have had NO LUCK at all , wished I would have bought a regular gold pan.....just my opinion but I think it is just a gimmick.

 

[tomtowns]

I bought one and have had NO LUCK at all , wished I would have bought a regular gold pan.....just my opinion but I think it is just a gimmick.

Yep...I've never tried one though. Stick to the tried and true....simple round pan....regular sluice.

 

[lmeidl]

The Banjo Pan is made by Mike Pung who also makes the Gold Cube. It is good for it's purpose, but is not intended to be an everyday pan. The theory is to use it to test an area. You need a little bit of water and you can pan it out a little quicker than a normal pan (depending on how quick you can pan). Look for a few bits of color in the riffles (same riffles as the Gold Cube) and decide if you want to dig that spot or move on to more fertile ground. Is it a gimmick? Not really, but you certainly don't need a Banjo Pan to find gold. I own one and have used it a bit. I would be more upset if people were selling them as the "must have" item for beginners, but if you have a little experience and want to add the Banjo Pan to your arsenal of equipment, then that's up to you. That's just my 2 cents.

 

[Walknstik]

I have noticed where Keene offers a wet/dry gold panning set that incorporates a banjo looking design in the bottom of the pan opposite the riffles. When set up for dry panning/sample testing the stem on this banjo provides the air flow coming from the compact air bellow foot pump via a plastic hose. Designed to give the dry pan'r another option. In a sense it turns your gold pan into a micro dry washer. Didn't mean to get a bit off-subject here just wanted to show that banjo shape and prospecting were meant for each other Ha!

 

[BobOso]

Here is how I use mine, it catches gold the quicksand concentrator misses.