Take a look at any gold pan and unless you've been panning for some time you may wonder why pan "A" is different from pan "B". Some are plastic, some are metal, some have deep ridges and some are nearly smooth. They come in different colors, too. To figure out why they offer so many choices and which one is right for you, lets think about what we want them to do for us:
If you are choosing your first pan or one for the kids its OK to shop by price. After you've got some experience you will learn why there are choices of deep and shallow ridges around the sides of a gold pan.
Think about where you are planning to use that pan - most likely in shallow running water. Why? There may be gold to be found in a lake but it would be buried in sediment; to have a better chance of finding gold, you want to be able to scoop a little sand, swirl it lightly and watch it closely for the specks, flakes or nuggets that you came for. If the sand is a dark color, you want to use a pan that lets you see the sand easily so choose a light colored pan. If the sand particles are large like fine gravel you'll need a pan with deep ridges on the sides.
The ridges in the pans are to separate different weights of material. As you swirl your sample in a slightly tilted pan, the lighter material will settle at the highest ridges and can be carefully checked through as you pour off the lighter particles. These might be wood fragments, grass or tiny grains of sand. Then you can add more water and swirl more vigorously to get ever heavier sediment to separate off the same way. When you have run through these steps a few times you will find only large or heavy material left in the pan. Large chunks of gravel can be picked out or strained out and only the heaviest small particles will be left. It takes more skill and patience to get the same results with a smooth pan.
Gold pans are not a "one-size-fits-all" commodity, much depends on your own experience and the waters you will be working with so our best recommendations are to start basic and upgrade if and when you see a need for it. You may never need to upgrade.
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