Nokta Double Score Multi-Frequency Waterproof Metal Detector

The Nokta Double Score is a waterproof simultaneous multi-frequency (SMF) metal detector for coins, jewelry and relics in parks, fields and on the beach. It runs either Multi (several frequencies at once) or a single 15 kHz frequency, and the whole detector is rated IP68, submersible to 5 meters (16 feet). It sits in the middle of the Nokta Score Series: over the Nokta Score it adds ground balance, iron filter, notch, recovery speed and user profile settings, and the Nokta Triple Score Pro Pack adds more frequencies, Relic mode and a second coil on top. Shoppers sometimes search for it as the Nokta Score 2, but Nokta sells it as the Double Score.

Who the Nokta Double Score is for, and when the Nokta Score is enough

When customers ask us whether the Nokta Double Score is worth the extra money over the Nokta Score, we tell them they are not necessarily buying a detector that goes deeper or finds more targets. They are buying more control over how the detector behaves when conditions are not ideal. Both models use the same simultaneous multi-frequency technology, which is a big advantage at this price point.

The Nokta Score is the right buy if you mostly hunt coins and jewelry in ordinary parks and yards, want to keep the cost down, and would rather turn it on, pick a search mode and dig. You are not giving up the core detection technology. A beginner who runs the Score correctly can do better than someone running the Double Score on poorly chosen settings, and more adjustment can work against you if you change things without a reason.

The Nokta Double Score is the one we lean toward for someone who expects to detect a lot, likes learning how the equipment works, or wants room to grow. A first detector often spends its first months in parks and yards. Six months later the same person may want old homesteads, relic ground or tougher soil, and that is when the Double Score's extra settings start paying off, without replacing the detector.

What the Nokta Double Score's extra settings do in use

• Recovery speed (1 to 3): sets how quickly the Nokta Double Score is ready for the next target. Around an old farmhouse, where a good target can sit right next to a nail, a faster setting helps pick the good signal out of the iron. The trade-off: a faster setting may reduce the strength of some deeper responses, so we would not use the fastest setting everywhere; a slower one in a clean field may preserve stronger responses from deeper targets.
• Ground balance (Automatic, Manual or Tracking): lets you match the detector to the soil. Clean sandy soil, mineralized ground and wet saltwater beaches all respond differently. If you always hunt mild ground this may make little difference; if you travel or hunt varied sites, it is useful flexibility.
• Iron filter (0 to 9) and notch: the iron filter controls how strongly iron is rejected, and notch accepts or rejects target IDs two at a time. Raising it may reduce misleading iron responses, but a brass button next to a rusty nail can give a mixed response that an aggressive setting rejects, so on difficult historical sites we would try lower settings, even if you dig more iron.
• Four discrimination patterns: All Metal, Ground Off, Ferrous Off and a Custom pattern, cycled with one button. The Double Score shows target IDs from 1 to 60, grouped into 30 discrimination segments of two IDs each.
• Three Multi settings in Park and Field mode: Nokta's manual describes M1 as favoring high conductors, M2 as favoring low conductors, and M3 as suited to wet or conductive soil, with weaker responses to coke and foil. You can also switch to a single 15 kHz frequency in Park and Field. Beach mode runs Multi only.
• Sensitivity 1 to 10 and two user profiles: twice the sensitivity steps of the Score, and two saved setups so a beach setting and a park setting are one selection apart.
• Deep Target Identification (dt): a setting added in Nokta's system software V1.2, adjustable up to 6. Nokta notes that higher values may reduce stability. Software updates install from a Windows or Mac computer with Nokta's update tool.

Nokta Double Score waterproofing, weight and battery

Nokta rates the Double Score IP68, fully submersible to 5 meters (16 feet), and that rating covers the control box as well as the SC30 waterproof search coil. After saltwater use Nokta asks you to rinse the control box, shaft and coil with tap water and make sure no salt water stays in the connectors.

Nokta lists the Nokta Double Score at 1.2 kg (2.6 lb) including the search coil; the 3250 mAh lithium polymer battery is built in. The upper and lower shafts are carbon fiber, and the shaft adjusts from 63 to 132 cm (25 to 52 inches).

Battery life depends on settings. The Nokta product page says up to 12 hours; the Nokta manual gives 5 to 12 hours depending on frequency, speaker or headphone use, backlight and flashlight. A full charge from empty takes about 3 to 4 hours from a 5V 2A USB adapter. Nokta also makes a 5500 mAh waterproof spare battery for the Double Score.

What is in the box with the Nokta Double Score

Nokta's standard contents for the Double Score

• Nokta Double Score system box (control box and carbon fiber shafts)
• SC30 waterproof DD search coil, 30 x 23 cm (12 x 9 inches), with coil cover
• USB charging and data cable

Nokta covers the Double Score with a 3-year warranty.

Headphones, coils and accessories that fit the Nokta Double Score

Bluetooth headphones: the Nokta Double Score has Bluetooth built in and shows when it is connected with aptX Low Latency, so low-latency Bluetooth headphones are the natural match. You can also set it to play through the speaker and the headphones at the same time. See our metal detector headphones. Nokta's Bluetooth headphones are not waterproof, so plan on wired waterproof headphones if you will put the detector and your head under; Nokta makes its own waterproof headphones.

Wired headphones: wired headphones and the charger share one socket on the Nokta Double Score, so you cannot charge from a power bank and use wired headphones at once.

Search coils: the Nokta Double Score takes the Score Series coils: the SC24 (24 x 15 cm, 9.5 x 6 inches) for tight trash and the SC35 (35 x 31.5 cm, 13.5 x 12.5 inches) for covering open ground, alongside the standard SC30.

Pinpointing: the Nokta Double Score has a built-in pinpoint mode with depth indicator. A separate handheld pinpointer still speeds up recovery, and works on its own alongside the detector.

Where the Nokta Double Score works well, and where it does not

Trashy parks: Nokta recommends the M3 Multi setting in Park mode for trashy sites, and a faster recovery speed helps the detector respond more distinctly to closely spaced targets in a park full of foil and modern trash.

Iron-heavy homesites and fields: this is where the Nokta Double Score earns its place over the Score. Recovery speed, iron filter and notch give an experienced operator more ways to work a good target out of nails and fencing. It will not automatically find a target the Score misses, but it gives you more room to set the detector for difficult ground.

Beaches and shallow water: Beach mode runs Multi only and is meant for dry sand, wet sand and underwater use, with a warning icon on black sand. The IP68 rating lets you wade and submerge the whole detector. For more beach choices, see our beach metal detectors.

Where to look elsewhere: Relic mode, the 4 and 20 kHz single frequencies and adjustable tones, threshold and bottle cap rejection start with the Triple Score Pro Pack, the next step up. The Nokta Double Score is also not built as a gold nugget detector: its three search modes are Park, Field and Beach, with no gold prospecting mode.

Nokta Double Score vs Nokta Score vs Nokta Triple Score

Our advice: if keeping the cost down and getting a capable, straightforward multi-frequency detector is the priority, buy the Nokta Score. If you expect to detect a lot, enjoy learning your equipment or want more flexibility as your experience grows, the Nokta Double Score is worth considering. The reason to spend more is not that it finds more treasure on its own; it gives you more ways to adapt the detector when conditions get difficult. For the rest of the range, see our guide to the best Nokta metal detectors.