The Gold Rush Nugget Bucket is the next best way to go gold panning. It’s a compact gold panning set with all the tools you’ll need to find all sorts of hidden treasures- from gold to antique rocks.
You can trust this patented set to guide you on your journey to finding the next El Dorado. It can easily take small gold particles and collect them in a small bowl.
Whenever it’s ready, you can empty the bowl into the pan that comes with it. That’s it. A simplified gold panning process. No hassle. This set is made of USA high-quality plastic and only weighs 7 pounds!
The Gold Rush Nugget Bucket has everything you need on your journey to prospecting; you never have to worry about forgetting something and having to rush back home to get it again.
It comes with a lid that can also be converted into a convenient seat top. The top screen can gather big nuggets and rocks, followed by a smaller screen to gather the tinier pieces of gold.
After that comes the infamous patented funnel, which sits below both screens so in the end, what comes out of the funnel is gold and sand. Thankfully, it also comes with a suction bottle to collect the gold pieces from the pan and a vial to put these delicate pieces in later. The magnet inside the vial is perfect for getting all the black sand out of the pan.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a pro or a novice who’s just starting off in the world of prospecting, this little guy comes with its own instruction manual to make the whole process simple for you.
Are They Still an Active Company?
Yes, they are an active company and still in business.
How Did the Shark Tank Pitch Go?
Mark Peterson entered Shark Tank seeking an investment of $60,000 for 15% of the company. Mark is also the owner of the patent for the Gold Rush Nugget Bucket.
He shared how he came up with the idea when he was looking for something fun to do with his daughters. He also demonstrated how the product works and then opened the floor for questions.
Mark also shared what numbers he’s got so far, claiming that he’s invested $192,000 so far and has 2 patents. Plus he’s managed to get $290,000 in sales with a 70% margin, which is pretty good.
After that, Mark went out and was followed by Robert. Barbara wanted to try getting one for her husband but she was already out at that point.
Lori didn’t take it that seriously, dismissing it as a toy. Kevin offered $60,000 for 50% because he shared that he could see it doing well in retail.
At this point, Robert re-entered and offered $60,000 for 25% which was a much better deal than Kevin’s. Mark decided to go with Robert’s offer.
Our Review of Gold Rush Nugget Bucket
We tried out the Gold Rush Nugget Bucket for ourselves.
The good news is that the instructions on the manual were precise so it was easy to use. It tells you how to use the Nugget Bucket to find gold and store it safely. The water went in smoothly through the top screen, and no big nuggets gathered there so we knew there were none in our lot. The patented funnel seemed to work pretty well.
The bad news is that the patented funnel did let some black sand through into the pan and all we could get was some pieces of flower gold at the end.
The key point to bear in mind is that this is better suited to the hobby of gold panning rather than rough gold panning out in the wild. Sure, the Gold Rush Nugget Bucket is portable but it’s also pretty delicate.
Gold Rush Nugget Bucket Pros
- Great for small-scale gold panning
- High-quality plastic
- The kit has everything you might need, from tweezers to instruction manuals
Gold Rush Nugget Bucket Cons
- Not suited to rough environments
- Might be a struggle to set up
- Gold pieces might be too small
- Black sand gets through the funnel
Who is Gold Rush Nugget Bucket for?
The Gold Rush Nugget Bucket is for people who enjoy gold panning as a hobby and pros who’ve been doing it for quite some time and want to have a gold panning kit to use on the go.
Are There Any Alternatives?
Since this is an innovative novelty item, there aren’t going to be very many alternatives on the market.
The closest you can get is the Sluice Fox Gold Panning Supplies Kit with Sluice Box.
This too is a gold panning kit with a difference. It’s a 10-piece kit made of glass that weighs 2.74 KG. This has all the same supplies- tweezers, a scoop, metal pans, vials, and a suction bottle. The only difference is that instead of two screens, it’s shaped like a slide with a round pan-shaped funnel at the bottom to collect the slurry mix.
This seems better suited to rough gold panning adventures, not just because of its portability but also because it has a lot of expandable mechanisms in place. The Gold Rush Nugget Bucket might be a struggle to set up first before using. You can easily control the size of the operation and the flow with the Sluice Fox’s expandability.
Unlike the Gold Rush Nugget Bucket, it also appears to offer a rust resistant pick-and-hook set for getting into hard-to-reach places. These picks are pretty strong, made of oxidized steel.
Our Final Thoughts
The Gold Rush Nugget Bucket works best as a novelty gift item for novices just starting off or anyone who’s interested in gold panning. It’s convenient to use, has simple instructions on the manual and collects gold. It’s also surprisingly light weight and can be set up anywhere.
