The Prospector
The Prospector was born the moment the very first person pulled gold from the ground.
Hobby Miner Outlet (HMO) is a USA-based prospecting outfitter founded by people who actually use the gear they sell. Our proprietary equipment line is designed in Europe by Samuel Morgan under the H&H Concepts label, then manufactured and hand-inspected in Oregon from engineering-grade PETG. You won't find these designs anywhere else in the US.
For metal detection, we carry a curated selection of the best American-made brands — because if it's not made in the USA, we don't carry it.
We built the store we always wanted to buy from — because that store didn't exist. Not run by a warehouse picker, but by a prospector who knows what good gear feels like in the field.
Always be a responsible prospector. Backfill your holes, pack out your trash, and leave every site better than you found it. Access to these places is a privilege worth protecting.
One design from Europe. Everything else, American-made.
We don't import finished gear from overseas. A single European blueprint crosses the Atlantic once — then every piece is manufactured, sourced, and shipped from American soil. Our sourcing approach may not look like our competition, but our method ensures quality, durability, and attention to detail in every product we offer.
- EuropeDesign origin — Samuel Morgan
- OregonPans, sluices & classifiers
- CaliforniaDredges — coming soon
- TexasMetal detectors
- MontanaPaydirt — from an active claim
- ?ExpandingMore American sourcing — coming soon
Who makes your gear
Oregon
We build itWe design and build it — pans, sluices, highbankers and mats, manufactured to fit and hand-inspected.
Montana
Authorized dealerPaydirt straight from the mine owner — no repackagers between the claim and your pan.
Texas
Authorized dealerMetal detectors from First Texas — Fisher, Teknetics and Bounty Hunter, factory-authorized.
California
Authorized dealerProline mining equipment — authorized dealer. Dredges coming soon.
No middlemen. No rebrands. No warehouse pickers. Every product in this store has a name, a source, and a reason it's here. Hobby Miner Outlet (HMO) is our storefront — where you place orders and interact with our team. H&H Concepts is our in-house product design label, created by designer Samuel Morgan; products branded H&H Concepts are exclusive to HMO and manufactured under the same quality standards. Two names, one standard: USA-made, hand-inspected, built to last.
Why every pan is engineering-grade PETG.
Standard polypropylene pans go brittle in cold mountain water and chalk out under high-altitude UV. Morgan's riffle geometry only works if the material holds its edge — so we build the whole core line from engineering-grade PETG. Stiffer riffles, cleaner catch, no cracking at the creek.
See the Morgan CollectionBuilt to order. Test-fit before it ships.
We design unique, original solutions — not copies of what's already on the market. Every product is backed by field testing, material understanding, and direct miner feedback. Most of our gear isn't pulled off a dusty shelf — it's manufactured and hand-inspected when you order it, then test-fit before it leaves Oregon. We don't cut corners. We don't source cheaply. If it's in our store, it's built to perform.
Order
You check out. Your build cuts straight into the production queue — not onto a shelf.
Confirmation
We confirm the order and lock your spec. Progress emails start immediately.
Manufactured to Fit
Your unit is built to order in engineering-grade PETG — the current V2 spec, shaped by real field feedback.
Test-Fit QC
Every unit gets a hand test-fit. If anything's off, it doesn't ship — it gets rebuilt.
System Gift appliesShip
Hand-inspected, boxed, and on its way with tracking. In-stock gear ships in 3–5 business days; built-to-order units ship in 3–4 weeks — you're emailed your ship date within 48 hours, plus updates at each production milestone.
If the fit slips, you win.
We penalize ourselves for mistakes. If a fitting issue turns up during our own test-fit, we re-manufacture the part AND add a gift to your order — no claim, no argument, you never have to ask. You pay once; we pay if we mess up. That keeps every tolerance honest before your gear ever ships.
Cancel anytime before shipment for an instant full refund · progress emails at every stage: confirmed → building → inspected → tracking.
What we hold ourselves to that no one else in this industry does.
You pay once. We pay if we mess up. That keeps tolerance honest before your gear ever ships.
- We test-fit every unit before it ships.
- If the fit slips, we rebuild it and add a gift — no claim, no argument.
- We source direct from USA producers only — no middlemen, no rebrands.
- We use engineering-grade PETG when the industry uses cheap polypropylene.
- Every piece is hand-inspected by the owner before it leaves Oregon.
Results you can see in your vial
HMO is miner-focused. Dedicated to helping prospectors capture more gold — efficiently, affordably, and reliably. When miners tell us something isn't working, it goes straight to Samuel Morgan. If it can be engineered better, it will be.
We believe in results you can see in your vial.
European Inspired — USA Crafted — Built for the Hunt!
Dig deeper
Straight talk on gear, ground, and the rules of the river — written by people who actually run this equipment.
How European Ergonomics Changed Gold Panning
Why Samuel Morgan started with flow physics instead of tradition — and what a 7° riffle actually does to your catch rate.
Read field note → MaterialsPETG vs. Polypropylene: The Science of Cold-Water Panning
What happens to a cheap pan at 33°F, why riffles round off, and the real reason we build the whole core line from PETG.
Read field note →