What equipment you need for a first collecting trip
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A first trip needs less than the catalogs suggest: a rock hammer or crack hammer, one or two chisels, safety glasses, leather gloves, a 10x hand lens, newspaper and bags for wrapping, a marker and notebook, a phone or GPS with offline maps, a first-aid kit, and more water than you think. That kit covers float, dumps and small exposures on most public land, and every item on it is a hand tool. BLM rules bar explosive, motorized and mechanical devices except metal detectors [1], and the Forest Service says "no mechanical equipment may be used" [2]. This page lists each item, what it is for, and what to add as you go further.
Prices for each item, checked at named retailers and dated, are on what it costs to start collecting.
Striking and splitting tools
| Item | What it does | First-trip choice |
|---|---|---|
| Rock pick (rock hammer) | A square striking face on one end, a pointed pick or a chisel edge on the other, for splitting small rocks and prying in soft ground | One, with a one-piece steel or fiberglass handle |
| Crack hammer (small sledge) | A heavy short-handled hammer for driving chisels and breaking larger rocks | One, if you plan to split rock or work an exposure |
| Cold chisels | Driven by a crack hammer to split rock along a line or cut around a crystal | One wide, one narrow |
| Pry bar | Moves loose blocks and opens cracks | A short one is enough at first |
| Small shovel or garden trowel | Moves soil and clay at a dig or pocket | A trowel for float sites |
| Wooden or plastic picks, old paintbrush | Clears clay from a crystal pocket without scratching | A chopstick and a brush cost almost nothing |
| Garden sieve or screen | Recovers loose crystals from pocket fill or gravel | Add when you start digging |
Never strike one hardened hammer face against another. Steel chips off and flies.
Eye, hand and body protection
| Item | Why |
|---|---|
| Safety glasses or goggles | Rock and steel chips fly at the face every time steel meets rock. Wear them whenever anyone near you is striking |
| Leather work gloves | Sharp edges, pinched fingers and blisters. For minerals with toxic elements, the National Park Service advises "neoprene gloves when handling minerals that contain potentially toxic elements" [3] |
| Sturdy boots with ankle support | Talus, dumps and wash gravel roll underfoot |
| Hard hat | Under a highwall, quarry face or road cut, or below other collectors on a slope |
| Long sleeves, sun hat, sunscreen | Desert and high country sun |
If you will be cutting or trimming material with toxic elements, COG 11/11 calls for "a good quality respirator," especially when specimens "are being cut or trimmed" [3]. Silica dust from cutting and grinding has its own page: silica dust from cutting, grinding and tumbling.
Looking and recording
| Item | Use |
|---|---|
| 10x hand lens (loupe) | Seeing crystal faces, luster and small crystals; the single most useful identification tool in the field |
| Small magnet | A quick check for magnetite and some meteorites |
| Field notebook with water-resistant pages, two pencils | Notes that work in rain and when the phone dies |
| Permanent marker and masking tape | Field numbers on wrapping and bags |
| Phone or handheld GPS with offline maps | Coordinates and navigation where there is no signal |
| Printed land status map | A backup that needs no battery |
What to write in the notebook is set out on field notes, written where you are standing.
Wrapping and carrying
| Item | Use |
|---|---|
| Newspaper, paper towels or tissue | Wrapping every specimen separately |
| Bubble wrap or foam scraps | Delicate crystals and clusters |
| Zip-top plastic bags in several sizes | Float pieces, small lots, and keeping wet specimens apart |
| Egg cartons or small rigid boxes | Small crystals that would crush in a bag |
| Cloth sample bags | Durable, breathable bags for sturdy rocks |
| Daypack, and a bucket or tray for the vehicle | Carrying out, and keeping the haul from shifting on the drive home |
How to wrap each kind of specimen and pack it for the drive is on getting specimens home intact.
Water, food and first aid
- Water. Mojave National Preserve recommends a minimum of one gallon per person per day, and two gallons per person per day for hikers in hot weather [4]. Carry extra in the vehicle.
- Food. More than you plan to eat, because trips run long.
- First-aid kit. Bandages, gauze, tape, tweezers for splinters and cactus spines, eye wash for grit, blister care, and any personal medications.
- Whistle and headlamp. For being found, and for walking out after dark.
- Hand wipes or soap and water. Wash before you eat, especially after handling dump material.
Which tools land managers allow
The short version: hand tools almost everywhere collecting is allowed; no power tools on most public land.
- BLM land. The regulation prohibits using "explosive, motorized or mechanical devices, except metal detectors" to collect [1].
- National forests. "No mechanical equipment may be used," and blasting materials and firearms are not to be used in collecting areas [2].
- National parks. Collecting is generally prohibited, so the question rarely arises; national parks and national monuments lists the few exceptions.
- Private land and fee digs. Whatever the owner or the site's terms allow.
Pans, sluices, dredges and metal detectors carry more detailed rules, compared agency by agency on which tools you may use on public land.
Adding to the kit after the first trip
After a trip or two you will know what you missed. Common additions are a longer pry bar, a set of chisels in several widths, a folding shovel, a sieve for gravel and pocket fill, a UV lamp for fluorescent minerals, and a GPS unit with a longer battery life than a phone. Buy each one when a trip shows you need it.
What the whole kit costs
Before you buy, compare the list against dated prices from named retailers on what it costs to start collecting, which also covers fee-dig and club costs for a first year.
References
- Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, 43 CFR 8365.1-5, *Property and resources* (read October 2026). https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/43/8365.1-5
- USDA Forest Service, *Rockhounding Guide*, FS-1091, June 2017. https://www.fs.usda.gov/media/229394
- McDonald, Greg, *Health and Safety Issues with Geological Specimens*, Conserve O Gram 11/11, National Park Service, September 2006. https://www.nps.gov/subjects/museums/upload/11-11_508.pdf
- National Park Service, Mojave National Preserve, *Safety* (last updated February 19, 2025). https://www.nps.gov/moja/planyourvisit/safety.htm
