I think I'm developing a mild Tesoro obsession..

jacobgosling

Full Member
Jun 4, 2020
121
123
Primary Interest:
Other
CC: GeoW

No man, get the Garrett! Nothing like picking pull tabs from grass roots! :tongue3:

g

Ouch! Meow! :cat:

I wonder how many of these detectors are 'Made in China' for 50 cents and sold in the USA for $600? Like Apple Products. If I could find a good 'Made in the USA' (amphibious) detector, that would way heavily into my decision.

Regards,

JG
 

pinenut

Bronze Member
Mar 15, 2016
1,024
1,363
where bigfoot roams
Detector(s) used
Various Tesoro - mostly Bandido II ÎĽMAX
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
CC: GeoW



Ouch! Meow! :cat:

I wonder how many of these detectors are 'Made in China' for 50 cents and sold in the USA for $600? Like Apple Products. If I could find a good 'Made in the USA' (amphibious) detector, that would way heavily into my decision.

Regards,

JG

Look at Tesoro’s water detectors. Not as fancy as some other brands with their multi frequencies and such, but well made and effective. I had a Tiger Shark for a while but really didn’t need it so bought a Sand Shark for doing salt beaches. No discrimination - but it goes very deep (it’s a PI detector). Nothing like pulling up bobby pins from over a foot down..
 

Mojave1

Full Member
Jul 2, 2018
162
280
NC
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Compadre- Garrett At Pro- Teknetics G2+
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Just watched a nice Compadre with 8" coil go for $180 on Ebay. Thats more than it cost new...lol.
 

OP
OP
F

FAT SEXY

Jr. Member
Sep 30, 2020
95
175
Texas
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Tejon
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I have the 5.75" Compadre.. which one is better in your opinion?
 

Mojave1

Full Member
Jul 2, 2018
162
280
NC
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Compadre- Garrett At Pro- Teknetics G2+
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
I have the 5.75" Compadre.. which one is better in your opinion?

I have used them all but prefer the 7 & 8 over the 5.75 mainly because I can get the tot lots done faster before the kids show up.
 

digger27

Bronze Member
May 18, 2011
1,506
3,225
I have the 5.75" Compadre.. which one is better in your opinion?

I have the older original 7" coil model that came out in this new form after they discontinued the Amigo.
Some say many of these are a bit more "sparky", a little hotter than the 5.75" coil models that came after.
Can't say this is true but I do know I am at least the third owner of this thing, Skiwhiz the previous owner did open it up and adjusted the sense up as high as possible before any chatter and I can guarantee you I love the thing and I will be the very last owner even though I also own a Mojave.
You just don't get rid of tools that work so well for any reason, in my mind.
It cost me $130 at the time, could be I could actually make a profit on this thing if I wanted to sell it now...don't care, ain't never going to happen.

I can say a very generous owner of a new 8" Compadre had it sent to me for testing and review for a couple of weeks before I sent it on to him and I liked it.
The disc was good, not exactly as razor sharp as mine where every zincoln always came in exactly the same as a dead-on 3:00 position on the disc knob but close enough for government work.
Also it seemed a bit deeper, a function of that slightly larger coil I expect.
The best thing is one of the most important super powers these things have, the uncanny ability to to double beep on targets near, next to it even leaning on big metal, is still there on that one and I assume all models...triple beep if that target is shallow.
I have a coin very close to this metal fence pole in this demonstration but I have also found targets actually leaning on big metal poles and bench legs in the past.
Also at least one coin sitting just a few inches directly under a thick metal step on tot lot equipment which shocked me at the time.
It does this effortlessly with the right swing speed.
To this day I have not used any detector/coil combination or settings that can replicate this as well as these things can do it, not even my Vaq even though I tried with a sniper coil and every setting I could think of.
None of them, except maybe the Mojave.

 

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Larsmed

Sr. Member
Jan 10, 2007
440
45
Greencovesprings, Florida
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Sandshark, bh jr.
Primary Interest:
Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
Tesoros are great machines! Only problems is if they develop any issues you may not be able to get them fixed since Tesoro is out of business.
 

Mojave1

Full Member
Jul 2, 2018
162
280
NC
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Compadre- Garrett At Pro- Teknetics G2+
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Well, I have my 4th one on the way. Always have wanted a Troy Shadow X2 and found a great deal on FB Marketplace. It has the 8x9 coil. May not get it till next week due to her work hours. Who would think you could get excited about buying a 20 year old detector....lol.
 

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777

Greenie
Mar 6, 2020
14
6
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
Well, I have my 4th one on the way. Always have wanted a Troy Shadow X2 and found a great deal on FB Marketplace. It has the 8x9 coil. May not get it till next week due to her work hours. Who would think you could get excited about buying a 20 year old detector....lol.

I have a Troy Shadow X2 with the original 7" coil...You will love it!
 

SAnVA

Tenderfoot
Feb 16, 2021
9
8
Craig County , Virginia
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Silver U-Max, and just ordered a new Tesoro Tejon today, 2/16/21
Primary Interest:
Relic Hunting
Not trying to hijack this thread but can you please tell me the difference in Tejon and Tejon black , I just ordered a Tejon today but I’m curious as to what the black is, thanks!
 

Woodsy

Sr. Member
Oct 26, 2018
313
229
Michigan
Detector(s) used
Tejon, Outlaw, Mojave, Nox 800, E-trac
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
The black had a bigger coil. I don't remember the size but I will tell you, I just purchased 10x13 for my Tejon and it is awesome.
 

eman1000

Hero Member
Feb 24, 2016
728
1,105
Elizabethtown, IN
Detector(s) used
XP Deus ORX, Etrac, F75, Simplex, MX5, V3i, Equinox, Tesoro Vaq, F22
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
No difference that I'm aware of. Just a larger coil which was really depressing at the time because everyone was waiting for Tesoro to release anything new and they for whatever mystery reason they never did. I had the Vaquero at the time they released a black version of it as well if I recall but I had great results with the stock coil and could hit a quarter at 10-12" no problem. If the 10x13 coil is even deeper then wow!

On a side note I have recently purchased Deeptech Vista X (Which I am hoping is very much like the Tejon but with two tones) I will do a full review of this machine for all the Tesoro fans.
 

steve1357

Hero Member
May 17, 2013
981
439
Arkansas
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Fisher Teknetics Garrett
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
May old Vaquero came with the stock 9x8, my new Black Vaquero came with the 11x8 DD.

So Id assume it was just a marketing idea...
 

Woodsy

Sr. Member
Oct 26, 2018
313
229
Michigan
Detector(s) used
Tejon, Outlaw, Mojave, Nox 800, E-trac
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
No difference that I'm aware of. Just a larger coil which was really depressing at the time because everyone was waiting for Tesoro to release anything new and they for whatever mystery reason they never did. I had the Vaquero at the time they released a black version of it as well if I recall but I had great results with the stock coil and could hit a quarter at 10-12" no problem. If the 10x13 coil is even deeper then wow!

On a side note I have recently purchased Deeptech Vista X (Which I am hoping is very much like the Tejon but with two tones) I will do a full review of this machine for all the Tesoro fans.

I sorta suspect that Tesoro sold their schematics to Deeptech. It seems that every metal detector they make is a spit and image of one of the Tesoros.

The 10x13 Mars Tiger coil has given me about an extra 5 inches on an air test, but it's waaaay too cold and snowy to take out and test it in the field.
 

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eyemustdigtreasure

Silver Member
Mar 2, 2013
3,596
5,576
California
Detector(s) used
Fisher Gold Bug Pro
Tesoro Cibola
Nokta Pointer; Phillips SHS5200 phones
Nokta Macro SIMPLEX +
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
CC: digger27

Wow! I am so grateful to receive such comprehensive and knowledgeable advice from an experience detectorist. I almost made a big mistake.

First question: is it possible to get both a good terrestrial and good 'waterproof' detector in one unit?

The Mill pond adjacent to my property is quite shallow. Whenever we have a major hurricane and a big runoff from the rains, the county opens the dam to let out most of the water in the pond. At such times, the stumps of cedar trees cut down hundreds of years ago are a foot above the waterline. The bottom of the pond is sandy in most places. I am very anxious to detect the bottom of that pond. I own about a quarter of its basin. The rest is owned by neighbours and friends, or reserved as Open Space. I am very tall, and will have no problem walking around with my head above water.

Second Question: Do you know anything about the Minelab Equinox 600? It seems like it would be good on land and in the water. About 3x pricier than the one I had in mind, but I'm willing to make the investment.

Best regards and mucho gratitude for the priceless advice.

JG

Not getting cash for this sell, but try looking hard at the Nokta Makro SIMPLEX for your first detector, you can't go too far wrong...! Now, all you have to do is get a good package deal in the process...!
 

pinenut

Bronze Member
Mar 15, 2016
1,024
1,363
where bigfoot roams
Detector(s) used
Various Tesoro - mostly Bandido II ÎĽMAX
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I sorta suspect that Tesoro sold their schematics to Deeptech. It seems that every metal detector they make is a spit and image of one of the Tesoros.

The 10x13 Mars Tiger coil has given me about an extra 5 inches on an air test, but it's waaaay too cold and snowy to take out and test it in the field.

Yeah; not fun at all, digging in frozen dirt. I once tried to go detecting when it was 22F out.. man, was that dumb..
 

Woodsy

Sr. Member
Oct 26, 2018
313
229
Michigan
Detector(s) used
Tejon, Outlaw, Mojave, Nox 800, E-trac
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
Yeah; not fun at all, digging in frozen dirt. I once tried to go detecting when it was 22F out.. man, was that dumb..

LOL.. yea, if you could get through the snow first. It is just terrible out here. Maybe in a month or so.???
 

Kitz

Jr. Member
Nov 12, 2017
84
82
Calgary, Alberta
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Mojave, Golden Umax, Bandido II Umax, Sand Shark. DeepTech Vista X. Minelab Vanquish 540.
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
I sorta suspect that Tesoro sold their schematics to Deeptech. It seems that every metal detector they make is a spit and image of one of the Tesoros.

The Vista X has only a couple of similarities to the Tejon, namely the dual discrimination and an under-the-control-box toggle switch to change modes. Actually, the X has two toggles that have the same functionality... kind of a weird design decision.

Other than that, the X is a completely different beast. Its recovery speed is better than the Tejon's, and having two tones, each with its own volume knob, is really useful. Much as I loved my Tejon, I ended up selling it to a friend who wanted a second one for use as a backup.

The X definitely doesn't look as good as the Tejon, but then again, no brand can match the elegance of a Tesoro :-)

I do wish some concentric coils were available for the X, but it seems like all manufacturers are giving up on concentrics and only making DDs these days.

-Ken
 

Woodsy

Sr. Member
Oct 26, 2018
313
229
Michigan
Detector(s) used
Tejon, Outlaw, Mojave, Nox 800, E-trac
Primary Interest:
Metal Detecting
The Vista X has only a couple of similarities to the Tejon, namely the dual discrimination and an under-the-control-box toggle switch to change modes. Actually, the X has two toggles that have the same functionality... kind of a weird design decision.

Other than that, the X is a completely different beast. Its recovery speed is better than the Tejon's, and having two tones, each with its own volume knob, is really useful. Much as I loved my Tejon, I ended up selling it to a friend who wanted a second one for use as a backup.

The X definitely doesn't look as good as the Tejon, but then again, no brand can match the elegance of a Tesoro :-)

I do wish some concentric coils were available for the X, but it seems like all manufacturers are giving up on concentrics and only making DDs these days.

-Ken

I am aware that it is an improved version I just faild to mention it. I'm going to guess that the other switch is for left-handed treasure hunters.
 

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