Tesoro Golden uMax, The Outlaw, Vaquero.

[doggoneitdignit]

If you were to chose from the list of these three Tesoro detectors no others what would you not be without? And list from favorite to least and why? I only have one, but would like to own others some day for a good price, but mine would be.

1.Vaquero for Ground Balance and depth.
2.Golden uMax Notch width discrimination and 4 Tone offset capabilities hands down.
3.Outlaw for 3 coil offer and discrimination/pinpointing/retune.

Then a Tejon and a Compadre 8"

 

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[luvsdux]

I'd hold on to the Vaq and/or the outlaw, in that order.
luvsdux

 

[pinenut]

If only one, from that list it would be Outlaw.

 

[digger27]

The Golden is supposed to be great for quick brooming parks for coins and jewelry.
Good luck finding one at a decent price nowadays.

The Outlaw's ability to disc out dimes but still get quarters sounds neat.
Not a deal breaker for me regarding choice but it still sounds cool.

The Vaq I own, some of the things I have seen it do and the depths I have dug to on a few targets have literally dropped my jaw...I don't use it all the time but once in awhile I still do so I will never get rid of it.
I also have a Compadre and love that thing to death.
I have never swung any other Tesoros so these are all I know but I am happy.

Twice I have come across two large gold class rings with mine, the cool thing is they were in different parks miles apart but both exactly the same from the same high school although different years and sizes.
I can say the tones I heard when I swung over them is something that became my holy grail sound, so unique, sweet and clear that every time I pull out either one that is the one sound I long to hear again...just once more in my life would make me very happy.
Not sure if all the other models it would be the same but I can tell you the first time I heard that sound using the Compadre I didn't know what it was...a few months later the next time I heard it that sound rocked me back on my heels.
It was the only time in my career I have ever known 100% that I was swinging over gold before I dug it.

I am blessed to have heard that sound twice in my life, I would be thrilled to hear it once again.


My answer...Vaquero.

 

[Welgund]

1. Vaquero
2. Outlaw
3. Golden

I relic hunt 90% of the time so the Vaquero being a hotter machine and higher khz falls into that category better than the other two and noticeably deeper gets the nod.

 

[pinenut]

of the three listed...

I chose Outlaw due to it's iron trash handling. Nails and bottlecaps can be ignored without losing the nickel range. Can't do that with a Vaquero, even though it is deeper. Running Outlaw at the edge of negative GB with max stable sensitivity, still gives good depth.
Never had a Golden to try and not feeling a great need for one.

Since the old Golden is being considered here, I'll add... the Bandido II μMAX and Eldorado are the two Tesoros I'd keep over all others, if it came to that. If only one... then it has to be the Bandido. Outlaw is the closest thing to a Bandido on the list, so I picked it.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Outlaw - Because it operates at 10.6kHz and includes three coils
Vaquero - Because it will hit smaller gold targets at 14kHz

 

[doggoneitdignit]

Hugh it's funny I got chosen the Vaquero, Outlaw then Golden, as I had a funny feeling most of yous would choose this first. I started watching 53' Silver videos though again comparing the two and flipped it to the V,G,O instead, great to hear....should have gone with my gut on this.

I imagine if I saw a good deal on either of these two I likely though would act on either..

 

[Hobojo]

The Outlaw, because it sounds so sweet. It also has the abiltiy to disc out everything but .25 and large gold rings.
The Vaq is good too , its just sounds weird. Golden? Never had one.

 

[pinenut]

Vaquero quacking...?

...The Vaq is good too , its just sounds weird...

Standard tone Vaquero is too low pitch for me, but high-tone version sounds sweet..in disc, anyway. Still sounds the same in pinpoint..that quack. I do like my high-tone Vaquero, just like the disc range and iron rejection better on the Outlaw.

 

[KennyD]

Same as Terry... Outlaw for sure.

 

[tabman]

I chose Outlaw due to it's iron trash handling. Nails and bottlecaps can be ignored without losing the nickel range. Can't do that with a Vaquero, even though it is deeper. Running Outlaw at the edge of negative GB with max stable sensitivity, still gives good depth.
Never had a Golden to try and not feeling a great need for one.

Since the old Golden is being considered here, I'll add... the Bandido II μMAX and Eldorado are the two Tesoros I'd keep over all others, if it came to that. If only one... then it has to be the Bandido. Outlaw is the closest thing to a Bandido on the list, so I picked it.

Maybe I'm missing some here, I can set the discrimination on my Vaquero to discriminate out nails and still hit super hard on nickels. My Vaquero will hit a lot harder on nickels than the Outlaw will and deeper too. I'll admit that the Outlaw will work a little better in bed nails and has a better audio, but the Vaquero works OK there as well and goes deeper. For the type of detecting that I do, I'd pick the Vaquero hands down over the Outlaw. The Vaquero needs a good set of headphones to work its magic. I use Killer B Wasp.

tabman

 

[pinenut]

Maybe I'm missing some here, I can set the discrimination on my Vaquero to discriminate out nails and still hit super hard on nickels. My Vaquero will hit a lot harder on nickels than the Outlaw will and deeper too. I'll admit that the Outlaw will work a little better in bed nails and has a better audio, but the Vaquero works OK there as well and goes deeper. For the type of detecting that I do, I'd pick the Vaquero hands down over the Outlaw. The Vaquero needs a good set of headphones to work its magic. I use Killer B Wasp.

tabman

Try it with bigger nails and bottlecaps... In the nickel range, they're GONE with my Outlaw, and still there on the Vaquero. Yes, you can tell the clicky / scratchy sound of iron, but I don't want to hear 'em. While using the small concentric coil on the V, the bottlecap thing is minimized but still there. With the small DD on the V, those bottlecaps don't go away 'till around where zincs also do. Outlaw is FAR quieter in iron than the Vaquero, not just a little. I do agree that the V "hits hard" on nickels, something I see even more with Tejon.
Neither the Vaquero nor Tejon would be my picks in trash though, and most of the areas I hunt are very trashy. Glad everyone has their favorites..

 

[Welgund]

A lot of people like the ED120 disc of the outlaw in the iron trash because it is quieter than the ed180 of the Tejon or the ED165 or so of the Vaquero. But, in old sites heavily laden with square nails and old trash the Tejon and Vaquero allow you a wider disc range on the lower end allowing one to allow certain iron relics through but still discriminating out nails. The Tejon with the 5.75 concentric is probably the best at unmasking in old sites. If I had access to an unhunted site and was allowed to take only one of the machines I owned fir one time only it would be the Tejon with the 5.75 coil.

 

[fltacoma]

Excellent question with interesting answers! But I have to be a little bit biased lol. The Vaquero that I have owned since 2005 will always have a special place in my heart and will pass down to my son. The answers about the Vaquero having troubles with the bottle caps is true, but outweighs itself in merit and finds for RELIC hunting purposes! The outlaw would be best all around for relic AND coin shooting. Not to mention the three coil pack is a nice deal, but that 12x10 as I have experienced it can be challenging around power lines and other sources of EMI areas. The 8" donut works well and the 5.75" as we Tesoro lovers know is a requirement for trashy areas! The Golden Umax, to me, seems interesting to say the least. I have never tried one myself, and will probably never buy one. So without further ado:

1. Vaquero
2. Outlaw
3. Compadre

 

[Rob in (ca)]

I owned both, The Outlaw & Vaquero, for basic park / sports field / Tot Lot hunting for coin and jewelry........ I liked The Outlaw Better

with good headphones, the outlaws audio tells you everything about The Targets size / depth,/ dead on Pinpointing (wide VDI) Discriminator.

Even Though The Outlaw runs at a lower Freq than The Vaquero, The Outlaw still Hits hard on all my small jewelry with no Problem

Now if I was hunting for 2 feet deep Relics, Then a Super Tuned Vaquero

 

[walnut]

How well does the outlaw separate modern pulltabs and nickels? Does the Outlaw give a recognizable tone on pull tabs? With the vaquero, pull tabs seem to have a more "square" sound and are slightly buzzy. But they are pretty close to coin sounding most of the time.

 

[pinenut]

still similar..

Nickels have a smoother, softer and "rounder" sound than tabs, which seem to have a harsher blaring sound. Otherwise, like with Vaquero, tabs can sound pretty similar. They can still fool you, depending on their size, but thumbing disc will usually show tabs dropping out higher than nickels.

Aluminum is a PITA where I hunt; melted can blobs of all sizes are everywhere (from campfire pits) but at least the bottlecaps are quiet with the ED120. It's in the small iron, where Outlaw really shines. On Vaquero and Tejon, especially with a DD coil, a Corona cap can sound pretty similar to a coin if you set disc around nickel. On Outlaw, you'll have the nickel saying "dig me", and the bottlecap giving a "click" or saying nothing at all... Makes a big difference, depending on the amount of trash you're in. Camp areas around here can be really bad...

 

[walnut]

I was thinking of adding an Outlaw, and would like one, but probably not enough difference from Vaquero to make it worthwhile. The Vaq has the lower range disc which might be busier in iron but on the other hand might turn up something interesting too. I have gotten pretty comfortable with the disc on the Vaquero.

 

[pinenut]

You need to use whatever is working well for you. I've probably found as much with my Vaquero as I have with my Eldorado and my ED120 Tesoros. I just like the ED120 toys best in heavy trash. Tesoros are all relatively inexpensive detectors and I like trying different ones. Some you need to stick with a little longer to learn their nuances, and some just make you grin right from the start... Still haven't used a Tesoro that I just didn't like, except for a couple bought used that just weren't working right - those went back whence they came.