Cortez or Super Lobo the top of the line?

[heavymetalbeeper]

Is the Super Lobo or Cortez Tesoro's top of the line unit? Is there any benefit to not having the digital meter readout with the Super Lobo? What advantage does it have over the Cortez or a comparable brand's model? Garrets look nice but I cant live with a 2 year warranty given my luck with electronics. Is Tesoro the only Lifetime warranty company?

 

[Rick N. MI]

I would say tejon is Tesoro top of the line. Between the Cortez & lobo st I don't now. The lobo st has a preset ground balance that limits the depth in disc. I'm going to get a lobo st to go with my tejon. The lobo st is very sensitive to tiny targets and will find gold chains & earrings. Keith Southern adjusted the internal disc ground balance adding significant depth. He has a video on utube. I wouldn't recommend doing this on a new one as it could void the lifetime warranty,

Rick N MI

 

[Rainyday101]

Top of the line???? Does spending more money mean you are gonna find more???? I think not. As far as I am concerned all of the Tesoro's are top of the line. Spending bunches more isn't always the answer. Spend some time reading post by guys like Tabman. He would eat most people for lunch on finds using a Cibola or Silver uMax, not a top of the line model. It's more important to learn your detector really well, and once you do, consider it top of the line. I own three Tesoro's so far and consider them all top of the line in their own ways. Each has it strengths.

Some of the Tesoro's have a depth advantage, but at a depth of 6"-7" or less, all the Tesoro's will find a coin easy enough. So if the discerning factor is depth, I would consider the deepest Tesoro's top of the line. Price has nothing to do with it.

You are on a quest to buy another Tesoro it seems and that is a good thing! What are you detecting or what are your goals for a new detector? Give us those answers and we can make some better recommendations.

Just some food for thought- A guy on that other big forum had to send his Sand Shark in after 14 years to have it serviced. Tesoro replaced any worn parts and tuned it up for free! So 14 years from now if your detector needs a little attention, Tesoro will still be standing behind that warranty and take care of you in timely manner. That kind of service is impossible to beat.

 

[Lightstryder]

So I want to set the record straight, this isn't the first time I have heard people say the the LST has a factory set GB in disc. This is not the case, it simply doesn't auto track in disc but you still have to balance it. After it is balanced it locks the balance when you switch to disc. That being said I don't think you can go wrong with either the LST, Cortez, or the Tejon. Although I loved my Tejon I enjoy my LST even more. Just my two cents.

 

[Mega]

It would be so much better if you gave us some indication on what type of detecting you do and also budget as that can play a big part in asking for some guidance on choosing a detector,and what i mean by that is if you do mainly say wet sand beach work then machines for beaches are far different that those used on farmland.

Regarding the Lifetime warranty side of things,in the US they are Lifetime but in the UK its 2 years cannot see why but thats the way it is,also this Lifetime warranty only works for the original owner and even if you buy a brand new one and decide to sell it after say 5 months to someone else that Lifetime warranty then become totally useless and you might as well burn it.Even if you keep it for say 10 or 20 years and you are the person who bought the machine originally they still have some small print that could be used as a get out clause.

It would be far better to say i am looking at a new machine for using on farm land with a budget of say xxx amount,which of these 2 models would you suggest or prehaps another option that may be even better suited for the task in hand.

 

[dan b]

Even if you keep it for say 10 or 20 years and you are the person who bought the machine originally they still have some small print that could be used as a get out clause.

Really? You are making Tesoro sound like a disreputable company. They are known for their above average warranties, and even if you are the 2nd or 3rd owner, $50 will get your machine back as good as new. That's a sweet deal.

Dan

 

[heavymetalbeeper]

What if you are focused on gold items mostly? Is the LST the best choice?

 

[tabman]

So I want to set the record straight, this isn't the first time I have heard people say the the LST has a factory set GB in disc. This is not the case, it simply doesn't auto track in disc but you still have to balance it. After it is balanced it locks the balance when you switch to disc. That being said I don't think you can go wrong with either the LST, Cortez, or the Tejon. Although I loved my Tejon I enjoy my LST even more. Just my two cents.

Yep, you're correct. Quotes from the manual:

Before beginning to search in the Discriminate Mode, perform the SuperTRAQ Ground Adjust procedure outlined above.

Once the LOBO SuperTRAQ is properly ground balanced, it tracks the mineral conditions automatically as you hunt in the All Metal Mode. The automatic tracking is disabled when the detector is used in the Discriminate mode.

In other words, it locks the GB once you flip over into the discriminate mode after you GB in the all metal mode.

tabman

 

[Mega]

Even if you keep it for say 10 or 20 years and you are the person who bought the machine originally they still have some small print that could be used as a get out clause.

Really? You are making Tesoro sound like a disreputable company. They are known for their above average warranties, and even if you are the 2nd or 3rd owner, $50 will get your machine back as good as new. That's a sweet deal.

Dan

Really !! yes really and i quote from the Tesoro.com website.

Our lifetime warranty covers defects in material and workmanship for as long as it is owned by the original purchaser. The warranty excludes batteries, damage caused by leaky batteries, cable breakage due to flexing, wear of the searchcoil housing, and leakage cause by the condition of water seals on underwater detectors. Also excluded are instruments which have been abused, altered, or repaired by an unauthorized party.

Nothing in my post was making Tesoro look like a disreputable company,they are straight forward facts that anyone can understand,my statement also highlighted the different lengths of warranties in 2 countries,once again a true statement.

Regarding the $50 service charge that they charge for non original owners that is a totally different thing from a Lifetime warranty,its very cheap i dont disagree with that but its still nothing to do with the lifetime warranty.

 

[TAB.HUNTER]

So I want to set the record straight, this isn't the first time I have heard people say the the LST has a factory set GB in disc. This is not the case, it simply doesn't auto track in disc but you still have to balance it. After it is balanced it locks the balance when you switch to disc. That being said I don't think you can go wrong with either the LST, Cortez, or the Tejon. Although I loved my Tejon I enjoy my LST even more. Just my two cents.

[size=medium]You are right. Even some of the "greats" in this forum have stated that the Lobo is a fixed ground balance. It is not very clear in the manual regarding setting the g.b.in discrimination, but just learning the machine and using it will confirm what you stated is true.
The Nevada soil here runs from mild+ to very hot. The Lobo handles it quite well in discrimination or all metal. [/size]

 

[JB(MS)]

When I bought the LST, late 1999 or early 2000, I talked to Rusty Henry and he told me the LST had preset ground balance in disc mode. I took his word for it and have posted several times since then the LST has preset ground balance in disc mode..

 

[heavymetalbeeper]

I went to the local prospecting shop today and the owner said the Lobo is the best gold unit from tesoro. She and her husband are the designers of the Tesoro Treasure Mate pointer according to her.

 

[dan b]

I would like to hear how many people were denied their lifetime warranties. I've never heard of any.