How about comparing the Outlaw to the Bandido II µMax?

[thumperjones]

Now that the Outlaw has been out a while, and several of you guys are using them, how about comparing it with the older Bandido II µMax that it shares it's roots with? I searched around on various sites, but couldn't find any decent complete info on the two.

Basically I'm just wondering if I'd gain anything by "upgrading" to the Outlaw? Is it any deeper than the Bandido II? I'm currently using the Bandido II µMax and really like it, it's my favorite Tesoro yet. But I'm curious to see if I'm missing anything. I know they are VERY similar as far as tone and features. I'd almost be willing to upgrade just to get rid of the annoying "weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrppp" of the battery life indicator when I power it up Plus I could use the coils I already have.

Tabman, I know you've had both. What do you think?

Anybody else?

 

[JJdigs]

I'm curious what others may have to say, I'm wondering the same thing too. However I have never used either of them !

 

[hihosilver]

In talking to Rusty about the Outlaw, he told me that they improved the depth over the bandito by 10 % and that it had a better disc. But I do not own nor have I used either one, but would also like to hear what some others who have used them.

 

[thumperjones]

Hey that's good info! I appreciate you sharing it. I kinda have a hunch they may have tweaked a few things between the two machines.

 

[TN Mike]

Man this is the post I've been thinking about posting.. hopfully someone will share some thoughts on this. I'm looking to buy a Bandido II umax if anyone has one they will part with for cheap

 

[Hombre]

In talking to Rusty about the Outlaw, he told me that they improved the depth over the bandito by 10 % and that it had a better disc. But I do not own nor have I used either one, but would also like to hear what some others who have used them.

Hi guys,

...Rusty shipped me an Outlaw 3 coil package on a 6 month loan to do the field test during the winter of 2013/2014. I evaluated both the Bandido ll µMax and Outlaw together. My name is Randy Albin and you can look up my field test on the Outlaw on Tesoro's website. I like both of these machines and they both do some things better than the other one does. I'll explain......

...Bandido ll µMax...THE GOOD..It is a powerful machine especially if you can get it into the boost zone of Sensitivity, it requires a spot on ground balance to do this and mild ground conditions (less trash) to take advantage of the power. The toggle switch re-tune in All-Metal mode is handier than the Retune button on the Outlaw. It is very sensitive to small gold, proved to me by signaling on a small ¾" gold cross at 8" deep. Easy to ground balance, nice bright and modulated audio.

...The So So of the Bandido ll µMax,...Since it is very sensitive, running full power, it is a little noisy in the iron nails and will false on some deep nails. In these cases run the sensitivity at a lower setting, negating the power advantage. The high pitched audio is annoying to some especially on shallow targets.

The Outlaw...It is so good that after I had returned the test Outlaw, a year later I bought it back from Rusty, yes the same one..LOL. I have the original Bandido and the Outlaw reminds me more of it than the Bandido ll µMax does. The Outlaw runs extremely nice in the thickest of nail infestations much like the original Bandido and will find the goods in these type of hunting situations, I just use the small 5.75 concentric coil. It is as deep as the Bandido ll µMax and runs quieter like the original Bandido, the best of both machines. The Outlaw is used mostly at old abandoned house sites where I can freely dig because I run minimum discrimination, a real relic and old coin detector.

The not so good of the Outlaw...The dreaded Retune button, if used wrong it will screw with the Disc. mode with reduced power. A full understanding of the Retune button is in my field test, I just do not have the time or space in this post to get into it like I did my field test so I suggest you look there for a full understanding of this feature. I plan to do a youtube video of this in the near future.

 

[thumperjones]

In talking to Rusty about the Outlaw, he told me that they improved the depth over the bandito by 10 % and that it had a better disc. But I do not own nor have I used either one, but would also like to hear what some others who have used them.

Hi guys,

...Rusty shipped me an Outlaw 3 coil package on a 6 month loan to do the field test during the winter of 2013/2014. I evaluated both the Bandido ll µMax and Outlaw together. My name is Randy Albin and you can look up my field test on the Outlaw on Tesoro's website. I like both of these machines and they both do some things better than the other one does. I'll explain......

...Bandido ll µMax...THE GOOD..It is a powerful machine especially if you can get it into the boost zone of Sensitivity, it requires a spot on ground balance to do this and mild ground conditions (less trash) to take advantage of the power. The toggle switch re-tune in All-Metal mode is handier than the Retune button on the Outlaw. It is very sensitive to small gold, proved to me by signaling on a small ¾" gold cross at 8" deep. Easy to ground balance, nice bright and modulated audio.

...The So So of the Bandido ll µMax,...Since it is very sensitive, running full power, it is a little noisy in the iron nails and will false on some deep nails. In these cases run the sensitivity at a lower setting, negating the power advantage. The high pitched audio is annoying to some especially on shallow targets.

The Outlaw...It is so good that after I had returned the test Outlaw, a year later I bought it back from Rusty, yes the same one..LOL. I have the original Bandido and the Outlaw reminds me more of it than the Bandido ll µMax does. The Outlaw runs extremely nice in the thickest of nail infestations much like the original Bandido and will find the goods in these type of hunting situations, I just use the small 5.75 concentric coil. It is as deep as the Bandido ll µMax and runs quieter like the original Bandido, the best of both machines. The Outlaw is used mostly at old abandoned house sites where I can freely dig because I run minimum discrimination, a real relic and old coin detector.

The not so good of the Outlaw...The dreaded Retune button, if used wrong it will screw with the Disc. mode with reduced power. A full understanding of the Retune button is in my field test, I just do not have the time or space in this post to get into it like I did my field test so I suggest you look there for a full understanding of this feature. I plan to do a youtube video of this in the near future.

Thank you so much! Awesome post, answered a lot of questions. Sounds like the machine I was hoping for. However I do believe I'll miss the retune toggle from the Bandido. The dual position button on the Outlaw sounds like a pain in the butt, but I'm sure it will be second nature after a few hours. I can second your experience on the iron falsing on the Bandido II. I've dug a lot of really rusty iron with mine, and some at some crazy depths. Shallow or clean iron is easily identified though.

I just may have to try an Outlaw. I've wanted one since they came out, but didn't have the money for a new one. I ended up trading my Tejon for the Bandido II and was happy with the trade. Maybe I can pull off something similar for an Outlaw...

Thanks again for the great comparison and breaking it all down for us to read in one place. I'll read your review as well, as I'm sure it contains some great info.

 

[berryman]

I'd be interested to know how the Bandido II uMAX AND THE Outlaw compare to the Eldorado. There are a couple of posts out there favorably comparing the Bandido II UMAX and the Eldorado (including several by Monte), so I'd like to throw it into the mix here as well if anyone would like to offer there opinions about how it compares to the Bandido II and the Outlaw.

 

[ToneTime]

I have had and used all three of these detectors in the past. I still have and use the outlaw, it is the one I held onto. I sold the others due to financial and other reasons. Randy has done a great job explaining the outlaw with the bandito ll micro. I will confirm the silence over iron and it's ability to pull higher conductors from dense iron trash. I am still testing in areas with heavy pull tabs but so far the outlaw seems to do well in those conditions also. The eldorado micro was also a good detector and I appreciated its ability to let you know iron is around but it did not discriminate it out as well. I dug lots more iron with it as well as with the vaquero in comparison from my experiences. I also did not like that if a nickel is right at or near the surface the eldorado micro and Deleon both would give a scratchy broken signal unless the coil was lifted. I am wondering if these two detectors circuitry is related. The outlaw, vaquero, silver, compadre will give a good signal on nickels close to the coil. The outlaw is great for me and I can get good depth with it especially with the 5.75" concentric. If I put the 5.75 on my silver it is not even close. I do hunt mostly with the 8" concentric though. It is just a classic that works so well. All said give the Outlaw a chance and I doubt you'll be disappointed with it. Another note as compared to the bandito ll micro the outlaw tone pitch is much lower and doesn't seem to blast my ears as much. The battery test is still there and is long so don't think that is an improvement over the others. The retune button is not a big deal, I don't even try to use the two position aspect of it. I just push it entirely in to get to auto tune. If I want to use no motion all metal I just use the switch. Hope this helps someone.

 

[thumperjones]

Yeah, I want an Outlaw now.

 

[Hightone]

There are the "grass is always greener" people. I learned after years that if I like it, I keep it. I didn't learn that until after I let my Bandido II go in '06.

If you like it and it works for you........keep it.

 

[amberjack]

yes good advice keep the ones that do it for you, like my old friend used to say "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence but you still have to mow it"

so there will always be a better machine there are so many different sorts and can only swing one at time and I am full up except for maybe one more but not today

AJ

 

[hihosilver]

Then there are the guys who don't have any grass at all and are wondering what to plant. This thread is great because I own neither at the moment and was very interested in a comparison.

 

[thumperjones]

One question about the tone of the Outlaw..

A couple folks stated it was lower pitched than the Bandido II, but the specs on the Tesoro site say they are both 630hz. Their site has been wrong before, I trust the info from you that have used them.

Is the tone as low as on the Vaquero? Or is it somewhere in between? Or just barely different from the Bandido?

 

[ToneTime]

One question about the tone of the Outlaw..

A couple folks stated it was lower pitched than the Bandido II, but the specs on the Tesoro site say they are both 630hz. Their site has been wrong before, I trust the info from you that have used them.

Is the tone as low as on the Vaquero? Or is it somewhere in between? Or just barely different from the Bandido?

I would say the tone is pretty close to the middle of the two detectors you mentioned. It is slightly lower pitch than the silver micro max if that helps.

 

[thumperjones]

One question about the tone of the Outlaw..

A couple folks stated it was lower pitched than the Bandido II, but the specs on the Tesoro site say they are both 630hz. Their site has been wrong before, I trust the info from you that have used them.

Is the tone as low as on the Vaquero? Or is it somewhere in between? Or just barely different from the Bandido?

I would say the tone is pretty close to the middle of the two detectors you mentioned. It is slightly lower pitch than the silver micro max if that helps.

I happen to have a Silver uMax so thats perfect. Helped a bunch, thanks!

 

[amberjack]

2nd trip with the O I found gold, so it finds gold hence a keeper but you need to wear a Tesoro shit and hat for it to work properly

AJ

 

[thumperjones]

Tabman sent me a link to some great videos showing the comparisons between the tones of several Tesoros. These are great! Thanks tab!

http://www.findmall.com/read.php?17,1734769

 

[Hombre]

The Outlaw's audio has a more 'analog' audio tone to it, much like my circa 1990 original Bandido, with 'round sounds' and mellow modulation. It has about the same outstanding iron handling ability also. Overall a great detector that so far is a sleeper...I really like the high performance in such a light detector.