If money wasn't a problem what Tesoro would you pick??

[Hybridcruiser]

I know most folks would pick the most expensive one . that would make the most sense right? But the real question is which one would give you the best bang for the buck? My picks would be:


Water Machine string ray 2

land machine bandito 2 umax

and vaquero


If I had those 3 machines I think they would serve me very well.


So the question is what 3 would you guys pick?

thanks for your input

Hybridcruiser

 

[fwcrawford]

My three choices would be the Sand Shark for water.
The Vaquero and the Eldorado for land use.
Heck... What am I thinking, I already have all 3 of them!LOL

 

[Hybridcruiser]

fwcrawford MAY I ASK WHY THE Eldorado ? The sand shark I figure because you live near the Ocean

 

[Stoof-tabsallday]

Water: sand shark
Land: bandido II micromax and tejon or vaquero

Figure b2 micro for more general coin and jewelry and tejon for more deeper relics. I've never run any of their water machines so I just said that
Deleon would have made the list because my ground is friendly to it and it's my fav coin Hunter but it wouldn't run well in more tough ground. So I chose two GB adjustable Detectors. I also don't have the tejon but have read up on them and they seem to be crazy deep.

 

[Mega]

Probably would never buy another Tesoro based machine,far too obsolete in my mind,many newer european detecting companies can produce and bring too the market detectors that are far superior and also what user want,the likes of Nokta,Deeptech and others provide far superior machines and price than what Tesoro can provide.

 

[Monte]

Money IS a problem because there's a lot of it lost out there and I want it! Therefore, I want my more favorite Tesoro models to be at-hand so I can find it.

I have my favorite Tesoro models that are a complement to my non-Tesoro choices which address my wants and needs for visual Target ID and audio Tone ID. No 'perfect' do-it-all detector made to deal with all of the different site and environment challenges we might encounter, yet while many of the more modern and more featured models do appeal to me, I credit my favorite Tesoro's for much of the success I have enjoyed for over thirty-five years of using Tesoro's out of the over fifty-three years I've been detecting..

It's been a blend of using the best functional Tesoro with a preferred search coil to give me an edge in the environments I prefer to search, and as I reflect back, that means for over ⅓ of a century, the bulk of my gold and silver jewelry have been found with a Tesoro and 6" or 7" Concentric coil. Most of my better jewelry has come from small to large playgrounds and sports fields.

My urban Coin Hunting has produced hundreds of thousands of coins, much of that prior to Tesoro's beginning, but urban sites have still surrendered maybe 75%-80% of my coin recoveries when using a favored Tesoro since July of '83. And I am referring to urban sites other than just tot-lots where I put a Tesoro to work. I watch for renovation activities, building tear-downs, and also hunt out of the grassy places and into the overgrown fringes of older parks where I get in and around brush that once wasn't there.

I do have more featured detectors in my Regular-Use Detector Team from Makro, Nokta and White's that see a lot of use these days for my Relic Hunting at pioneer and military encampments, ghost towns, homesteads, and other rural settings, but there is one important reason why my favorites from those manufacturers are chosen and used. It is because they come very close to Tesoro-like performance when I get into dense brush and building rubble, and especially when dealing with a dense saturation of nails and other ferrous junk.

But there haven't always been slow-motion detectors with a quick-response and fast-recovery that keep up with Tesoro performance, and many of what is offered today still don't. My all-time favorite ghost town, which I hunted often for long hours for almost fifty years, is my best example of why Tesoro models have held a high rating for me. That one ghost town produced over four binders of coins, hundreds of them, and Shield Vs 'V' Nickels were about 3 to 5. Seated Liberty silver coins out-numbered Barber silvers about 30-to-1. And I found more 2¢ and 3¢ coins in that one town that I have found from all other sites combined.

And while some of my finds there came using a BFO in May of '69, or various TR, TR-Disc. or VLF/TR-Disc. devices before July of '83, and more up-to-date models since I started using Tesoro detectors in '83, I have to credit my success from that town site to using preferred Tesoro's w/7" and now 6" Concentric coils for finding at least 90% of all the hundreds of coins that filled those four binders plus extra. [size=small](By the way, that ghost town is on private property and I had permission from the principle property owner.)[/size]

There will ALWAYS be a favorite Tesoro I my working detector battery ... Especially since they find lost money so well.

I know most folks would pick the most expensive one . that would make the most sense right?

Absolutely Not!

"Most folks" would suggest a majority number, and I can assure you that "Most folks" getting into this great sport for the past 35 years have bought/are buying detectors from the low-end to what we might consider to be a 'mid-priced' range model. Not just in the Tesoro brand but considering all of the detectors that are offered by all of the popular detector manufacturers. High-priced units are those that retail in the $900 to $2600 range. 'Most folks' do not shop for detectors that cost that much. I would say the bulk of them look in the $200 to $400 retail price range, and some who are tight on money or skeptical of this hobby even buy more budgeted than that.

Then there is a group of folks who figure they might want to spend a little more, or learn from buying too cheap in the first go-around, and they shop in the $400 to $700 range. There are also a lot of people who read the details on the packages or in a catalog or online and buy into the magic of marketing that promotes visual displays and multiple tone audio features, and for the most part that leaves Tesoro models out of consideration. Especially since Tesoro units ([size=small]even very desired used models)[/size] can cost us as much or more than some very featured newer products.

But the real question is which one would give you the best bang for the buck?

Which ONE for the 'most bang-for-the-buck?' Here you ask for one model and there could be a few Tesoro's I would consider if limited to only picking ONE, but for me it would be a good-working Bandido II µMAX [size=small](microMAX)[/size]. If limiting myself to only ONE Tesoro, I would want it to feature manual Ground Balance for best versatility using different coils and searching a variety of ground mineral environments.

My picks would be:

Water Machine string ray 2

land machine bandito 2 umax

and vaquero

If I had those 3 machines I think they would serve me very well.

I think you made three very good choices, especially if you hunt in water to need a StingRay 2. I feel the other two models are far superior in all-around performance, however.

So the question is what 3 would you guys pick?

What THREE? A moment ago you asked for ONE that would be the best 'bang-for-the-buck' and now you ask about THREE models?

Well, I'll split the difference and give you my personal TWO all-time favorite Tesoro models. Those are the:

Bandido II [size=small]micro[/size]MAX which features manual Ground Balance so I can get the best performance from it in any site environment and adjust it for peak performance should I change to a bigger search coil for more coverage, etc. It will always have a thin-profile 6" Concentric coil mounted for versatility where I will usually be grabbing a Tesoro.

Silver Sabre [size=small]micro[/size]MAX which is a turn-on-and-go model, meaning it has an internally preset Ground Balance, and matches the general performance behavior of my number one favorite above. It also will keep a 6" Concentric coil mounted full-time, and with the fixed GB I won't plan on changing coils with this device. It will be ready-to-go for quick work in tot-lots, renovation work, or any other opportunity I happen to chance upon in my travels.

I don't water hunt and maneuverability is a challenge for me as it is and really difficult to maneuver with a cane on a loose sandy beach. Therefore, I don't need to factor in a beach hunting unit, and I feel there are better offerings for that from competitors anyway. But as I review the entire Tesoro offerings today as well as personal favorites that have come and gone from production, IF I had to figure out a THIRD model from Tesoro it would be one of these two:

Pantera because I liked the 2-Tone audio function AND it has manual Ground Balance to let me be in better control of the unit for a variety of site challenges. Another benefit is that it shares search coils with the two I just described, and like the other two above it has the ED-120 Disc. circuitry. The only negative I have is that it is a larger-size, under-slung control housing and does weigh a bit more. It wasn't bad, but due to age and some painful and troubling physical health issues, I need to be very attentive to weight and balance.

Vaquero because it also provides me with manual Ground Balance, and although the 6" Concentric coil for this model is noticeably heavier than the 6" on my other favorites, it still makes my Vaquero a better balanced device and it handles most of the problem iron trash sites I like to hunt. Benefits? Yes, two things I consider to be an advantage to have it on my Detector Team: One is the slightly higher 14.5 kHz operating frequency that might give me a slight 'edge' in some applications, and Two is the Disc. circuitry, more of an ED-160 or so range of acceptance for times when I want to accept down into some of the iron range.

My two, and even third, Tesoro favorite picks will all help me find MONEY and other desired targets of interest.

Monte

 

[fwcrawford]

I like the features on the detector.. you can ground balance with one hand with the toggle switch, and I also like the battery check feature on this detector.
I prefer this over the push button on my Vaquero, but I love that detector.
I use the PI in freshwater mostly, but decided on it since I want something that will handle the salt water minerals.
It hasn't disappointed me in the performance and the finds I have made with it either..performs flawlessly down that the beach too!

 

[Bigtom123]

Probably would never buy another Tesoro based machine,far too obsolete in my mind,many newer european detecting companies can produce and bring too the market detectors that are far superior and also what user want,the likes of Nokta,Deeptech and others provide far superior machines and price than what Tesoro can provide.

Do you work for those European companies? I’m just not sure what to make of your answer,I’ve owned all the machines from the impact to the makro multi kruzer,saw nothing that would make another company obsolete.Minelab made that claim and then the market was flooded with used equinox machines for such a early release.Sorry,just don’t agree with your outlook,or your theory of any of those machines being superior to another.

 

[Monte]

Probably would never buy another Tesoro based machine,far too obsolete in my mind,many newer european detecting companies can produce and bring too the market detectors that are far superior and also what user want,the likes of Nokta,Deeptech and others provide far superior machines and price than what Tesoro can provide.

Do you work for those European companies? I’m just not sure what to make of your answer,I’ve owned all the machines from the impact to the makro multi kruzer,saw nothing that would make another company obsolete.Minelab made that claim and then the market was flooded with used equinox machines for such a early release.Sorry,just don’t agree with your outlook,or your theory of any of those machines being superior to another.

Keep in mind that anyone's opinion is just that, 'their' opinion, and certainly those are based on their experiences with a number makes and models, especially when they are an Active Detectorist with sufficient experience to make logical personal presumptions like Mega.

Mega resides 'way over there' and isn't influenced by biased opinions some folks have here in the USA. I have friends who refuse to use or even consider any detector that isn't 'Made in the USA', and with major manufacturers of multi-featured detectors from Fisher, Garrett, Teknetics and White's based here in the US, they do have a lot of models to choose from. Quite of few of those people are also brand loyal and limit their picks from just one or two brands.

Now, I just happen to be a bit biased with regard to a few Tesoro models that have been, and are, favorites of mine, and I have been using Tesoro devices since July of '83. Thirty-five years with some of their products and in that time I have concluded that some models are a good fit in my personal 'Detector Team' for certain applications. That is because, for me, there are times when I happen to enjoy the performance level I get from a favorite Tesoro model over competitor's units that might have more functions. Most of my primary-use detectors feature visual Target ID and several choices of audio Tone ID.

Let me also point out that in his reply, Mega was specifically targeting Tesoro models. Most people in this great outdoor sport make an initial separation of metal detectors into two groups: One are the non-display / non-Tone ID units such as those from Tesoro, and the other group are all models that DO feature visual Target ID and audible Tone ID. There is very little in the 'Tesoro' class being made by other USA-based detector makers, but there are some offerings from foreign [size=small](to us)[/size] makers that are of the more simple design without those features, but some seem to provide improved levels of detection depth and such that also might be at a more competitive MSRP.

In Tesoro's defense, I also know that because most of their products, for decades, have lacked feature refinements and they have never seemed to keep up with 'progress' in this industry. Lack of design capital and engineering talents are likely the main cause, and because they don't offer a lot of flash-and-fancy many, perhaps most, hobbyists have never considered or even held or checked out a Tesoro product. We do not have the number of local detector dealers this past quarter-of-a-century that we once enjoyed, and the number of active metal detecting clubs has also dwindled to a miserable number which also reduces some opportunities for newcomers to this great sport to have a chance to meet others and try out different detectors.

To a lot of people, a first consideration in buying a metal detector is the suggested retail price and what the detectors appear to offer for the retail price point for a brand new detector. In this country, the MSRP of most Tesoro models can be laughable ... to many people ... when compared to many full-featured offerings from other manufacturers. Compare what the manufacturer suggests they want for mid-priced to top-end Tesoro's against the likes of the Garrett AT Pro at $699.95, or Makro Racer 2 at $499, or the Nokta FORS CoRe at $699 and FORS Relic, with two coils, suggested at $799, or come back 'home' to a White's MX-7 at $599.95. Flat-out, Tesoro doesn't offer anything that comes close to competing with what these models offer in the way of design features for the dollar.

There is one more thing in Tesoro's defense, and it is for those who are more Avid Detectorists who take on some really challenging sites that abound in a lot of dense ferrous debris, or even urban Coin Hunting locations where desired targets might be spaced very, very close. Tesoro models offer what I consider to be record-setting quick-response and fast-recovery that is still unmatched by many detectors offered today. Since mid-'83 I have always kept one or more of my favorite Tesoro units in my working detector battery for certain site needs.

It wasn't until the '90s before I got my hands on a competitive slow-motion, quick-recovery device in the way of a White's Coinmaster Classic series model, and today, all of my detector 'team', with the exception of the XLT, will come very close to or match the performance in a dense iron nail environment that I get from a Tesoro. When I handle any new detector on the market, there are a number or evaluation tests I do, and that includes working them against what I use and that includes a couple of favorite Tesoro models.

Yes, Tesoro's can hold their own in some comparisons, but overall, like Mega suggested, there are European and non-European devices that can offer a lot of performance that you just can't eek out of a Tesoro, regardless of which model it is. Most sites I hunt are highly littered and that prevents the ability to search deeply due to masking. However, the bulk of the oldest coins I find, here in the USA, are located anywhere from surface to about 4" or so, and a 'deep' coin-size target will range from 5" to about 9". Generally there is not much reason for there to be any 'deep' coins in 90% of the places I have hunted for over half-a-century. Not without some cause for displacement or surface build-up.

However, there are times when I do want or need improved depth, and just about every model I own and use, such as my Nokta CoRe or Relic, Makro Racer 2, or White's MX-7, using comparable search coils, can get much better depth than a Tesoro, especially in very challenging ground mineral environments. Even my modified White's Classic ID will get better depth than any Tesoro I own.

I am a 'fan' of Tesoro and appreciate what the company has provided through the years, at least many models, but I am not a 'loyalist' of Tesoro such that I try to tout them as being the best there is. They have their strengths, but they have their weaknesses as well when it comes to various performance considerations as well as lacking modern, up-to-date features. I think ever active hobbyist ought to check out a Tesoro and perhaps add one to their detector battery to complement what they are using.

Another thought, for those of us here in the USA, might be a comparison of the going retail price for a detector is in other places, such as where Mega resides. It just might be that he has some remarkable prices on other brands or maybe Tesoro units carry a higher comparable price in a foreign land? On that I'm not sure.

Just my opinions and they are free.

Monte

 

[Elton]

Opinions are just that... One persons or maybe several like minded individuals giving their opinion.

It's nothing etched in stone.. and does not mean others can not get results they want from any detector ..


Sometimes people jump on the band wagon and misspeak too.. Just trying to be part of the crowd so to say...

Experience with a detector also makes a big difference..So everyone please keep in mind. Your opinion may be different..not wrong..just different..


MONTE IS one of the most experienced detectorists who shares his observations with all....he knows detectors....

 

[Bigtom123]

Opinions are just that... One persons or maybe several like minded individuals giving their opinion.

It's nothing etched in stone.. and does not mean others can not get results they want from any detector ..


Sometimes people jump on the band wagon and misspeak too.. Just trying to be part of the crowd so to say...

Experience with a detector also makes a big difference..So everyone please keep in mind. Your opinion may be different..not wrong..just different..


MONTE IS one of the most experienced detectorists who shares his observations with all....he knows detectors....

Elton,I read a lot of your post,as well as montes,,and your spot on as usual..Not everyone will have the same experience..In all honesty Somtimes I wonder why I even own anything other than a tesoro,,not that they’re better but they do all the thinking for me..just set the disc and dig.

 

[Elton]

n/t

 

[dan b]

Location is a factor too. Tesoros do very well on our crappy Canadian coins.

 

[kittlitz]

A couple of folks have nominated the Bandito II Umax as one of their favorite Tesoros. I'm curious to know what advantages it has over current models like the Vaquero. Thanks!

-ken

 

[Stoof-tabsallday]

Bandido II micromax is clisest to the outlaw. Outlaw is like the newer brother to the b2 mm.

 

[Monte]

The Outlaw is kind of like a new brother who is a bit disabled. There hasn't been and isn't a model from them that compares with the Bandido II [size=small]micro[/size]MAX. The closest thing today would be a Vaquero with a high-tone modification, but the Bandido II µMAX still lets the operator quickly change from a set Disc. mode to All Metal mode and back without messing with the Discrimination control. The Outlaw was close, but the dual-function button concept was a bad design move in my opinion.

Kind of like what White's did with the MX-5, and then got it right with the MX Sport and MX-7. On the MX-5 the pushbutton can put you into Pinpoint or into All Metal mode, and once there you have to deliberately press it to go back to Discrimination and not go from All Metal to the Pinpoint function. I've met several people who have a dickens of a time with that switch function and you have to use the detector often enough to learn it in order to handle it right and get in and out of mode functions easily.

On the Outlaw I have handled several with pushbuttons that didn't function properly, and then once you have pinpointed a target, you can't just start hunting unless you press and release the button to restore full function of the Disc. mode.

No such issues with the excellent Bandido II µMAX.

Monte

 

[kittlitz]

Thanks for the descriptions, guys! I've never tried an Outlaw but do have a high-tone Vaquero which I'm really starting to like (I don't have a lot of hours on it yet). The pinpoint button is OK, but I can see why a toggle switch between All Metal and Discriminate, like some of the other models have, would be more useful.

-Ken

 

[Stoof-tabsallday]

Another thing to point out is at minimum disc your vaquero will sound off on any metal pretty much. The outlaw and bandido are slightly different but at minimum disc they will still black out most small iron.

 

[Normx2]

Have been made with a Lobo Supertraq whether it's relics or coins. I also use a Tejon, Shadow X2 and Mojave but the LST is my favorite. Perhaps it's just being in the right place with the right detector?

I also use an eTrac but I'am and have always been for the past 20 years most comfortable with a Tesoro. Could be because the LST found my first and only gold coin (Quarter Eagle 1856). Small chains, small jewelry, and bb size targets ect don't get past the LST.

 

[C.J.M.]

Without a doubt the Bandito II Umax II and Vaquero