Compadre vs. The Other Tesoro Models

[berryman]

The Compadre is far and away the most talked about Tesoro model on this forum. Is that because the returns it yields far outweigh its relatively small purchase price or because it has special (magical) capabilities that even its more expensive brethren don't have?

To ask my question another way - if I pay more for a Vaquero or an Outlaw or for a Bandido II uMAX or an Eldorado, will my finds be orders of magnitude greater that those I get with the Compadre?

 

[bleeohio]

Berry, I've never had the pleasure of swinging a compadre, but,,, your location will determine the quality and quantity of finds more than the Tesoro model you are using...

 

[dan b]

I had a Compadre and my daughter found a nice gold ring with it. But it wasn't because she was using the Compadre. Luck. Had I passed my Vaquero coil over it, then I would have found it.

I believe the appeal of the Compadre is it's low price. It does a great job considering how cheap it is. But is it better than other products Tesoro offers? I would have to say no. The depth is okay, but my former Vaquero, Tejon and Deleon would embarrass it in the depth category. But, those machines cost a lot more, so you would expect them to be better. No surprise there. It was light and easy to use. Gotta give it that. But the Deleon is easy to use too, and I find a lot more good targets and dig less junk. But again, it costs a lot more, so that's to be expected.

I sold my Compadre and don't plan to get another. If I cared to find small gold chains and ear rings, and didn't mind digging a lot of junk to find them, then I would still use the Compadre. But it turns out I prefer bigger chunks of gold, and love to find silver coins too. For that, the Deleon is working like a champ. No gold yet this year, but 15 silver targets so far.

So will your finds be orders of magnitude better? No. But you will probably dig a lot less junk, and get some targets out of the reach of the Compadre.

All of this is just my opinion of course.

Dan

 

[tabman]

Dan is right, the Deleon is a deep hitter. I had one and sold it to get the Cortes and decided that I liked the Deleon better, so I sold it.

I'm back in the market for another Deleon. In my mild soil it hammers deep silver coins. For tot lots and looking for fine necklaces, the Compadre is hard to beat.

tabman

 

[Gso125]

Thanks for all this Deleon talk LOL I decided the outlaw wasn't for me I like the tejon and I think the Deleon will fit the bill a bit better so traded it back for a new Deleon. I'll get another compadre down the road for the boys to start on.

 

[REVIER]

I use the Compadre in tandem with the Vaq, I think of them as a team.
Depth, sensitivity, big coils and small, if one is better or more efficient at one site the other one has its back at the rest.
A one two punch that can cover most bases when I feel like doing the Tesoro thing, and both fun in similar and sometimes slightly different ways.
I couldn't think of not having both at my disposal, even if I can only swing one at a time.

The same goes for any other Tesoro in the line up or any other detector on the market for that matter...
If you don't also have a Compadre in the arsenal you don't know what you are missing...or might miss including a bunch of fun.

 

[berryman]

So, based on the feedback received so far, it doesn't sound like folks think that the Compadre can do anything that the other Tesoro models can't do just as well or better. Correct?

 

[cladcanada]

My compadre paid for itself the first month, I would never sell it . Ever.

It loves Canadian clad and gold

Cheap enough to keep as a loaner or back up unit

I started with a ace the compadre blows it away and is way cheaper

 

[BarberBill]

The Compadre has simplicity, weight and capability beyong what you'd expect for the price. However, even though I like it alot, I'd have to say that the other Tesoros have the edge in depth, ground balancing etc. that make them more versatile. That said, I will say that most of the finds I've made with other Tesoros would probably have been found with the Compadre had it been in my hands and passed over the same target. Magic machine? Not quite, but still a lof of fun to have in your arsenal.
BB

 

[REVIER]

So, based on the feedback received so far, it doesn't sound like folks think that the Compadre can do anything that the other Tesoro models can't do just as well or better. Correct?

In my opinion not correct at all, and there are a ton of threads and posts all over the net in several forums where other owners will agree to their dying breaths.
All Tesoros are versatile and will find a ton, but the Compadre will do a couple of things that I can't replicate with my Vaq and 3 coils or my 2 Fishers and the six coils I have for them.
No matter what coils I use or any settings I have tried nothing I have ever had in my hands will find targets as near to or even actually leaning on big metal in tot lots or around fence poles, bench legs or any other big metal no matter how large as easily, effortlessly, efficiently and completely as the Compadre.
Nothing...and I have tried and still am to this day.
The tot lots around here are suspiciously clean...too clean, and I know many hunters in my area target these things and drain them extremely well, but there has never been one that I have hunted with the Compadre where I didn't find several coins and jewelry targets next to the big metal.
A surprising amount of targets, actually.

Also even though I only use mine part time I have found more chains, some unbelievably small and thin, with that thing than all of my others combined.
I will never give mine up for any reason even if I just pull it out once in awhile.

No golfer ever plays without a putter in his bag, and no hunter should be without a Compadre within reach even if it is used only at specific sites and under certain circumstances.

 

[kaolinwasher]

compadre in comparison to other tesoroes, well in normal ground its going to to just as well as any model in that 1st 5"and its light and can get close to metal and still hit things kinda like if I have to take out a chipmunk I don't need my 45-70 i need a pellet gun,

 

[CladDog]

The Compadre is far and away better than any other detector in its price range, and I have used most of them.

Its true "all metal" capability, its small coil giving better separation of targets and the ability to get closer to large metal like fencing and playground equipment, coupled with its higher frequency and resulting sensitivity, make it a real winner in my book.

Honestly, You would need to move to a $500 - $600 machine before you matched its capability and surpassed it.

Just two things to remember: it is not a deep seeker: up to 6" in most cases unless the object is large.

Also, while there is discrimination, there is no notching on this machine. So if, for example, you wanted to dig clad coins and nothing else (including pulltabs), you will want a different machine.

 

[D&P-OR]

Great post Revier & got me interested in getting a Compadre for my wife & her tot lots.-----What coil size on the Compadre do you find the most effective in working up close to the metal posts in tot lots?---------Thanks, Delquote=REVIER]

So, based on the feedback received so far, it doesn't sound like folks think that the Compadre can do anything that the other Tesoro models can't do just as well or better. Correct?

In my opinion not correct at all, and there are a ton of threads and posts all over the net in several forums where other owners will agree to their dying breaths.
All Tesoros are versatile and will find a ton, but the Compadre will do a couple of things that I can't replicate with my Vaq and 3 coils or my 2 Fishers and the six coils I have for them.
No matter what coils I use or any settings I have tried nothing I have ever had in my hands will find targets as near to or even actually leaning on big metal in tot lots or around fence poles, bench legs or any other big metal no matter how large as easily, effortlessly, efficiently and completely as the Compadre.
Nothing...and I have tried and still am to this day.
The tot lots around here are suspiciously clean...too clean, and I know many hunters in my area target these things and drain them extremely well, but there has never been one that I have hunted with the Compadre where I didn't find several coins and jewelry targets next to the big metal.
A surprising amount of targets, actually.

Also even though I only use mine part time I have found more chains, some unbelievably small and thin, with that thing than all of my others combined.
I will never give mine up for any reason even if I just pull it out once in awhile.

No golfer ever plays without a putter in his bag, and no hunter should be without a Compadre within reach even if it is used only at specific sites and under certain circumstances.[/quote]

 

[REVIER]

Great post Revier & got me interested in getting a Compadre for my wife & her tot lots.-----What coil size on the Compadre do you find the most effective in working up close to the metal posts in tot lots?---------Thanks, Delquote=REVIER]

Any size will work.
My 7" coil does it easily, I assume the small coil will do it just as well and I used a borrowed 8" coil model last summer for a couple of weeks and did this video about how this works while I had it.

Some say by going straight in to the big metal you can find targets, but I do the sideways swipes to find them and I call this the double beep method.
When the coil goes over a target you will always get a double beep...one for the big metal, one for the target.
If the target is shallow, maybe an inch or less from the coil you will get a triple beep, one as each end of the coil passes over it and a third for the big metal.

I managed to get my F2 and sniper coil to do this one time on a target after repeated tries and it wasn't easy.
My F70 is too powerful and no matter what coil is mounted and at any sense, threshold and disc setting combination I have tried I can't even come close, and I have tried and tried to do it with my Vaq and all coils and numerous settings and no dice with that one, either.

As I said, for the Compadre this task is effortless.

Here is that video.
I should have continued on till this dime was actually leaning on the post, but trust me I have done that before and it works just as well.
Figure out the correct speed to swing, and that isn't all that hard, and you will hear those multiple beeps.
I have found a bunch of clad, many junk pieces of jewelry and even a Looney from Canada 4" deep once and all within 2" or closer to big metal using this method.
One day a real piece of gold mommy bling will make that second beep for me I hope.

[video]http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=MmWzTo4GCak[/video]

 

[Tajue17]

my compadre is awesome an easily as deep as my vaquero....... there was a thread here last year I think that talked about taking the cover off the compadre and inside there is two adjustments I think one was sensitivity on the left the other was the discrim and I had to hold the compadre up in the air and turn the sensitivity with a tiny Philips screwdriver up till it started chirping then go back down a hair till it barely chirped and put the cover back on,,this might of been just a fine tuning based on climate or where the machine was living but this little unknown adjustment turned my compadre into a metal finding beast.

 

[REVIER]

my compadre is awesome an easily as deep as my vaquero....... there was a thread here last year I think that talked about taking the cover off the compadre and inside there is two adjustments I think one was sensitivity on the left the other was the discrim and I had to hold the compadre up in the air and turn the sensitivity with a tiny Philips screwdriver up till it started chirping then go back down a hair till it barely chirped and put the cover back on,,this might of been just a fine tuning based on climate or where the machine was living but this little unknown adjustment turned my compadre into a metal finding beast.

Mine has that adjustment.
It is just about maxed out on the sense, and I can't get closer than a foot to big metal before it goes off.
Still easily double beeps on coins and all other targets next to big metal, however.
The thing amazes me when I first started swinging it and every time I take it out it still amazes me.

As far as a couple other comments on this thread, I don't really dig a whole lot more trash with this than any others even the ones with screens.
There are ways to figure out trash pretty accurately and avoid it.
Also as far as that order of magnitude thing...
Mine cost me $130 used and it has found at least 10X's that in clad, silver and gold and that was using it part time in rotation with 2 other detectors.
My $200 F2 did that too, but my $450 Vaquero has yet to come close to that mark.

 

[Rebel1]

Revier, Your link take me to You Tube, but not to your video. Just to the site.

 

[Southwind]

Here is the video

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmWzTo4GCak[/video]

 

[Rebel1]

Thanks Southwind