Tesoro vs. Minelab

[Anonymous]

I have Rheumatoid Arthritis, and also own an Explorer(along with a Tesoro Silver). It seems that I always find more Civil War relics when I go out with the Silver(especially in trashy areas). Of course the weight is a factor, with the Silver being so light. For those with experience and knowlege of both machines, are there any REAL advantages of hunting with Explorer over Tesoro? I know you get multi-tones and visual reference with Explorer, but I'm good with my Silver. Would you recommend a certain model of Tesoro that has more "bells and whistles", but still have less weight to compete with the Explorer? The reason I'm asking, is that I only need one good machine, but I need a light-weight one. Thanks, folks.

 

[Bob in Iowa]

I have a Golden Umax, which I think is similar to your Silver. The Golden is a four tone unit with notch discrimination. It's a great machine in trashy areas, because you can "notch out" pull tabs or iron or whatever else you don't want to hear.
I also have a DeLeon, it is a single tone unit with an ID screen giving depth and composition of the target. Sometimes it will "double beep" or "short beep" on iron. Brass, aluminum, lead, silver and most gold will show in the Silver range. Copper will show in the cent or penny range.
Either one is a good machine and weigh about 2 lbs.
As far as comparing to Minelab, I've hunted along side the Explorer and other MLs. They probably go deeper and they cast a more cylindrical pattern into the ground, rather than a conical pattern likd Tesoro.
Hope this helps some.

 

[Shenandoah Digger]

If you go with the Vaquero, it has a manual ground balance for bad ground and is super deep. Same weight as your Silver, but quite a bit more detector, and easy to use. The Silver is a great machine. The Vaquero is just deeper and more flexible.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice. I've been digging for 25 years, and started with the bulky, but good old White's machines. I can only hunt for about 3 hours a day now, with my Tesoro, due to the arthritis. This equates to about 2 hours a day(with my Explorer, on a good feeling day). I can't say enough about my inexpensive Silver uMax. I only wish I had bought a Tesoro years ago. Thanks to all, and Good Luck digging!

 

[RLOH]

I have had two Explorers, three Sovereigns(currently own a GT), one Quattro, and one Musky from the Minelab side. On the Tesoro side, one Tejon, two Golden Umax's, two Cibolas(currently own a Cibola), one Vaquaro, and one Silver Umax. I don't believe the Tesoros are consistantly as deep on coins as the multifrequncy Minelabs, but they are close. I too have arthritis, mine being traumatic in both wrists courtesy of running a motorcycle into a pickup truck at 60 mph. After eleven surgeries, I can't swing certain detectors for more than an hour. That being said, if you can't swing a detector, you aren't going to do any detecting. I can swing any Tesoro ALL day and I always find old coins, especially with the newer HOT detectors. They go deep and discriminate great. I am impressed with many of the Minelab's traits, but I just can't use them for any length of time. Enter the Tesoros. When I think back of how deep most of my old coins came from, I come up with 6 to 8 inches. These new Tesoros will do that and more. Put a 5.75 inch coil on a Tejon, V, or Cibola and I can find coins 8 inches deep. I am facing another surgery on my right wrist and if I want to coin detect, I have to reach for the Cibola and to be honest, it is not putting me at a disadvantage, but I can hunt longer and with much more concentration. Just remember, take some time to learn the sounds and you will find meters,numbers, and tones don't get you any more coins. Just my opinions. R.L.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks, RLOH. I was in a head-on collision in 1987,on my way to work. Was driving a 1980 Honda Civic(before seatbelts were mandatory). I ALMOST took my Harley Sportster. All this was bad enough, and then, 17 years later comes Rheumatoid Arthritis. Thank God for Tesoro machines! I appreciate your sharing your experience and wish you the best. As long as I am able to swing a coil, I'm going to enjoy the experience, even if I pay for it the next day or two. Good Luck hunting!

 

[sling]

i personly asked gary in the uk about what is the best detector and he said tesoro tejon with 12x10 DD.If you put the big coil on tejon it will beat the explorer.And vaq. almost as good.
the exp. not the deepest detector it only has a wide range of luxury
and tons of unecesary feature to get more money from buyers.
for example the xp goldmax beats the exp. in small coins for sure and the tejon isnt worse than goldmax.