Tesoro Compadre
Price: $200
Avg. Score: 
4.76
Based on 50 reviews
4.76Based on 50 reviews
Avg. Durability:
4.85
Avg. Ease of use:
5.00
Very Good Depth And Great Discrimination
February 10, 2011
First thing I did when my Compadre arrived was air test it on some coins
and a few small gold nuggets I had. Some of the coins from my wife's
grandfather went back to the early 1800's - picking them out at over 9" for
the larger coins even your everyday clad dime was coming in loud and clear
at 7". The one knob discrimination control works really really well. My old
Bounty Hunter seems a toy by comparison. This just may be the best deal for
the money out there. Light as a feather and easy on the batteries. Small nuggets weighing only a few grains tested out to about three inches - no reading though on a few specs of fine/flour gold. If its all I had I'd try it out in gold country. Should be a real jewelry and coin getter though!
Overall Rating
Dennis from
Belleville, IL
221
Value for money
February 07, 2011
I use a lazer scout, but I think this is the u.k. version of the compadre,
I've owned the silver sabre previously, what a land mark in detecting that
was, anyway the scout/compadre is superb in finding coins right next to
iron, only tesoro seem to have mastered this to a fine degree. It will find
a coin within an inch of a rusty nail, detectors costing mega bucks have
difficulty in doing this, ok the depth is not awesome but it's tools for
the job, on bad sites you cant fault this little one.
Overall Rating
Jon david from
Porthcawl ,wales
161
Little Detector, Big Performance!!
December 20, 2010
First of all let me say I never was a Tesoro fan. Their machines seemed to
be too simple to find anything worthwhile. After buying one for my
daughter's birthday (she has a short attention span) I noticed she was
finding as many coins as I was and sometimes more!! I took it out a few
times by myself and was impressed with the depth and pinpointing. It's
also light and can be swung all day. The small "profile" of the Compadre doesn't seem to attract as much attention in parks and playgrounds which is normally a good thing. For $150, it's a great machine for a beginner or even as a back up for experienced users!!
Overall Rating
Jim Tenney from
Alamosa, CO
321
Compadre: The Detector You Keep
November 28, 2010
Ok, so you've been holding off on buying the Compadre. "It looks too
much like a toy," you thought. Your loss.The Tesoro Compadre is one of the best detectors you can buy, at $150 or any other price. The Compadre reminds you of the reason we all got into this hobby: to have fun. And the Compadre is the most fun you'll have with a detector. One knob to set your discrimination, plug in the your earphones, and off you go (word of warning: keep your earphones off your ears when you first turn it on unless you want the battery check to blow your eardrums out).
Would I take the Compadre to the beach or relic hunting? Nope. The 5.75" coil is too small and doesn't give the right depth for that.
However, take the Compadre to any park, tot lot, school field, or house lot and get ready to have the most fun you've had in a long time.
It has just the right depth to hit about 90% of targets you would find no matter what detector you use, and at 12 kHz, it nails small gold (if it's there) like a pro.
That small coil will weed through trash like there's no tomorrow and will get you closer to metal playground equipment than most other detectors costing much more.
I have owned many detectors, but the Compadre is the one detector I have bought and kept and use regularly.
It also makes a great backup/loaner if you ever decide to "move up" (just don't be too surprised if you keep coming back to it)and the lifetime warranty is still the best in the industry. So if you feel like you're spending more time adjusting your $900 technological marvel than actually treasure hunting, just grab the Compadre and start gobbling up the coins and jewelery. If its there, the Compadre will find it.
Overall Rating
Scott J. from
Florida
593
Compadre
February 20, 2010
For the money, you cant beat this machine. I also have a laser scout which
is basically the same detector with an 8" coil and a sensitivity knob,
however, with the compadre you know the target is bang under that coil and
you retrieve it immediately. With the scout you seem to dig bigger holes. I
don't think the sensitivity knob makes a whole lot of difference. I would
say the compadre is just about deep enough for most items and is a pleasure
to use.
Overall Rating
Dave from
Notts, uk.
362
Big dogs won't train this little pup,it's one step ahead.
February 15, 2010
Like Tom in Virginia if you have a Tesoro Compadre keep it or someday you
will be sorry. For a long time some friends of my brother had many people
with detectors looking for a large diamond earring set in white gold but it
was given up for lost. I will not name any of the high end detectors that
were used to try to find it but the Compadre found it in about three
minutes. Don't ever be fooled, go for the Compadre.
Overall Rating
Roger from
Cushing Oklahoma USA
301
I miss my compadre
August 09, 2009
I sold my compadre, it was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. I have
regretted it ever since. Never let go of your compadre. Its one of the best
grab and go detectors ever made, period....
Overall Rating
Tom from
Virginia
407
Definitely a winner !
June 01, 2009
Just bought a Compadre to hunt the beaches. Got one with 8" hard wired
coil. The very first 9 hours with it (3 outings) were very productive : one
18K golden bracelet, two silver pendants, and 206 current coins. The
ability to discriminate into the ferrous range is a real plus and makes
this little beaut a great coinshooter and i'm sure it'll be an excellent
relic hunting unit.This detectors talks to you while searching. If you undestand it's language, you'll outclass any digital unit.
Overall Rating
Nick hunter from
Europe
333
What a great piece of equipment!
May 16, 2009
I just bought a Tesoro Compadre for my 7 year old daughter and a Fisher F2
for myself. After getting familiar with the controls and some test, I took
her to the local playground with her Compadre. She found 1 quarter, 1 dime
and 4 pennies. This thing is simple, lightweight and it discriminates
great. She was so happy with her detector! Only reason I gave it 4 stars is
because it doesn't have pinpoint feature but you can't beat it for the
price. The coil is small so after using it for a couple of hours, I'm sure
you will be more accurate when digging. Great buy and will highly recommend
it to anybody on a budget looking for simplicity but a quality product! I'm
digging it!;0)
Overall Rating
Hugo from
Georgia
186
Best little detector in Texas
April 30, 2009
I bought this detector for my wife and she loves it. I have 6 Tesoros, so
you know that I am a Tesoro nut. Well I find myself grabbing this little
machine when my wife is not hunting with me for the first time hunts. It
will really sniff out those indicator coins in a trashy area. It is so
light and easy to use. A wonderful machine for the money. Great job Tesoro
Overall Rating
Bill in Texas from
Kerrville, Texas USA
204