Tesoro Sand Shark
Price: $679
Avg. Score: 
4.25
Based on 24 reviews
4.25Based on 24 reviews
Avg. Durability:
4.17
Avg. Ease of use:
4.17
Sand shark
March 14, 2018
I have metal detected for many years and have used many different type of
detectors. If you want a detector that works great in salt water and is
reliable I would recommend the Sand Shark. If it says there is a target
there you can bet it is there. It paid for itself in a short time. Never
had a problem with it after two years of heavy use.
I use it in the ocean a lot and never had any leaks. I always put silicon grease on the seal and make sure there is no sand on the gasket. Love the fact that you can mount the unit on a belt and then just swing the pole and coil. Lot easier on the arm when detecting for several hours. If I am going in the water always use my sand shark. If there is something worth while there I will find it.
Max Depth: 10 inches on US quarter
Overall Rating
Durability
Ease of Use
Would you recommend this to a new user?
Yes, absolutely!
Steve from
Santa barbara
20
Tesoro sand shark
July 29, 2016
I recently ordered a Tesoro Sand Shark and put it on the dinning room table
to do an air test. I put it in VCO and not a sound on a coin and tried
normal mode nothing. I took the batteries out and tested them and they were
good just like the battery test on the Tesoro. When I took the battery pack
out a small piece of metal fell out. Well I reread the manual an it said
while you are in "F" set mode, your sand shark will not respond to targets.
Well let me say it did respond to targets and only then could I put it in VCO mode and Normal mode and it would respond. I sent it back for a refund and now I have shell shock and I don't think I will ever buy a Tesoro again. You would think Tesoro could at least put a coil cover in the box and a new seal and a 2nd battery pack.
Max Depth: 4 inches on US quarter
Overall Rating
Durability
Ease of Use
Would you recommend this to a new user?
No, not really.
Roger Kline from
Rochester, mn
227
Best pi detector out there
June 10, 2016
Hello, I own not one but 2 Sand Sharks and I couldn't be happier. I've
owned 3 Minelab Excaliburs (8" x 2, and the newer Excalibur ll) in the past
but I've been disappointed due mostly to their heavy weight. Now with my
Sand Sharks, I plan to go to the beach Sunday and try my luck. I've also
owned 3 Whites Beach detectors, one the Beach Hunter ID, Pi-Pro and the
newer Dual Surf. None better than my Sand Sharks and at a better price.
Overall Rating
Durability
Ease of Use
Would you recommend this to a new user?
Yes, absolutely!
Xlntech from
Ca
85
Sand shark never let me down
January 24, 2016
I have owned my Sand Shark about 10 years ago. I purchased it from Rusty
who works at Tesoro and retails Tesoro detectors on the side. (Call Tesoro
and ask for Rusty) I use my detector about 6 weeks per year 10 hours per
day on vacations to beaches around the world. My Sand Shark has never
stopped working. It has never let me down. Yes it has inherited strange
background sounds a few times while on a ocean trip but it never quit nor
let me down. I could always keep on metal detecting because the target
sound always came through loud and clear.
Whenever I had any weirdness with my machine I dropped it off when I returned home at the Tesoro office (I live 15 miles away). I would get my machine back completely tuned up, anything looking worn would be replaced and they would give me some tips of how to obtain peak performance. This was all free and part of the lifetime Tesoro warranty. I have always been treated like a King by Tesoro.
I usually work in water about neck deep or less for several hours at a time. Often while on a beach trip I run across other guys out in the water with different brand machines. I challenge them to a depth challenge so that I can see how my Sand Shark compares. I often beat the Whites brand dual machine but the Minelab Excalibur beats me by about 2 inches on quarters at 10 inches every time. However, I wouldn't run out and purchase an Excalibur because they cost almost three times as much, they have problems with batteries and knobs and only have a one year warranty.
The guys that have these Excaliburs for 5 years tell me they have paid several hundred dollars in repairs to fix different issues. They tell me that they don't like their down time. The Tesoro Sand Shark is the best ol'workhorse from Tesoro with the none better lifetime warranty. Check it out. There is no other detector company I know of that has a lifetime warranty especially for underwater machines. Tesoro knows they have a tough machine. The Excalibur from Minelab is the "Barbie" 2 inches more depth winner, high maintenance metal detector that looks beautiful but is expensive and lets you down from what their owners have told me. The Sand Shark is the good and loyal girl from next door that is tried and true and although not the prettiest, but the winner in the long run and doesn't ransack your wallet.
I actually had a kid run over me with a boogie board in Maui which caused my detector pole to break. I was able to use the hotel maintenance guys tools for a repair to keep me going. When I got home I took my machine to Tesoro and told them the story and that I needed to buy that portion of the pole from them. I left the machine and they replaced that piece, put new ear pads on the earphones, a new arm band, new arm pad and made sure everything was perfect with the circuit board and coil for my next beach trip. I was expecting to pay for the pole and I hadn't asked for anything else to be done. What did Tesoro charge me NADA, NOTHING, ZIP, ZED, ZERO.
Now if you want to go an extra 2 inches deeper in underwater sand purchase a $1500 Excalibur from Minelab and continue to pay for all repairs after the one year warranty expires. If you want to have a machine that won't let you down on that important trip and will continue to work even if some quirky background sounds appear every few years, purchase a Tesoro Sand Shark. I promise you that this is a true statement of my experiences with my Tesoro Sand Shark. AL in Chino Valley, AZ.
Max Depth: 10 inches on US quarter
Overall Rating
Durability
Ease of Use
Would you recommend this to a new user?
Yes, absolutely!
AL G. from
Chino Valley, Arizona
184
Super machine!
May 25, 2013
I've nothing but positive things to say about the machine. I've looked for
ways that it disappoints, and I could find none. It's a solid workhorse, a
real performer. Out performs my friends with their "high end" machines 99
percent of the time.
I've owned a number of PI machines. Whites and Garrett primarily. None have matched the simplistic operation. I dig targets over 12" regularly. Gold, Silver, Platinum. It's made no difference. If I had to dig deeper, I wouldn't want to. I own 2 sharks. My 10.5 went sour on me after a years use. Coil short. Sent it to Tesoro, they repaired it, free of charge, and paid for the shipping back to me.
You'll NOT find another company who will do the same.
James - 25 year veteran.
Max Depth: 15 inches on US quarter
Overall Rating
Durability
Ease of Use
Would you recommend this to a new user?
Yes, absolutely!
James in Florida from
West Coast
2112
Not very deep for a pulse detector
April 08, 2013
Pros:
Good battery life Very comfortable to swing for long periods, Lifetime warranty, Stable threshold and seems well constructed.
Cons:
Not deep at all for a pulse induction detector. I buried a 4gm 18kt. Gold ring at 12 inches and the Sand Shark could not sniff it. I brought the ring up to 10 inches and got a weak response from the machine. I have read lots of reviews and I believe many people believe that since they can find high conductive cheap jewelry and coins at great depth with the Sand Shark that they can do the same with real gold.
It is not true.
Coils are hardwired and the largest available is 10.5 inches.
The battery indicator is NOT accurate. When you first turn of the machine, it will respond with 6 to 7 beeps, even when the battery voltage is, in fact, low.
And low voltage seriously affects the depth of the machine.
Overall Rating
Durability
Ease of Use
Would you recommend this to a new user?
No, not really.
Stuart Anthony from
Hilton Head, SC
1610
I would steer clear
February 02, 2013
I debated about purchasing a White's DF or the Sand Shark for my
once-in-a-lifetime trip to Hawaii. Base on the reviews, I purchased a
brand new Sand Shark from a dealer on eBay. I used this detector one week in Hawaii. The machine falsed on every swing. I called Robert at Tesoro the first Monday in Hawaii to question about it. I have used PI detectors before, and this one seemed very unstable. The detector also came with one of the inside foam supports rattling around in the innards, which caused the machine to auto-shut off when tilted. The last day of the trip, when removing the batteries to pack for home, I noticed the box had leaked there was salt and corrosion already forming. Clearly this detector was faulty from the beginning.
I sent the Sand Shark in for repair but Tesoro blamed me and charged me for the repair. Tesoro also charged me for a new battery holder ($16). When I received the "repaired" machine back, it still had salt on the inside of the box. I complained and Tesoro decided to take this machine back, although I am out $100 because of shipping twice to Tesoro, a new battery holder purchase and returned but with no refund and a "repair" on a faulty new machine with a company with a "lifetime warranty. "
I had a couple of phone conversations with Tesoro's rep and the "top dog" Vince Gifford.
1. I was treated with disrespect by Robert Martensen and Vince Gifford in more than one phone conversation.
2. They certainly didn't take a tone expected of a company with such "superior customer service". I wouldn't be complaining now if they had!
3. They haven't refunded me for a shoddy repair and new goods ($16 battery holder) that were returned to them.
4. I expected to have a wonderful time detecting on a trip I will probably never get to experience again and yet, I had a machine that was broken from the beginning, a very horrible experience with Tesoro "customer service" and am out $100. That's reason to complain!!!!!
NEVER AGAIN TESORO!!! Lifetime warranty? NOT!!!! I had used this detector one week in Hawaii on a once-in-a-lifetime trip, after buying it brand new. It leaked on me. Tesoro blamed me and charged me for the repair (which is money I never got back. ) I am out a positive detecting experience which I will never get back and $100. Be wary of this company that sells defective new machines, charges the customer, keeps some their money and customer service that is tanking, just like their out-of-date and non-functioning website.
Overall Rating
Brian from
Oregon
4726
Sand shark
December 26, 2012
Got the machine for Christmas, this is my 1st metal detector and I bought
it because of the price and reviews. Took it outside in my backyard and
found a piece of metal a less than quarter of an inch in size. I had a
hard time finding it in my hand because it was so small the the SS said it
was there and it was:) I don't know much about other machines but I'm very impressed. I will update as I get more experience.
Overall Rating
Jay from
Va
613
Sand Shark Produces
October 31, 2012
Great machine for low trash rea beaches, It will pay for itself in a short
period of time. Easy to use, finds the 1st time I used it and great
battery life!
Overall Rating
Mudslingers from
SE Gulfcoast Fl.
97
Good Machine, Bad Experience with Tesoro
April 05, 2012
I'm sure most of you have had great experiences with this detector and with
Tesoro for that matter, but I on the other hand had quite a frustrating
experience with them. I ordered a new Sand Shark and received it a week later. I took it out a few times and treated it gently, but I removed my headphones and one of the blue ear cups came off the the head band. . I popped it back in and it comes right off again. . there was not much holding it on.
I also experienced some weird quick ZZzzip sounds randomly while detecting so I contacted Tesoro and sent my detector back.
The service guy told me that somehow during the assembly process, someone forgot to fill the headphone cup with some sort of gel epoxy that keeps it from floating and also helps keep the headphones attached. They also found that my coil did not pass their pressure test so they replaced it. . I felt good about the service. . until I got the machine back. .
When it came back, the headphones were replaced, good, they included some free batteries and also more of the little grease packs for sealing which was nice, the coil was replaced BUT there was a large obvious plastic molding defect on the bottom. . It looked like a large portion of the coil was melted from the inside.
I contacted Tesoro and they said I could return it. I kept it for a few weeks, tried it out since they said the defect should not affect the performance, it seemed ok but was terrible in a heavy black sand area. so I returned it again. .
I received the unit back a week later and was happy. . everything looked good so I started re-assembling the metal detector. I got it all together and then went to put the coil cover on and it would not fit, just wouldn't stay on. .
It was only then that I noticed that the coil was warped bad enough that the cover would not stay. The previous two coils this was not an issue, in fact getting the coil cover off was very difficult!!
At this point I was frustrated and wrote a complaint email, stating what I told you above and how this is unacceptable.
The next morning I get a call from someone in their support division actually chewing me out and lecturing me that "If we had to toss out every coil that wasn't perfect we would have to toss 30 percent of them out" and at another point through the call he stated that the detector was "Not a museum piece, and was meant for finding treasure".
I was kind of shocked at first, then angered that after what I had experience I was getting lectured. . . He even told me to take some silicone and glue the coil cover on. . so I hung up after stating that I thought I was buying a professional product.
I don't want people to get me wrong, I really LOVE my detector!! I had a Tesoro PIranha detector before this and they work great, detecting things as small as a staple in the beach sand! What I am unhappy about is the Quality of support I got for repairing the detector. Three strikes you know?
I have pictures at my website goldbuddies.com in the metal detecting section.
Personally I wish they had not decided to hard-wire the coils to the control box. They say they cannot get reliable connectors. . this is not an issue for Whites and Garrett. Also the coil acts as a rudder, would have liked a coil like you can get on the Garrett Sea Hunter or Minelab detectors that are thinner and have less resistance to moving water.
Overall Rating
Wesley Bauerle from
Los Gatos CA
4811