Tesoro Cibola

All I can say is WOW!

Greg in Kenton, TN -
I do a great deal of civil war relic hunting whenever I can and own a Fisher 1265x that I used frequently with my Father-in-Law. Now don't get me wrong, I have found some great and wonderful finds with that machine, however my Father-in-Law had bought him a Cibola and was able to find alot more relics and digging alot less trash than I was. What I found so amazing was he was able to bring in DEEPER Targets with a loud sound that my poor Fisher would not even register. Needless to say I went out and bought one of my own and have not regretted it since. Within 2 hours of first time testing the machine in the same field that has been hunted to death I found a Civil War 3-ringer Minnie Ball, 2 buttons, and a piece of a knapsack hook in the same area I had went over 100+ times with my Fisher 1265x. Not to mention it is so much lighter to swing and I'm less tired from not having to dig up quite as much trash.

WOW Tesoro, you have made a believer out of me and a lifetime customer!

If your looking for a quality detector at an affordable price, this is definitely going to be one of the greats! Folks will be talking about this little Deep Seeking Monster for a long time! :)

Mar 10, 2009

21 Yes
4 No

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Minelab needs Tesoros Tech!

Vinny D in Salem, OR -
I have propsectied with the best (people and detectors) using the latest ML GP'S. The when I no longer had gold close by I purchased a ML Xterra 70 and at the same time a Tesoro Cibola. Never had used one before. The ML is a nice functional machine but to be honest the Cibola kicks it's but in general terms. Who would have figured? The Cibola gives a better authority (response) to deep targets even comparing side by side. The ML cannot SEE a good target when it's close to or over a descriminated target. The Cibola trustingly sounds off as if the trash were not there. I bought this for my budding detector buddy (my son). But what he doesn't know won't hurt him! I'll be borrowing it! BTW, the ML will go deeper, way deeper! IN PROSPECTING MODE! But then you loose the whole reason for having all the programming features. The Tesoro does look a little cheep....But....

Well done Tesoro. I won't be judging based on looks anymore!

Dec 02, 2008

20 Yes
4 No

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4 stars because i'm new to this

The New Guy in Cocoa Beach -
I bought the cibola based on the reviews on this forum and it seemed to be the best for the price. 340 on amazon. I've only been able to use this on the east coast of florida. I've been to the beach about five times with it. I discriminate out nickels and tabs and end up with coins for the most part. probably getting good coin signals from the surface to 7 inches in the sand. It appears to only have one tone and sounds like a higher pitched squeal. Not as annoying as is sounds.

Now this detector is capable of going deep, sometimes to my frustration. I have hit several pop cans at 2 feet plus. I've been able to predict many of the things that the coil targets (cans, tabs, iron, foil). However it usually a good idea to dig even if you think you are hearing a can. One time the signal was widespread and difficult to pinpoint. I thought it was a can for sure. Started digging and found a bunch of coins scattered in the same spot. I turned the discriminator down and was able to get several nickels and tabs. So if you find coins grouped in one spot be sure to turn the discriminator down and you will more than likely find other goodies.

Found 2 rings already. Nothing valuable. One was a super hero ring. The other looks like tin. Rings make a nice loud sound on the cibola. Thought one was a can and dug a crater. Found it 2 feet down. I was amazed and wish i had my camera to take a picture of the depth.

I gave the Cibola 4 stars because i haven't used anything else and i'm sure other detectors can do just as well and have additional features.

Tesora Cibola. So far so good. looking forward to the weekend to go out again. Perfect detector for me, the beginning treasure hunter.

Nov 25, 2008

16 Yes
4 No

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Battlefields here I come!

Erik Lambooy in The Hague, Netherlands, Europe -
After A few years of XP and 1 year of ACE 250 I've finally found wat I need. Got my Tesoro Cibola SE 2 months ago and it's a keeper.

The Sibola SE was introduced in Germany with even grater and accurate discrimination. As a battlefield relic hunter a must.

After a few trips to the Ardennes in Blegium and the Hurtgenwald in Germany the real test came on one of Flaenders fields, a WW1 site.

Littered with shell fragments you really need to know you detector and when to dig and when not. After a few weeks of practice I figured my Cibola was up for it...and it was, Picking up a button just 1 centimeter from a shell fragment without a problem. It is unbelievable how you can tune the discrimination on this machine. A buckle from 50 cm and and a german doppel-fuse from a good 55 cm deep. I'm hooked. In a couple of months I'll get the eliptical disk for even greater accuracy. For now, it works great

Nov 17, 2008

15 Yes
4 No

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Coin hunters delight

glenn in tennessee usa -
I am popping silver out of the ground like crazy. Having to get used to the threshold hum coming through my head phones as I have used the silver umax silent search disc. for some time now. More experience with this machine and I will be better in plenty of time. Tesoro makes fine uncomplicated machines.

Sep 19, 2008

10 Yes
2 No

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THIS WILL BE ONE OF THE GREATS !!!!!

Crackbadger in Texas -
I am an intermediate level coin/ treasure hunter, and have spent about a week testing the Cibola. It is finding alot of coins that another detector I have had missed,, (and it aint no slouch),, The target seperation, and depth are super in the dry central Texas soil. I am positive the CIBOLA will pay for itself in a very short time. RUN to your nearest Tesoro dealer and get you one!!!!!!

Sep 16, 2008

6 Yes
2 No

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Best garage sale find...and my best detector!

Eddie in Belleville, IL -
I bought my like new Cibola last summer at a garage sale. The woman who sold it to me was really bitter at her ex husband who had left her for a much younger woman. She said he had used the detector one time and since then it had gathered dust in the garage and he didn't take it when he moved out. You don't care about this and I really didn't either, but I let the woman vent and wound up getting this amazing detector (and accessories including a bag, digger, pouch and apron) for $50!

I've been detecting for a little over 3 years now, and it's a rare week when I don't get in at least 10 hours. I don't claim to be an expert, but I feel like I'm getting pretty good at this.

When I bought my Cibola, my original intention was to use it a couple times to check it out and then sell it for a nice profit. New Cibolas go for over $300 so I knew I'd come out well. At the time I bought this I had 3 other detectors (and had sold off 2 others) and I couldn't imagine using a detector without a visual ID.

But a funny thing happened the first time I used the Cibola. I found some really good stuff and was having some major fun. Without a screen to look at I discovered sounds and the more I use the Cibola the more I learn about its nuances. I've gotten to where before I dig (or don't dig) I can call a pulltab of either type as well as a bottle cap or screw cap. With the Cibola, coins hit hard and make an unmistakable sound. It's also a ring magnet - I've found 9 rings with it in about a year compared to 4 that I had found in the two years before with other detectors.

I've used Garrett, Minelab, and White's as main detectors. I've found good stuff with them and they all had their good points, but since I invariably kept going to the Cibola and I'm not a wealthy person I went ahead and sold my other units a couple months ago and bought a small coil for my Cibola. I haven't regretted my decision.

The Cibola is the lightest detector I've ever used. On those occasions when I'm able to get out for a full 8-10 hour day with my best buddy and hunting partner the lightness and ease of use is really appreciated. My buddy uses a Garrett GTI 2500 which is Garrett's top of the line and a very good machine with tons of bells and whistles. Before I got the Cibola I considered getting one but at almost a thousand dollars the cost was prohibitive. He always found significantly more than I did until I got the Cibola and since then I'm actually slightly ahead of him!

The Cibola has the best trash separation and pinpointing of any detector I've ever used. I have the 8X9 stock coil and recently added the little 5.75 concentric coil which is not as deep as the stock but is absolutely amazing in trashy areas and tot lots.

As I've gotten more experienced with this unit, I've become more proficient at running the unit "hot" in older areas I detect with the sensitivity turned up to 10 or higher and the threshold turned way up too. This gives me a lot more chatter, but it also seriously increases the depth of this unit. If the area is too trashy or the ground too mineralized, I still have to turn it down. But in moderate to lightly trashy areas I crank it up. Doing it this way last weekend I made my deepest find yet. With the sensitivity just past 10 and the threshold most of the way up I got a light but repeatable signal that wouldn't discriminate out. I supertuned the Cibola (turned the sensitivity and threshold all the way up) and the signal got stronger. As I kept digging deeper I kept prodding with my pinpointer and not getting any signal but when I waved my detector over the hole the signal stayed strong. When I got to about 9 inches I pushed down into the soft ground with the pinpointer and finally got a vibration. As I carefully kept digging I pulled out a 1928 Mercury dime at a measured and unexaggerated 10 inches! Although I got a quarter before with my Xterra at 10 inches, the Cibola is the only machine that has gotten me deeper than 8 inches on any coin smaller than a quarter. Admittedly, we had several inches of rain the week before so I'm sure that helped the Cibola get deeper. But a dime at 10 inches is impressive and says a whole lot about the surpringly deep power of this machine.

I would highly recommend this machine to anyone - newbie or experienced. They call detectors like this without an ID display "beep and dig" but that's really a misnomer. This machine should be called a "beep and dig or don't dig" machine because once you learn what this machine is telling you, you won't be digging much trash unless you want to remove junk that is possibly masking good targets.

One more thing I love about this machine. I like to use a fast sweep speed and this machine handles that perfectly without missing anything. It has lightning fast recovery time.

I try to never say never, but short of another garage sale bargain for resale, I don't see myself buying another detector for a long long time.

Sep 10, 2008

63 Yes
2 No

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Cibola

Brian Cavill in England -
I have had the Cibola for 2 years now. Before a Minlab Explorer. The Cibola beats that hands down for ease of use and more finds made. Depth is very good. i.e.A George V halfcrown measured in at 11 inches. A Roman Sestertius at 9 inches in nail infested soil.Very good on small coins missed by other machines. I use my machine with the coil reversed to offset the weight problem mentioned in one review.
Brian

Aug 08, 2008

14 Yes
5 No

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Cibola user notes

Mike S in Tracy, CA -
I bought a new Cibola about 2 months ago. I thought I would share my experiences with it. It's very easy to use. Anyone can get the hang of it pretty fast. There is no display at all. There is no change in tones when you are over a quarter or a penny or a nickel. When in all metal mode a high pitch squeal usually means a large target. Like a can. But in normal detecting/discriminator mode it either beeps or it doesn't. The discriminator works like a giant volume control. If you set it high you will get coins and bottlecaps in parks. If you set it to read nickels I hope you like digging.
I am going to get a higher end machine with a visual and good audio based system. I will save the Cibola for visitors with no detecting experience.

Jul 14, 2008

5 Yes
21 No

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Recommended beginner detector tesoro silver umax

glenn in middle tennessee usa -
I highly recommend the silver umax it is super sensitive. It will find precious metals...rings both gold and silver. old and modern coins and is excellent for relic hunting. Get the 5.75 and 9x8 coils. one for trashy areas and the other to search deeper, it wont let you down. Research is the key.

May 19, 2008

7 Yes
12 No

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