DACOR and MARS thing?

[yukoneer]

I loved my DACOR Pacer-of course that was ummm..(calculating years) 27 years ago!

I just nearly had a heart attack - even if I am only 24 years old! you actually dove with something that is non-zeagle!?! there is life after all....

 

[Greg Barlow]

FYI - The companies are Mares & Dacor, both were purchased by Head. Head had Dacor stop making regulator parts for units over 5 years old. If you want to take the chance that any Dacor or Mares regulator you bought today would be supported five years from now, buy it. I will not take that chance.

This widely spread rumor is not actually correct. Head and Mares were both purchased by AMF way back in the late 70's. Mares, Head, and a few other subsidiaries all fell under the HTM Conglomeration when AMF sold off the shares. When Dacor was set to file protection in the bankruptcy courts, it became a part of the same conglomeration. So....If Mares had not picked-up the line when it did, it was currents for the Dacor line. The outside vendor machine shops that were producing parts for the Dacor regs ceased production. Do many of you realize just how expensive it would have been for Mares to produce the tooling necessary to service regs that they had never produced? In all honesty, this would not have been a wise business venture in an industry as relatively small as diving.

Yes, I would be upset too, but Mares is not entirely to blame. Dacor did relatively little R&D during the last decade. They were a line that was slowly dying....

As far as Mares goes with parts availability, it has been a problem in the North America for the last few years. It has never been an issue in Europe, as the parts have always been readily found. Mares has now developed a new parts warehouse, and they have "shall we say, let go", some of the top brass who were slowing down the corporation.

I've been in the diving world for more than 30 years now. In that time, I have used Mares regs for hundreds of dives ranging from ice covered waters to the caves of Florida. They are a well designed, quality product that is farily priced. There are many other great regs on the market, but to discount them on the issue of Dacor is rather harsh.

Greg Barlow
Former Science Editor for Rodale's Scuba Diving Magazine

 

[ProfessorAronnax]

I just nearly had a heart attack - even if I am only 24 years old! you actually dove with something that is non-zeagle!?! there is life after all....

AH HAH! You see young grasshopper, ZEAGLE SYSTEMS was founded about 25 years ago. I was using DACOR 27 years ago. So you see, it was quite impossible for me to dive w/ Zeagle gear until 2 years after already aquiring the Dacor gear. :monkeydan