Is Dacor junk??

[Nemrod]

I read your post with interest. First, good to find some one else who even knows what Duck Feet are. I have a set I bought 40 yrs ago and they are still usable. Cant say that about some of the stuff made today. I used a Dive Rite wing last season. While in Cozumel I had an inflation failure due to a slipped O ring in the dump valve on the inflator hose. Seas were about 2', I was tired and lugging a 100cf tank. Never again will I dive a wing with that kind of setup. I switched to OMS double 60 and and very content. OMS has just an elbow on the hose making it necessary to dump from the inflator or pull a string on the bottom, but the chances of failure are reduced. John

John can you explain more about the failure and what type of BC you will be using now? I am not arguing, just asking because I want to know what another seasoned divers opinions are. Thanks. N

 

[Frog Foot]

John can you explain more about the failure and what type of BC you will be using now? I am not arguing, just asking because I want to know what another seasoned divers opinions are. Thanks. N

I switched to OMS dual bladder. I removed the cords from both upper exhaust valves. It now only dumps from the lower valve and from my BC inflator when raised "the old way". I was using a Dive Rite Rec Wing when I had the failure. The relatively complex(compaired to what I now use) dump valve(located where the inflator hose goes in to the bladder) had an O ring jump out of its seat causing all air to immediately expell. I will NEVER use flotation with such a device again. I see no other flotation out there that for ME compares to the OMS. Love the redundancy. Even though it costs a little more, I am worth it. Please note the most recent issue of Rodales or Scuba Diving as it is now called. Relates an accident analysis(read fatality) in a diver who had the same failure. He apparently had the mechanism come apart, reassembled it incomplete, jumped in the water and kept going. Of course he should have checked it first, but how many people out there ever had one of these valves apart and know what goes inside? Not with today's training. John Fox aka Frog Foot.

 

[Frog Foot]

John can you explain more about the failure and what type of BC you will be using now? I am not arguing, just asking because I want to know what another seasoned divers opinions are. Thanks. N

BTW, the failure I had was at the end of a dive. BC inflated fine before I jumped in, worked well during the dive, but totally refused to hold air at the end. Buddy was a new diver, seas were high relatively speaking, down current from the boat, which looked far away. I learned a lot. Not only did I get a dual bladder wing, I carry a pretty generous sausage with about the same lift as my bladder. It may look silly, but I got enough "PTSD" from that adventure to assure I float in the future!! JF(frofoot)

 

[Sordello]

Is Dacor junk - now that's a loaded question!!! My equipment has always had a piece of dacor equipment attached and none of it was junk - it may not have been the finest piece of equipment made, but the equipment always performed flawlessly.
For a short time in the late 80's I went with the finest scubapro equipment from head to toe. I also spent a fortune. The old Dacor regulator was used as an octopus at that time. It was all stolen and never recovered.

I now am back to a hodgepodge of different stuff including Dacor. None of it junk althogh some would dissagree.

 

[scubapro50]

("the rumor of my death is highly exaggerated" ..... MARK TWAIN) That may apply to the new company formed when Head Sports purchased Dacor. Everyone loved the old Dacor Corporation .... but toward the end it was mismanaged and produced a lot of products which did not live up to expections. Mares/Dacor still have a way to go to iron out the rough spots but their new exchange program for old Dacor regulators made before 2000 is a good step in the right direction. To find out more about this program go to www.scubaboard.com/t110024-.html for more information .

 

[Eris Lucan7*]

The Dacor tremel Jakets looking real good ;i have not one off them ,I mostli use
Nemrod Divewear that is not to find in U.S. Markets (units and else1) ....

7*

Http://www.solafireflights.de

 

[Rick Murchison]

Dacor... junk... oh yeah...
Just pack it all up and send it to
Rick Murchison
2549 Aimee Drive
Montgomery, AL 36106
and I'll dispose of it properly. No charge!
Rick

 

[stevetim]

I personally don't us Dacor, but I wonder how many people that are posting here actually choose dive equipment based on the comfort and best fit of the equipment vs. the perceived reputation of a company that sells gear. I've only been on the board for a short period of time, but have yet to actually see a thread about the widespread horrible quality of Dacor gear that is causing dozens of dive trips to be cut short and endangering the lives of divers.
Dive equipment sells the same as golf equipment that I use. What I mean is, some companies have the reputation of being the "for the cheap, no skills, not so rich guy", while others have the reputation of being "what the PROS use". I have myself seen a $1200 set of irons made by Call...that has 2 of the heads falling off of the shafts. It's all about EGO. I can assure you I can play any manufacturers' equipment with a good degree of success. I think this holds true in the scubaworld. If I put Dacor gear on my back or in my mouth, I think I will be able to dive well enough. Now I might not look as "cool" as the ScubaPro guy or the like, but look at the nice marketing name of ScubaPro...tell me that in itself doesn't inflate some egos around the dive community.

 

[Sordello]

I Hope I didn't buy any junk and although I used to buy stuff that was considered the best - AKA Scubapro. I now tend to look for bang for the buck - based on usability, features, and price. I recently bought some new stuff and although I don't know much about the current market as I havn't bought any new gear in over 5 years.
I purchased a Dacor Nautica Airtrim for $270 and believe I got a good deal. won't use it for a couple weeks when I'll do some pit diving with a group.

It is obvious after putting it on that it is completely different from any other BC I've ever worn. I never wore a internally weighted BC before and the manual talks about adjusting the front and rear pockets for best confort and balance - new stuff.

The manual inflator is in a separate pocket in the right side rather integrated into the auto inflator on the left side - new to me

The inflation controls are attached directly to the bladder on the left side rather than on a hose.The deflation valves are appear to be pnumatically operated valves on the upper right shoulder and on the back and appear to operated by tank pressure - wow. To me this is very complicated. They say it will deflate at any angle and you don't have to hold up the hose any more.

Is it junk, I don't know, but it is high tech and I know that when reaching for something it will take some getting used to as old habits cause me to reach to a certain place for something and they are not there. I'll get used to that but it is odd and I'll keep the old Aqualung BC for a while.

 

[Hammergetmo]

1st off I am a long time reader, with no posts, so please no flames here. I am a troll and proud of it!

I have to disagree with these guys......IMHO Dacor doesn't suck. It may be over priced, but it definately doesn't suck. My whole set up is Dacor, and I really like it. I have had it for 6 years now, and it has performed flawlessly. I have never had anything fail or break on me and it has been very consistent. I am a purely recreational diver. I don't do caves, wrecks, cold water or any other forms of extreme diving, so I don't need an "extreme" set up like ALOT of the people who post here do.

I absolutely love my Dacor RIG BC. I have the original one from back in 1995-96, and I still love it to this day. It may be a bit smaller on me than back then , but it is still my favorite BC I have ever worn. IMO Back in flation is the ONLY way to go, no matter who the manufacturer is. ANY kind of back inflate beats a normal BC hands down. From there you just have to decide what YOU need in a BC, what you can afford, and what kind of diving you are going to do. If its extreme with a dry suit, go with the Halcyon system, if recreational only.....then there are alot of good recreational back inflate BC's out there to choose form.

If I was to do it today, I probably wouldn't go 100% Dacor, but for different reason than "it's crap/junk". Unlike back in 1996, there is alot more afordable very high quality stuff out on the market now. With online retailers, equipment has goten even cheaper, so you can put together a really high quality set of gear for a fraction of the cost f 5-7 years ago.

If I was going to go out and by a new set up today, I would look into the following manufacturers for a purely recreational set up:

Regulator/1st Stage: Apeks or Scubapro...can't go wrong either way with these 2....The scubapro D-400 is still my all time fav regulator.

BC: Back inflate is a must, vest BC's make me feel like I am wearing a straight jacket. I would buy a Zeagle Ranger or Concept Sport, or a Scubapro Knighthawk. I would also seriously look at the Dacor RIG, but the new III version looks a little goofy with 25 D rings on it now, but its still a good back inflate BC. Possibly an IDI back inflate BC, but I don't know much about them. One of the things that is a muct for me in a BC is REMOVEABLE weight system. I dive in the tropics (Cozumel) and on the small fast boats they use there, you hand your weights in or toss them over the side before you take off your BC and hand it up. For me, I dive with 15-20 pounds of weight, so that coupled with an XL back inflate BC makes for one heavy BC if your weights don't come out, and is probably going to give the poor boat driver a hernia trying to lift a 50+# bc into the boat. With my Dacor RIG, the weights pull out and i can toss them over the side of the boat before I hand my BC off.

Guages: Suunto. From all that I have been reading the past year or so, Suunto seems to be at the top of just about everyones list for dive computers, plus they are pretty affodable now a days. I also think Oceanic makes good stuff, but I think they may be Suunto's made.

Anyways, I say all of that to say this: IMHO Dacor isn't junk. I have dove with mine for 6 years now and it has held up for me. Now over the last 6 years (since I bought mine and Mares bought Dacor) things may have changed there. I know the market has for sure, and I can imagine with being bought by another scuba company like Mares that things probably aren't what they were at Dacor, but I don't think they are selling junk.

Just try to get the best bang for your buck, decide what kind of diving you are going to do, and DON'T limit yourself to just one brand for all your gear. Mix and match if you like, it can be done! (Something I wish I had known way back when! ) If you go with Apeks, Scubapro, Suunto, Zeagle, you will NOT be disappointed.

Hope this helps,

Justin

+1 on mixing and matching!