Water Gill At-PAC Buoyancy Comp.

[MykolG]

I had one many years ago. I sold it a while back to someone who used to work for the company, which he told me was now out of business. So I guess you'd have a hard time getting parts because of that.

He also told me that there was an issue with where the hose attached to the air bladder. Just FYI so you can inspect yours. Apparantly the hose seperated from the bladder at that connection point which caused several diving accidents and led to the downfall of the company. I think the "newer" BC's that had this problem fixed had a brass right-angle fitting instead of the plastic one, but I'm not 100% sure as I'm not an expert on the BC.

I don't know if this helps any, but hope it does...

-Mike

I was certified through NASDS back in the late 1970's and bought the At Pac. It was a great BC. Just the other day I pulled it out of the closet to show it to a friend who just now got certified through PADI. I wanted to show him what the At Pac looked like compared to the new style BC's. As I pulled it out of its case I noticed that the aforementioned plastic right angle piece had broken. I sure am glad I was NOT wearing it at the time. It is saddening to see all my expensive gear not useable any more. I also have a ScubaPro Pilot and Mark 7 regulator. [not made any more and parts are not available for it.] I also have a SAS custom Air suit. We called it that because you would probably get some slight amount of water in it during a dive. The suit is still good except that I now weigh 25 lbs more. My last dive with all this gear was in 1986 off of a brand new dive boat out of Santa Barbara. I hate the thought of spending all this money all over again. I do wish Water Gill still made the At Pac.
Mike

 

[VooDooGasMan]

I have a watergill if you are interested in having one again.

 

[coralcruiser]

If you go on ebay and do a search for seapro in the sporting good section. You will find some brand new at-pacs being built/sold. Just contact the person selling them and maybe he can get what you need.

I used the travel seapro from 1989 until the mid-90's when the hose separated from the bladder. How I wish I could find one like that again. Weight-integrated, weighed under 4 lbs and folded up into a small nylon bag with a handle. I still used the bag but now I pack my ultra lite oxycheq plate and harness in it.

 

[RonMurray]

I might be interested in a replacment bladder for my At-Pac as well. Do yo have the version with the hard shell?

 

[Akimbo]

I finally gave up using my Ad-Pack wing a few years ago because I lost confidence in the aged materials. The inflator hose is no problem to replace but the bladder and inflator valve softgoods are getting pretty long in the tooth.

 

[fxrguy]

I was certified through NASDS back in the late 1970's and bought the At Pac. It was a great BC. Just the other day I pulled it out of the closet to show it to a friend who just now got certified through PADI. I wanted to show him what the At Pac looked like compared to the new style BC's. As I pulled it out of its case I noticed that the aforementioned plastic right angle piece had broken. I sure am glad I was NOT wearing it at the time. It is saddening to see all my expensive gear not useable any more. I also have a ScubaPro Pilot and Mark 7 regulator. [not made any more and parts are not available for it.] I also have a SAS custom Air suit. We called it that because you would probably get some slight amount of water in it during a dive. The suit is still good except that I now weigh 25 lbs more. My last dive with all this gear was in 1986 off of a brand new dive boat out of Santa Barbara. I hate the thought of spending all this money all over again. I do wish Water Gill still made the At Pac.
Mike

I to am an old ex-owner of the Watergill/Seapro At-Pac. I bought the stuff used back in 1978 when I got certified and continued using it for 15 years. It still functioned when I sold it and am thankful for all the great memories it gave me. The only regret I have is that I drank the cool aid and had one of the Seapro "comfort" jackets installed on it back in the early 90's. I should have stayed with the Hog harness! I'm "yet again" getting back into diving and wanted something similar to the At-Pac so I just ordered a new BP&W setup.

 

[Johnmpcny]

I had one in 1976. It was orange and I panted the flares in black paint that was high gloss, the thing too a 16 yo new diver looked cool and mean. Wish I still had it for my son to see.

When I got back into driving I went right to back inflates, once a Atpac was on your back you wanted nothing in your way.

 

[MykolG]

Seeing as I have taken up SCUBA diving again, I figured I could use all my "old" diving gear. After all, it cost me a small fortune in the late "70's. I was hoping to use my custom SAS [Sub Aquatic Systems] air suit. [Can't do that...I put on some weight] My Scuba Pro Pilot with the Mark 7 regulator is so far out of date that parts are no longer available. I really wanted to use my AtPack. I liked this system. However, when I inspected it, I found the little plastic elbow disintegrated in my hands. I came to this list for help only to find out that the company is out of business. Anyway, to make a long story short[er] I purchased an Aqua Lung i3 Dimension BC. It fits me very well. Lots of freedom of movement. Unfortunately, 3 months ago I injured my knee and have not had a chance to dive with this new BC. The only item of all my old stuff that I can still use is my 95 CF air cylinder. It was designed to be used with a back inflate BC. I had to buy a new mask because over the years my eyes are not as good as they were and now I have corrective lenses built in to the mask. That sure makes a difference. I'm looking forward to diving this summer with all the new stuff.

 

[Hvr4fun]

I also started with NASDS back in 1975 and have been using the At-Pac ever since. The At-PAC is still being made in CA by a company called DiveTek, a small operation. If you need help tracking them down drop me a note and I'll help find the phone number.

 

[MykolG]

Thanks Hvr4fun but, I gave up with the At-Pac and bought an Aqua Lung Dimension i3. I haven't had a chance to use it yet. I do like the way it fits. I have high hopes for this system.