Dacor

I just purchased all DACOR equipment including the DACOR DARWIN wrist computer. In researching posts in this group it appears that there are positive and negative opinions regarding DACOR. Now, I love the computer however have not used the bc, reg etc. yet as they just arrived last night. It is impossible to do research in this group because everyone has an opinion on the products and feel that theirs is better. So, my question is does anyone have any valid, reliable points regarding DACOR? Hopefully, I did not make a mistake purchasing my first complete set up...

While the pros and cons of Dacor gear have been discussed before, I don't mind reviewing my opinion. I have owned quite a bit of dacor gear including a bc and reg. I have had real good luck with all the stuff I've owned; it performed and held up well. However, I will never buy a piece of dacor/mares gear again, because of the way Mares/Dacor did us by not supplying parts for the older dacor regs (many, not that old). I have a great breathing dacor reg that will be useless after I run out of stockpiled parts. Hopefully, they will support their newer line of gear better. Enjoy your gear (just like I did), get out and dive. I'm sure your first set won't be your last.
This post and my reply might be better suited in the "Equipment Discussion" forum. Maybe someone will move it, if needed.

goofystan:

I just purchased all DACOR equipment including the DACOR DARWIN wrist computer. In researching posts in this group it appears that there are positive and negative opinions regarding DACOR. Now, I love the computer however have not used the bc, reg etc. yet as they just arrived last night. It is impossible to do research in this group because everyone has an opinion on the products and feel that theirs is better. So, my question is does anyone have any valid, reliable points regarding DACOR? Hopefully, I did not make a mistake purchasing my first complete set up...

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Hey Stan,
I Have a Dacor BC and love it-has all the stuff the Big money ones have for not as much money,close to a 100 dives on it-one hole I put in it,and was fixed easy-and I love it,I Rinse it each dive fresh or salt water. and its going to work for my son to start with when he gets his C-Card
Yes The Dacor Regs and part's that was a bad deal on a good rig,a few guys still have parts but it is not cheap to get them serviced,due to lack of parts!
I hope Dacor sees the light and keeps service as part of the program-
Brad

My first reg set was Dacor. Now I usually dive Apeks, but still have the Dacor. My girlfriend loves her Dacor BC and viper regs, and actually prefers them to my Apeks because there is no bubble interference with the side exhaust, and its an easy breather without adjustment. Simplicity. She only dives warm water.
I use the Apeks ATX 200 in cold water, and usually the viper in warm. I have noticed that the ATX 200 breaths easy and dry in all positions. My viper breaths fairly hard when inverted, but I don't spend too much time inverted!
I have had the viper in 52 degree water and it was fine, although I was nervous the whole time...and that kind of defeats the purpose...
In the end, enjoy yourself, when you start to feel like you are outgrowing your gear, start adding to your collection.

goofystan:

I just purchased all DACOR equipment including the DACOR DARWIN wrist computer. In researching posts in this group it appears that there are positive and negative opinions regarding DACOR. Now, I love the computer however have not used the bc, reg etc. yet as they just arrived last night. It is impossible to do research in this group because everyone has an opinion on the products and feel that theirs is better. So, my question is does anyone have any valid, reliable points regarding DACOR? Hopefully, I did not make a mistake purchasing my first complete set up...

Click to expand...

Stan,

My first set of reg's 4 year's ago was Dacor Viper reg's, and i still have them, and just got them serviced ( i keep them for back up reg's) And they charged me $139 for serving the Reg, 1st stage, and octo.

My wife was also using them when she first started diving, and love's them.
Since then i bought her a brand new set of Scuba pro's, S600 and MK25 first stage, and now she think's she may like the Dacor's better, go figure!!

I also had the Dacor Pro-Rig Bc, as well as there Nautica bc , and loved them both.

Im sure as other's has stated, you'll get alot of Opion's here, i wouldn't worry to much about it, just dive them , have fun, put a 100 dive's or so on them, then when you want to advance further into Scuba, you'll then consider which reg for the type of diving you choose to do will fit your need's the best.

My first set was a Dacor set as well, from Leisure pro, paid $500 bucks back then for the BC, Reg's, and loved it, it was a great starter set, and im sure as you progress with diving, you will "Fine Tune" your equipment for your need's then, enjoy them, there awsome reg's for the buck, when it comes time to service them for me next time though, i will just sell my set and buy new, cause for an extra $100 bucks that's what i could have did had i known!!

Stan, I own a Dacor Viper plain jane and octo. I have put well over a hundred dives on it. They are just fine under most conditions, however they are suseptable to freeze ups in cold and deep conditions. Cold meaning sub 36 degree, deep meaning 100 feet fresh water and deeper. Early on I had a CWD (cold water diving package) installed. I made several relatively shallow(no more then thirty feet) ice dives and had no problems. I like the regs as they are side exhaust and the second stages are light. I have retired these to back up now and will probably sell them as I have switched to Poseidon Xstreams. A much more expensive but more bullet proof option. At least for the diving I do. For a first kit, I think you will be very happy with your purchase. As your diving gets more involved and you try different things you may decide to move on, but by that time you will probably have gotten your moneys worth out of this purchase. Dive safe.

Jim

I have a Dacor Metal Viper which I no longer use. I loved the reg but since Mares bought they out service has gone in the toliet. They keep sending us the wrong rebuild kit and when we sent them photos of my reg so they could see the obvious mistakes they were making they just stiffened up their back and refused to send the correct parts.

So my metal viper is kaput. I no longer will consider anything from Dacor.

Purchased 2 sets of Dacor 960's in the late 80's early 90's - one for me and one for my wife..they were great regs and were still in absolute pristine shape when mares pulled the plug on parts for them. Needless to say, I like many others will not purchase from them. I went out and bought two complete sets of Poseidon Jetstreams. Couldn't be happier. But since yours are new they should keep parts available.
montyb

I have been one of the divers who been ringing the bell about the problems at Dacor/Mares. I own 7 regulators .... 5 of them Dacor, 1 voit and my Scubapro MK10. Three of the five Dacor regulators were purchased about 10 years ago and were supposed to carry a "lifetime warranty " on parts and service. My local dive shop can't get replacement parts from Dacor for these regulators is the bad news. The good news is that they were very well built and with proper care and maintaince (cleaning) should last several more years. I will not purchase any additional equipment from these two companies. They may change regulator models again and stop making parts for their current line in the future. Overall their products have been well made and BC's, masks, fins and other items should perform as well as any other line. My new son-in-law is getting into diving and we are considering Zeagle for both his regulator and BC. They are a little more expensive but they are well made and the company seems to listen and care about their customers more than the "major" big diving corporations. I have also deceided to replace my old Dacor BC with a Zeagle brand BC. I borrowed a Ranger last weekend and really liked it ...... will do more research into their other models before making my final decesion.

I think you are going to be just fine with your Dacor equipment. I own a Dacor Falcon BC and like it a lot. Don't second guess yourself. Your equipment will work fine and you will really like it.