DACOR BCDs

[heydn62]

Anyone have an opinion on Dacor BCDs? I was told at a dive shop to be wary of them because the company was no longer in business. Should this be something that would keep me from buying a BCD?

In particular, I've been looking at the Dacor Talon, which ScubaToys has on closeout.

[bottomdweller]

I own the Dacor Talon BC & I think it is a solid BC.
Dacor was bought out by the same company that owns Mares.
I think they are called headsports. (You could PM Larry or Joe & they could fill you in on the details), But I know they have been planning on bringing out new gear under the Dacor name.
The old dacor products you may not be able to get parts for, but if you can buy it new on ScubaToys then you should have no worries.
I also own a Dacor Trainer Pro RegulatorI bought from ST.

Hope this helps!
Frank

[ScubaToys Larry]

Thanks bottomdweller - you are 100% correct. Head Sports (same company that owns Head Racquets, Skis, Penn tennis balls, etc) owns Mares, and bought the defunct Dacor. Everything made in the last 5 or 6 years with the Dacor name is no problem. The only problem with parts on Dacor is getting parts for old Dacor Regulators from 15 or 20 years ago - as the old Dacor company sold off all the dies and machining before they got bought by Mares. But any of the Mares/Dacor stuff is no problem.

[Lone Frogman]

Originally Posted by ScubaToys Larry

Thanks bottomdweller - you are 100% correct. Head Sports (same company that owns Head Racquets, Skis, Penn tennis balls, etc) owns Mares, and bought the defunct Dacor. Everything made in the last 5 or 6 years with the Dacor name is no problem. The only problem with parts on Dacor is getting parts for old Dacor Regulators from 15 or 20 years ago - as the old Dacor company sold off all the dies and machining before they got bought by Mares. But any of the Mares/Dacor stuff is no problem.

Does that include the Viper regs?

[hychang]

I was given a Dacor BC from a friend at work who's a dive instructor. It needs a weight pocket. Would you be able to find one for it? Thanks.

Originally Posted by ScubaToys Larry

Thanks bottomdweller - you are 100% correct. Head Sports (same company that owns Head Racquets, Skis, Penn tennis balls, etc) owns Mares, and bought the defunct Dacor. Everything made in the last 5 or 6 years with the Dacor name is no problem. The only problem with parts on Dacor is getting parts for old Dacor Regulators from 15 or 20 years ago - as the old Dacor company sold off all the dies and machining before they got bought by Mares. But any of the Mares/Dacor stuff is no problem.

[ScubaToys Larry]

Yes, Vipers are not a problem, and depending on the year of the BC, we might be able to help with the BC pocket... just need a bit more info to know for sure.

[hychang]

Larry, thanks for your reply. I'll send the BC to you guys for annual maintenance and ask to have the weight pocket added. This will be my spare BC, possibly for use for when I am able to acquire a drysuit. However, first thing is first. Need to get some gear for an upcoming trip!!

[BH0873]

I bought the DACOR Talon from ST on closeout, pretty decent piece of equipment, I had a few friends look at it and my LDS all said good qaulity and no worries.

For the price on ST you can't beat it.

[Damselfish]

If you can get a good deal on a Dacor BC you like, go for it. I dove one for like 10 years and it was a nice BC. As said a recent model shouldn't be a problem. And the thing about BCs, unlike regs, is you don't need to worry so much about service. They don't really need annual service as long as you take care of them yourself, there's not much to go wrong, and what there is the parts are often generic. I'd say the most likely thing to go wrong is something with the inflator, which anyone should be able to service and failing that can easily be replaced with a generic inflator.

In my limited experience even new Dacor regs can be a nuisance to get serviced. You may get knee jerk reactions from some shops that they can't service them because they can't get parts, they see Dacor and stop thinking there. So you may have to educate them, as I always did with my Dacor Viper octo I was using until a couple years ago.

["Capt. Midnight."]

When overseas on a Military deployment, Scuba Toys sold several of us the VERY SAME BC, and we love it, I've taken mine down to 220' and through countless dives, and while all the way saying it ain't a Zeagle Ranger, 'nor is it suitable for tech diving, it has NEVER been a problem for ANY of us, EVER on ANY front.

To give a shameless plug; Scuba Toys totally hooked us deployed Military people up at the time with these BCs (our choice.) and other assorted stuff for a great package deal that saved us BIG bux on rentals on all of our dives and courses while deployed for over a year on Curacao, my adopted homeland. When I retire I expect to live out my day's on my adopted homeland.

With all of that said? NONE of our group EVER had an issue with the VERY product you asked about, as it is EXACTLY what I and the rest have in our dive luggage right now, and we've had great luck with them on heavy use, and I will be using mine in April doing Jr. Open water dives with my 10yr. old son in Florida, and expect many more good years from it with good care.
AND I'm happy to learn I can STILL get parts and such if need be.

Thanks you, "Scuba Toys," for the hook up on the solid gear. :The least I can do is tell the truth about the item in question.