Are DUI drysuits really worth the extra?

[TSandM]

I've had no problems at all with the TiZip zipper, since I realized I just have to give it an extra tug to make sure it fully seats at the end. I used to lube it every half dozen dives or so -- I haven't done that in quite a while, and no leaks.

I think Santi and DUI are kind of like Audi and BMW. Both are quality suits, both are expensive, and you will pick the things you prefer from either brand. The TLS 350 does not seem a very durable suit, but my husband has put a hole in his Santi E-Motion (banging into barnacles in surge in the Socorro Islands). I've heard of dissatisfied customers with custom suits from both brands (but it seems like far fewer with Santi). I find the $70 charge for leak testing a DUI suit to be offensive, but then again, I have no idea what Halcyon would do in the same situation, because I haven't had to send a suit back to them, and I don't know of anyone who has.

 

[Shinythings]

My $0.02... I have never met a Whites Suit that didn't leak. I've done probably a dozen dives on whites suits over the years and have never been impressed.

I deal a lot with DUI suits and have dove a CLX450 and TLS350 multiple times. Both excellent fitting suits. The TLS series are far too light for the diving I do in the PNW but the CLX and FLX lines hold up extremely well. They ONLY reason I would justify a DUI over other alternatives would be for the ZIP seal dry gloves. With that being said, I have had far too many silicone ZIP seals rip/tear to be a fan of wrist ZIP seals. We are getting a broken wrist seal in almost every OW class despite how much emphasis we put on being careful with them. The ZIP seal dry gloves are awesome, yet not a durable as other cuff style systems.

My experience with the cheaper BARE suits has been poor. Lots of leaks, lots of ripped seals and deteriorating seals. Several sticky inflator valves on suits less than a year old (SI tech). I was however impressed by the quality and durability of the tech dry but it has a thin cut in the legs which made it impossible for me to dive.

My personal suit is a Pinnacle Evo II. I chose it for it's price point and its material. It is a very durable suit made out of cordura. Has pockets, p-valve, front entry and crotch strap. It retails for half of what a DUI does and I find it equally are durable after 200+ dives in it. Its fit is not perfect but I would never go with a different suit until I am done school and can offered to spend the big bucks. I have found this suit to be the best bang for buck around and have hear the same of Pinnacles other suits.

 

[cb5150]

Oh, one last VERY important thing. YOU MUST GET A P-VALVE. I don't know why people think they are optional, but in a drysuit, divers without them tend to not drink as much as they should because they can't pee at will, and even at the surface it is somewhat if a pain to remove the suit to go. It is not worth the added risk of DCS due to dehydration to save $300 on getting a p-valve and a big box of condom caths. Your body will thank you.

As someone who is now considering a drysuit, I find this entire thread interesting. It seems that, much like every other piece of scuba equipment, there are multitudes of divers who swear that "ABC Drysuits" are the greatest drysuits ever made by man and designed by God. Then there are just as many divers who claim that "ABC Drysuits" were obviously made by a blind man with ice picks for hands. I guess the answer is just to find a brand/dealer that you trust and hope they stand behind their product.

The other interesting aspect is the P-Valve. This past weekend I did several dives in 57* water in a 7mm wetsuit and froze my cookies off...afterwards I immediately started researching drysuits. I was diving with a large group of drysuit divers and the majority of them were either wearing adult diapers or simply didn't urinate. I asked about the whole P-Valve vs, diaper thing and most of them told me that for relatively short recreational dives in the 45min-60min range (which is all I do), a P-Valve is not needed and can actually be more effort than it's really worth. They told me that P-Valves are more of a tech thing. I have to admit that it was an odd feeling being in a changing room with a bunch of grown men wearing diapers.

Anyway, thanks for all the info.

 

[C Dub]

Anyone have feedback on relief zippers? Or having both a relief zipper and P valve?

 

[TSandM]

I don't think there is a perfect dry suit. Every single one has its drawbacks, even if for some of them, the big drawback is price.

My first suit was a Mobby's, and it had a couple of very nice qualities: It was dirt cheap (I think I paid $600 for it brand-new) and the self-donning system was the easiest of any suit I've ever tried on. Its downside was durability -- the thing was getting fixed constantly, and in those days, I didn't do my own dry suit repairs, so it was expensive and involved shipping the suit away.

I had a nightmare experience with an attempt at a custom Diving Concepts suit, but the company is gone, so it no longer matters.

My Fusions have been darned good suits. They're relatively inexpensive, and in my hands, VERY difficult to hurt, and super easy to do a field repair on -- just carry Gorilla tape. They are harder to get into with thick undergarments, and the zipper design pretty much ensures eventual failure where the zipper folds over the shoulder, and you cannot use the plastic zippers on them. But I don't know how many people put 400 dives on a dry suit, which is how many I had when my zipper failed.

My Santi is a delightful suit. The material is heavy and clearly difficult to damage, since I have not had a single leak in it. I sometimes wish I had gotten the lighter-weight suit that Peter has, but then again, he's put a hole in his. There are a TON of lovely, thoughtful features to the suit, that make it nice to get in and out of and nice to use in the water (hooray for Santi pockets!). But it's an expensive suit, which gets back to the original question, which was, "Is the price premium for DUI worth it?". In my mind, if I pay a premium price for a premium product, I want to conclude, with use, that it was indeed premium. Whether the quality is worth the price is a decision I made, but I don't want to feel as though I didn't get the things I was willing to pay for. I can say that my Santi suit has not disappointed me in any way.

 

[tech3324]

Anyone have feedback on relief zippers? Or having both a relief zipper and P valve?

If you have a P-valve then I don't see the need for a relief zipper. I simply wouldn't have a drysuit without a P-valve. Knowing that I couldn't pee if I really had too would be a source of anxiety imho.

 

[TSandM]

I dove a dry suit for years before getting a p-valve -- of course, options for women were limited at that time! But for the recreational diver doing dives under an hour, it's perfectly workable, although there will be occasions when you will exit the water in a state of urgency (the "waddle of shame").

It doesn't seem that "accessorizing" is as much of a hassle for men as it is for women, but on the other hand, if you are using condoms with adhesive, doing so for one dive can be a problem, as the adhesive may be difficult to induce to let go if it's only been on a short time. I can see a relief zipper being a pleasant convenience if you tend to do fairly short dives and don't want to hassle with condoms.