Before I take the plunge on a dry suit, some questions.

[lexvil]

I know you're just trying to make the point that it's economical. Again, I get that. I have bought stuff while abroad because it's cheaper. The problem is you come back home and find something more needs to be done. I suppose my argument here has little to do with Seaskin vs. other brands, such as Santi, and more to do with the advantages of dealing with a local dive shop, even if it costs more. I don't care whether my local dive shop is a Santi dealer, a DUI dealer, or whatever other good-quality brand they deal in--I think there are advantages to going with whatever brand they deal in. Remember, Halcyon used to be affiliated with DUI, not Santi, and EE was stocked with DUI suits. Back then, I probably would have bought DUI.

For me the main point is I haven’t needed anything done to my suit except minor repair that would be common with any suit and when I needed a new zipper I just sent it to DRIS, I just don’t feel the need for a middle man, others do like face to face service, just not a worry for me.

 

[stuartv]

I know you're just trying to make the point that it's economical. Again, I get that. I have bought stuff while abroad because it's cheaper. The problem is you come back home and find something more needs to be done. I suppose my argument here has little to do with Seaskin vs. other brands, such as Santi, and more to do with the advantages of dealing with a local dive shop, even if it costs more. I don't care whether my local dive shop is a Santi dealer, a DUI dealer, or whatever other good-quality brand they deal in--I think there are advantages to going with whatever brand they deal in. Remember, Halcyon used to be affiliated with DUI, not Santi, and EE was stocked with DUI suits. Back then, I probably would have bought DUI.

I agree with that - IF you know that the shop you're dealing with really will do whatever it takes to make it right.

Another buddy of mine bought a made to measure Fourth Element Argonaut from a local shop. They measured him. They ordered the suit. They put in his shoe size incorrectly. They used his US shoe size # in a field that expected a UK shoe size # (or vice versa?). When the suit arrived, the attached boots were a full size too big.

What should have happened next (in my opinion)? The local shop should have sent the suit back to FE at their expense and gotten the boots changed out for the correct size. All at no expense to my buddy.

What actually happened? "We emailed you a copy of the order. You did not alert us that the shoe size was wrong, so getting it fixed is on you."

Everybody is all friendly and smiles and "can do" (okay, sadly, not every shop is even like that) - until there is a screw-up that will cost them money to make right. And how do you know how a shop will handle something like that before it actually happens?

That thread with Halcyon/EE refusing to warranty the lady's (obviously) defective boots on her Santi suit is another prime example. They only finally agreed to fix it after it went totally public, IIRC. I generally avoid doing any business with businesses that act like that, if I possibly can. People who only do the right thing after getting publicly shamed should be called out and boycotted. In my opinion.

 

[Lorenzoid]

. . .
On the other hand, one of my friends ordered a made-to-measure Santi heated undersuit. It arrived and fit perfectly (thus confirming that the measurements he gave were correct). But, his DUI drysuit would not fit over it. Obviously, that's no fault of DUI or Santi. So, my friend ordered a Santi drysuit to fit over the Santi heated undersuit. He requested it to be made using the same measurements. It arrived and was simply too small/tight for him to wear. The notion that you mentioned of "they will do whatever it takes to make everything just right" is now the topic.

Once the drysuit was confirmed to not fit, Santi fought tooth and nail that it was their fault. Even though they'd made the undersuit using the same measurements and it fit perfectly. Ultimately, my friend had to go get re-measured, on video, so the Santi people could watch and confirm the measurements were done correctly. Only after that would they admit that the measurements were correct and they'd made the suit wrong.

I'm not surprised. I had a similar experience trying to deal directly with Santi--huge headache, they refused to take responsibility, and their emails responding to my complaints were often ambiguous and evasive. My wife and I now have a running joke that they are a bunch of drunk Poles over there. If your friend had been able to go into a shop and try on a drysuit over his heated undersuit, the shop would have taken responsibility for it fitting properly, and they would correct any error at their expense. I learned this the hard way. The lesson I learned was to pay someone else up front to take responsibility and insulate me from the headache of trying to get Santi to fix something.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I agree with that - IF you know that the shop you're dealing with really will do whatever it takes to make it right. . . .

I think that's the bottom line. I regret having gone off on a tangent here, as I have been among the fortunate minority to have been able to work directly with such a shop. Not a useful discussion for the majority.

 

[martincohn]

Reading all the dry suit warranty fun and games makes me happier with my free platinum warranty I got last sale at DRIS.

 

[Chriska]

I think the Nova is a well-made drysuit and I'm pretty happy with mine, although I did have some initial leak problems. My 2 friends haven't had any problems. If I were doing it again, I'd avoid the Si Tech P valve, and I'd avoid the Apeks Low Profile dump valve. I also would give consideration to neoprene socks over the attached boots. Their attached boots are really robust. My dive buddy loves them but I am not a huge fan. While they may never, ever wear out, they limit my ankle mobility some and trap some air.

Just curious, were the leaky problems you had with your drysuit related to the Si Tech P valve and Apeks Low Profile dump valve?

 

[BFRedrocks]

On the other hand, one of my friends ordered a made-to-measure Santi heated undersuit. It arrived and fit perfectly (thus confirming that the measurements he gave were correct). But, his DUI drysuit would not fit over it. Obviously, that's no fault of DUI or Santi. So, my friend ordered a Santi drysuit to fit over the Santi heated undersuit. He requested it to be made using the same measurements. It arrived and was simply too small/tight for him to wear. The notion that you mentioned of "they will do whatever it takes to make everything just right" is now the topic.

FWIW, I ordered both a new Santi E.Lite+ drysuit and a Santi BZ400 heated undersuit. While I live in the US and bought from a US distributor, I did the measurements myself and emailed Santi directly about the sizing (I ordered a modified stock size, not full custom). What they told me is that the adjustments for the drysuit and for the undergarment should not be exactly the same because the undergarment was designed to fit tighter against the body. So my adjustments were "adjusted" accordingly which resulted in a drysuit that fit perfectly over my undersuit. YMMV, especially because their size charts for the drysuits and undergarments are the same.

 

[stuartv]

FWIW, I ordered both a new Santi E.Lite+ drysuit and a Santi BZ400 heated undersuit. While I live in the US and bought from a US distributor, I did the measurements myself and emailed Santi directly about the sizing (I ordered a modified stock size, not full custom). What they told me is that the adjustments for the drysuit and for the undergarment should not be exactly the same because the undergarment was designed to fit tighter against the body. So my adjustments were "adjusted" accordingly which resulted in a drysuit that fit perfectly over my undersuit. YMMV, especially because their size charts for the drysuits and undergarments are the same.

Okay, but I don’t see what bearing that has on ordering fully made to measure, and how they handled it when they screwed it up.

My buddy didn’t order a stock size with adjustments. When ordering made to measure, your measurements are your measurements.