Dry suit - if money was no object!

[HenrikBP]

I own a DUI FLX Extreme and tried the Santi E.Lite at a demo day. Both great suits, and based on durability etc. it's a toss between the two. That said, the Santi suit has some very nice design features that IMO is a step up from DUI. Their "turbo soles" are lightyears ahead of the DUI "slippers". Their pockets and suspenders has usability features that would be nice to have. The cut of the suit is made specifically for the horizontal "Delta" position, which could/should make for better mobility. Just to mention a few.

As for factories in SD vs. Poland - as much trouble I had getting a full custom DUI suit right, the factory might as well have been in Poland. The US rep for Santi is Scuba Connection / Dive Seekers in NJ, and those guys are all about customer service. So country of manufacture would not deter me from buying a Santi.

 

[doctormike]

Better yet. Look at Santi videos on YouTube. All you need to know. A Polish manufacturer!! With one US distributor in NJ! Are you kidding me! You can get a US made in San Diego! DUI. I'm buying one tomorrow. Santi. Right!

Sounds good. Safe diving..!

You know, I don't own a Santi suit, but I have a bunch of friends who have them, and most of the suits have been trouble-free, and service on the one that I know of that had a boot leak issue was handled fairly well, even though at the time, the company was in transition between US distributors. I agree that a suit made overseas, with limited US distribution, looks pretty dicey, but it hasn't seemed to be a problem in reality.

As for factories in SD vs. Poland - as much trouble I had getting a full custom DUI suit right, the factory might as well have been in Poland. The US rep for Santi is Scuba Connection / Dive Seekers in NJ, and those guys are all about customer service. So country of manufacture would not deter me from buying a Santi.

Yup, I know Wayne and Jason from Dive Seekers well, and they have never steered me wrong. They are the go-to guys for a lot of the tech divers in the NYC area, and even though we have a lot of dive shops in NYC, I often make the 1 hour drive down there for stuff like this.

Wayne brought a couple of Santi suits to our Quarry for me to try last week, and showed me all of the differences between them and a DUI suit that I was also demo-ing: seam construction quality, pocket design, boot design, fit, etc...

Yes, DUI is a fine suit, and he would have happily sold me one, but the Santi really seemed to come out on top, so that's what I went with.

True, it's not American made, but I think that I pump enough $ into the US dive industry to keep anyone from making me feel unpatriotic for going with the Santi.

 

[grf88]

I have a Whites Fusion with a Tech skin and love it. It is truly self donning without having to be a contortionist. I dive the river and the Great Lakes and have had no issues with Zebra Mussels. I have managed to put a couple of slices in it due to negligence but they were easily repaired with the Whites heat applied patches. Several of my buddies have the Bullet Skin and that is very rugged but takes longer to dry although it does not have the sagging on the surface that the Tech skin has when the pockets are full. The suggestion to get the Bullet Skin and another skin for Travel is a great idea. Whites are in Canada so if it ever has to go back to the factory for repair you do not have the same border issues. If you get the replaceable seals the only time it will need to go anywhere for repair is if the zip needs replacing. With a little bit of practice getting into the suit is no problem although it can be tight at the calves with thick undergarments.

 

[meagicano]

I see a lot of people saying the Whites aren't good for big calves - is this something you find out before you buy the suit? Or is it one of those things where I will figure it out later? I'm military and have always had really strong legs and muscular calves/thighs - I have trouble buying fancy leather boots because of it!

I stopped into a couple of places - one is a shop I don't usually deal with and the manager was amazing at going through all the options with me. He showed me the turbosoles on the DUI, we went through his stock, the different seals, etc. He also recommended I check out Santi (even though they don't carry it) but also warned me of the distribution issues.

Then I stopped into my regular shop and was pretty turned off by how the owner acted, so I may bring my money elsewhere and deal with the consequences (dive shop politics) later!

 

[decompression]

I see a lot of people saying the Whites aren't good for big calves - is this something you find out before you buy the suit? Or is it one of those things where I will figure it out later? I'm military and have always had really strong legs and muscular calves/thighs - I have trouble buying fancy leather boots because of it!

I stopped into a couple of places - one is a shop I don't usually deal with and the manager was amazing at going through all the options with me. He showed me the turbosoles on the DUI, we went through his stock, the different seals, etc. He also recommended I check out Santi (even though they don't carry it) but also warned me of the distribution issues.

Then I stopped into my regular shop and was pretty turned off by how the owner acted, so I may bring my money elsewhere and deal with the consequences (dive shop politics) later!

I'm a triathlete with muscular calves and have no problem at all, however doesn't hurt to measure the widest part of your calf and email whites to see. I have a 4xl fusion, if that's the size your looking at I can measure my suit for you. The best is to try one on of course.

 

[jmendels]

+1 for Whites. Full disclosure: I'm a relatively new diver (1.5 years/~120 dives) and have only used this one drysuit. But it has been terrific. Easy to doff/don. Takes a couple of minutes, to be sure, but just a couple. I typically find that I'm ready to go in the suit waiting for buddies struggling to get into their wetsuits. I haven't compared with other drysuits, however.

I do have fairly muscular calves and wear a medium suit, and even with thick woolies, haven't found it a problem. In fact, this post was the first time I thought about it.

-Joseph

 

[Peter Guy]

White's is continuously modifying (making better?) the Fusion. The original style (the one I have) had somewhat narrow legs which worked very well with the White's undergarment. The newer ones have bigger legs but might still be too small for some people. But then that's going to be true for ALL dry suits.

 

[KD8NPB]

Viking Pro-Tech, front zip, with cuff rings.

Realistically though, I'll probably be investing in a Viking Extreme.

 

[cuyler]

From a cold water diving my Waterproof D1 with silicone seals has been amazing. Dean at the Dive Academy in Oakville sells them. With underarmor wicking garments I've dove the D1 from 85F (pools) down to 30F (Newfoundland). It's a solid suit that has no issues taking a little rust from inside a ship and because of the constant volume insulation it's a slimmer cut than most. I still dive it with wet gloves and it has extra insulation around the cuffs and neck for warmth.

The one disadvantage is no ability to get a made to measure version. Oh, and in retrospect I wouldn't have the boots built in.

 

[swamp diver]

+1 for White's Tech Fusion

I had a Bare Trilam Tech HD for a few years but with the thick underwear shoulder mobility became a problem.
Once you get the hang of how to don the Fusion (watch the White's video on YT) it is not a problem and certainly takes me no longer to get suited up.

I'd also recommend the new Thermal Fusion underwear as it is very warm. I had a set up 4th element Arctics and I'd have to say the TF is warmer and certainly more flexible. Only negative is I do have issues getting the legs on straight from time to time but I think there is an art to this as well.

Definitely spend the money and get the replaceable neck and wrist seals. I've torn a wrist seal and you can change it out in under 5 minutes. Also the replaceable seals are about half the cost of a DUI Zip seal.

Good luck.