Drysuit...what to buy? Whites?

[wedivebc]

A friend of mine had his warranty revoked because he was a professional (dive instructor), White's charged him for a neck seal. They also took FOREVER to get the suit back to him and I recall him saying that there were other problems during the whole fiasco. Needless to say, service by DUI has always been good for my friends who dive with them. They always went the extra mile, especially for instructors.

It seems to me like you should take extra care with an instructors stuff as they are the ones who recommend a lot of gear to the students. I'm looking to buy a drysuit, after that story White's is no longer on my short list.

I think your friend is mistaken. I don't believe there is any warranty on drysuit neck seals from any manufacturer but I can tell you for sure Whites does not void a warranty because the owner is an instructor.
They take very good care of dive instructors for the reason you mentioned above.

 

[jdf]

I am also thinking of going the dry suit route. My husband wanted me to get a White's because he has read so many good things about them. We talked to a well known LDS in Monterey, CA that sells alot of dry suits and he told us that for guys, he would definitely recommend the White's. He uses one himself and loves it. For me (female, 5'4" usually wear a size 8), he said that White's doesn't make any in a women's cut so he unfortunately wouldn't recommend them for women because they don't fit as well. He suggested DUI for women.

I have not yet decided, so am curious about what other women think.

Janet

 

[Hyper-limits]

A few years ago I said a would never buy a White's DS. But when a saw the Catalyst I had to change my mind and bought one. 100+ dives on it and still going strong.

 

[BigJetDriver]

I too would be interested in knowing why you say that? what problems are you aware of? As far as DUI goes, the few people I know with DUI's have all had problems with them in a rather short time period with wear and leaking and therefore I was pretty much dismissing them.

Lorien,

I have two DUI CF-200X suits. One I bought used, and one new. The used one I use in the muck for Public Safety diving. I really love the comfort level of these suits.

I sent the new one back in for the Zip Seals set-up, and liked it so much that I sent my used one in for that as well.

I have always had good service from DUI. Maria Marostica is their chief of repairs, and she has been super about doing stuff rapidly on my suits.

Try them at: http://www.dui-online.com/

Get the front-entry model (self-donning), with rock boots, and go for the custom fit. It is definitely worth it. (My PPO2's worth. )

Rob Davie

 

[SeanQ]

Nearly every instructor I have seen out here has a Whites drysuit. Perhaps that is a biased observation though. The fact that the Whites factory is a few minutes away and there are two Whites dive stores nearby might have something to do with the heavy concentration of Whites drysuits in the area. :06:

he said that White's doesn't make any in a women's cut so he unfortunately wouldn't recommend them for women because they don't fit as well.

I find this pretty hard to believe. I'm looking at a size chart right now and I can tell you that I see that womans size 6 fits your height range. Go here and click on "Sizing Chart" to see, not suprisingly, the sizing chart. I can't comprehend why a company would make custom suits but not make them for women.

 

[lorien]

Well, I spoke with my instructor at my LDS yesterday and asked him about the Whites suits. He uses and loves his Viking but he knows that is not the suit for me. He told me Whites makes a great suit. His only concern is that they stich and glue the seals on so you either have to send the suit in to replace the seals or cut the seals below the stitching to re-glue a new one on. Otherwise he says they are great. He even told me the story of a woman who ordered a custom Whites suit from a differnet LDS and they did not measure her properly. She took it home and never wore it because it did not fit. 2 years later she comes into my LDS and says she should get a new dry suit as hers never fit and tells him the story. Long story short (too late?) Whites tells him to send back the suit from 2 years ago and they redid it for the woman and all they charged her was shipping. Properly measured her and suit fit great. To me that is above and beyond what you can expect from any company.
On the subject of the seals, what do those who ahve a Whites suit do if you need to replace the seal? Send it back to Whites or cut and glue?

 

[jonnythan]

Here's my two cents.

First, buy a quality diving undersuit that fits well and will keep you warm. Here in NY that means Thinsulate.

Then, find a drysuit that will fit over it well and not restrict your movement.

The undersuit is as important as the drysuit... believe me, I've tried all the ways to cheap out on the part that actually keeps you warm and none of them work

Get a custom if you need a custom fit.. if you don't, you will wish you did and end up buying the custom anyway. Much cheaper to buy everything once than it is to cheap out and end up buying the right thing later. Trust me, I've done it with pretty much every piece of gear I own

 

[kazinvan]

Nearly every instructor I have seen out here has a Whites drysuit. Perhaps that is a biased observation though. The fact that the Whites factory is a few minutes away and there are two Whites dive stores nearby might have something to do with the heavy concentration of Whites drysuits in the area. :06:

The reason there are so many is cost, they are relatively cheap compared to DUI. I know three people that dive White's, all like them however ALL would prefer a DUI but ended up getting the White's because of cost. I have had the opportunity to dive both White's and DUI and will end up in the same boat as the others (most likely), buy the White's but prefer the DUI.

 

[jdf]

SeanQ--Thanks for pointing me to the women's size chart for White's. There will be a White's demo day at a LDS at the end of April that I plan on going to and ask alot of questions.

Janet