here's my DUI story:
Made the decision to go dry after a 3 day trip - being wet for 3 days as not fun. Night diving was very hard to get motivated for, shivering between dives, etc. Sucked - wanna go dry.
DUI had a Demo Days in So Cal 2 weeks after I get back from that trip. I hit all the local "dealers" in my area - nobody has a clue about the event. I call DUI, pitch a fit, they comp me tickets and treat me like a king.
I drive down to San Diego and meet the nicest group of people ever. Wifie and I get fitted and we're ready to make a dive. Dick Long (THE man) grab's my wife's stuff and personally hauls it the considerable distance over the sand to the entry point.
We make our first dive in a dry suit and WOW.
We emerge, and proceed to make two more dives in different sizes, diferent undies, differnt models, etc. We eat a BBQ cooked by the folks at DUI and generally have a great experience.
On the drive home, I stop by my LDS to try on an Andys. Granted, I just came off the ultimate test drive experience with DUI - but I can ojectively say it's just not the same. A nice suit, but not nearly the quality of construction of the DUI stuff (exposed wrist seals, tougher to get into, expensive, built in boots really just rain boots that really don't fit well, it was a big bag on me...in all sizes)
What pushed me over the edge was construction, options (350 for wifie, 50/50 for me) and location. Bare - Canada. Andy's - East Coast. DUI - a few hours down the road.
Sure, they're more expensive than some. But after meeting with the customer service, the president, the Operations people, etc. I was very impressed with the team.
When I ordered my suit, I had to wait for it to be built - so I called DUI and had them ship out the hose, the hood, the undies and the rock boots - so I could rent while I waited. They shipped them to me next day, no charge. When my suit was completed (on the day they quoted to me many weeks before), they shipped it overnight as well.
You won't go wrong with a DUI. You won't regret buying it.
PS: You may want to consider an eBay option, too. Lots of DUI treasures show up there. If you can fit off the rack, that's a great way to go.
K
