First Dry Suit

[JohnN]

Hello, I know there are probably hundreds of the same threads, but am looking to purchase my first drysuit. Live in NE and am 5'9" 190 with wide shoulders. I currently have a XL 7mm Henderson wetsuit and am looking at the Aqualung Fusion. Anyone that has this suit that could give me an estimate of what size i would need? And is it worth paying the extra for the Aircore? I have always lived by buy once, cry once and don't want to wish i had spent a few hundred more a couple years down the road. Thank you.

FWIW, I'm very happy with my USIA (Hog) tri-lam suit. USIA makes drysuits primarily for the military and you may be pleasantly surprised what a full custom suit will cost. +1 on replaceable wrist and neck seals. If you go the Hog route, drop Jim Lapenta a line.

 

[Marie13]

I have a USIA Techniflex and love it.

 

[Chilly_Diver]

Dry suit is an illusion

I have a Fusion Bullet. It’s quite comfortable and keeps me perfectly dry. I highly recommend it.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Try Santi beforebuying. Just yesterday we were at ECDIVERS Brookline, trying on the Santi and it took three size tries to get my hubby the comfy fit. But once sized correctly, it is the best. My daughter and I tried both fusion and Santi e.motion and prefer Santi over the fusion's snug fit. We are new to drysuit too
Before w BUY, we will have to dive the different suits as rentals to be sure they are as comfy in the water as out. Good luck!

Seriously, getting fitted in person by a dive shop that sells a lot of suits of whatever the brand in question may be is priceless. Fit is everything. Features are almost secondary to fit. An ill-fitting drysuit that restricts a diver's range of motion or leaves baggy areas surely must be miserable, if not nearly useless. Measuring oneself using a manufacturer's size chart seems to work out well for a lot of people, but when it doesn't work out, you can spend months (without a suit) trying to rectify it. I know.

 

[tbone1004]

the santi suits are not worth the price. There are suits built to higher quality for significantly less money than the Santi's. Unfortunately their quality has taken a hit in the last few years, same with DUI

 

[Pkishino]

the santi suits are not worth the price. There are suits built to higher quality for significantly less money than the Santi's. Unfortunately their quality has taken a hit in the last few years, same with DUI

such as?
from what I see and hear locally here in sweden, it comes and goes. Ursuit used to be great but has had a run of bad batches recently, same as santi, but picking up again. 2014 and earlier santis are great as well as 2016 and onward but 15/16 I know of at least 30-40 suits that had to be sent back early. Ursuit have been great until last year or so, weve seen dozens of their suits come through the shop or friends who sent em back due to production issues. Im sure they will fix and get back on track again though.

 

[tbone1004]

@Pkishino unsure what they are over there, but on this side, an E-Motion is $2400, stock size only, basically as it comes.
I can buy O'three, Rofos, USIA custom cut for about $600 less or off the peg for about $1000 less. All of which I think are better suits quality wise. Santi may have figured their stuff out in the past year, but they are still a very expensive suit and they don't really have anything that makes it worth the cost improvement since the materials used are all pretty standard. Even the cost of materials for a top end suit vs. a bottom end suit is only going to really change the price about $200 in materials. Everything else is paying for the brand name

 

[Marie13]

I was recently told that Santi has reduced the cost of their stock suits, but the custom surcharge has increased.

 

[Pkishino]

@Pkishino unsure what they are over there, but on this side, an E-Motion is $2400, stock size only, basically as it comes.
I can buy O'three, Rofos, USIA custom cut for about $600 less or off the peg for about $1000 less. All of which I think are better suits quality wise. Santi may have figured their stuff out in the past year, but they are still a very expensive suit and they don't really have anything that makes it worth the cost improvement since the materials used are all pretty standard. Even the cost of materials for a top end suit vs. a bottom end suit is only going to really change the price about $200 in materials. Everything else is paying for the brand name

fair enough at those prices. Here I can get an E-motion for about 1800$ retail, actual cost about 1600ish. Ursuit a bit cheaper.
I know the deep6 makara is pretty much a custom ursuit softdura at 1900 that seems like a good price..except I would hesitate to recommend ursuit right now

 

[Lorenzoid]

I can buy O'three, Rofos, USIA custom cut for about $600 less or off the peg for about $1000 less. All of which I think are better suits quality wise. . . .

Specifically, can you identify what features make the difference in quality?