So I've been contemplating the purchase of another suit recently. I currently dive a Santi E.Motion which was made-to-order for someone else and doesn't fit as well as I would like it to. I have been also worried about the fragility of the 260 g/sqm nylon blend in some applications. I want a somewhat more robust suit, and a better fit. For practical reasons, I have restricted my search to the two major brands and acquired a DUI FLX Extreme and a Santi E.Lite from a friendly LDS for a couple of test dives. Both suits were in standard size L. The FLX had a metal zipper and conned wrist seals, and the E.Lite a plastic zipper and HD latex bottle seals. Because both the zippers and wrist seals can be customized I will not review the differences here. I will also not discuss the prices.
Both suits are well made and look rock solid. Getting into the Santi was very easy. The suspenders are wide and soft, and the inside pocket is very convenient. This is where I put my valet key when I go diving. The DUI suit has thin and flimsy suspenders which are not terribly easy to manage. There is no front flap and no inside pocket. One point to Hufflep... sorry, I meant Santi.
The DUI suit featured the top of the line boot option, the so called Turbotec Boots, meaning a neoprene sock fused to a rubber sole and reinforced with kevlar in the heel area and over the toes and metatarsals. The ELite had the redesigned Flexsole boots which have a very similar sole but rubber-reinforced heel and front. These boots have a fin strap retainer and provide far superior toe protection. Both boots were a full size too big but getting into the DUI boots was surprisingly hard due to a skinnier fit of the top of the boot. I have a rather high instep though. One point to Santi.
Both suits have spacious thigh pockets. Santi has bellowed pockets which are quite a bit bigger, perhaps somewhat excessively so. I had no troubles storing a large SMB, two spools, a pair of scissors, backup mask, and my wetnotes in both DUI and Santi pockets, but DUI felt like a better fit size-wise. Both have bungee loops, extra inner pocket for wetnotes and one zippered outer pocket. Santi ones look and feel like better quality products but I preferred the size of DUI ones. A near draw, a quarter point to DUI for the more streamlined design.
The cut of both suits is nearly identical. Stock DUI has far longer arms and legs. Superimposition of the two suits shows that the thighs are nearly identical but I felt like DUI fit somewhat tighter in the upper leg. Don't quite understand the reason. The circumference of the arms is identical. Santi arms were a bit short for me.
The FLX had a neck ZipSeal system and latex seal, and the Santi a glued latex seal. Having witnessed the consequences of a ripped neck seal on a liveaboard, I will go for a system seal version this time. Both suits have optional ring systems available, albeit somewhat differently designed. One noticeable difference is that the Santi had a far better insulating neoprene collar. My neck felt quite cold in the DUI with a bib-less K01 hood. Since I prefer bottle wrist seals I did not really look into wrist ring systems. A near draw here, a quarter point to Santi for the warmer collar.
Speaking of warmth, I was surprised how much warmer both suits were compared to my E.Motion. I did two 30-minute dives in 8C/46F water using a Santi DZ400x undergarment without thermal base layer and was perfectly warm. This is probably to be expected since the E.Motion is basically a plastic bag whereas the thicker, rougher surface of both FLX and E.Lite materials likely dampens heat exchange quite a bit better.
Valve design and position were optimal in both suits.
Overall, both are great suits, well fitting off the peg. I would need to considerably shorten the arms and legs of the DUI suit, and lengthen the arms of the Santi. Based on my comparison, I will go for the Santi E.Lite. Both suits have zipper and seal system options. I strongly disliked the internals of the FLX, and hated the boots - although I somewhat preferred their pockets. YMMV.
Finally, huge thanks to M.B. and the awesome Dive Center de Aalscholvers in Tilburg/NL for going out of their way to arrange for the two suits for testing.
Both suits are well made and look rock solid. Getting into the Santi was very easy. The suspenders are wide and soft, and the inside pocket is very convenient. This is where I put my valet key when I go diving. The DUI suit has thin and flimsy suspenders which are not terribly easy to manage. There is no front flap and no inside pocket. One point to Hufflep... sorry, I meant Santi.
The DUI suit featured the top of the line boot option, the so called Turbotec Boots, meaning a neoprene sock fused to a rubber sole and reinforced with kevlar in the heel area and over the toes and metatarsals. The ELite had the redesigned Flexsole boots which have a very similar sole but rubber-reinforced heel and front. These boots have a fin strap retainer and provide far superior toe protection. Both boots were a full size too big but getting into the DUI boots was surprisingly hard due to a skinnier fit of the top of the boot. I have a rather high instep though. One point to Santi.
Both suits have spacious thigh pockets. Santi has bellowed pockets which are quite a bit bigger, perhaps somewhat excessively so. I had no troubles storing a large SMB, two spools, a pair of scissors, backup mask, and my wetnotes in both DUI and Santi pockets, but DUI felt like a better fit size-wise. Both have bungee loops, extra inner pocket for wetnotes and one zippered outer pocket. Santi ones look and feel like better quality products but I preferred the size of DUI ones. A near draw, a quarter point to DUI for the more streamlined design.
The cut of both suits is nearly identical. Stock DUI has far longer arms and legs. Superimposition of the two suits shows that the thighs are nearly identical but I felt like DUI fit somewhat tighter in the upper leg. Don't quite understand the reason. The circumference of the arms is identical. Santi arms were a bit short for me.
The FLX had a neck ZipSeal system and latex seal, and the Santi a glued latex seal. Having witnessed the consequences of a ripped neck seal on a liveaboard, I will go for a system seal version this time. Both suits have optional ring systems available, albeit somewhat differently designed. One noticeable difference is that the Santi had a far better insulating neoprene collar. My neck felt quite cold in the DUI with a bib-less K01 hood. Since I prefer bottle wrist seals I did not really look into wrist ring systems. A near draw here, a quarter point to Santi for the warmer collar.
Speaking of warmth, I was surprised how much warmer both suits were compared to my E.Motion. I did two 30-minute dives in 8C/46F water using a Santi DZ400x undergarment without thermal base layer and was perfectly warm. This is probably to be expected since the E.Motion is basically a plastic bag whereas the thicker, rougher surface of both FLX and E.Lite materials likely dampens heat exchange quite a bit better.
Valve design and position were optimal in both suits.
Overall, both are great suits, well fitting off the peg. I would need to considerably shorten the arms and legs of the DUI suit, and lengthen the arms of the Santi. Based on my comparison, I will go for the Santi E.Lite. Both suits have zipper and seal system options. I strongly disliked the internals of the FLX, and hated the boots - although I somewhat preferred their pockets. YMMV.
Finally, huge thanks to M.B. and the awesome Dive Center de Aalscholvers in Tilburg/NL for going out of their way to arrange for the two suits for testing.
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