Hello. I'm wondering where in the US people have been getting their Santi dry suits sized and ordered? Extreme Exposure, Dive Seekers, etc. Definitely wanting to go to someone who has a great track record for nailing the fittings.
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You have the right idea. I did it the wrong way. I travel to Europe often, and because the dollar was strong and prices for dive gear just generally lower over there, I ordered through a European dealer, using Santi's size chart, and picked up a suit a few months later. I discussed all the options--seals, boots, etc.--with the dealer via email. Without getting into details, let me just say there were some errors, and exactly who is to blame may never be settled. Don't do what I did. Visit a Santi dealer and have them dote on you. I have read of people spending half a day at Extreme Exposure getting fitted--and by a dealer that will stand behind you and make sure your suit is exactly right before you take it home. Well worth it in my opinion.
I did it myself at home using the Santi measuring systems and ended up OK. I was definitely scared. I had my wife do each measurement several times.
Do use a dealer you can trust. A friend told the story of his custom purchase (not Santi). The shop did a quick measurement and talked him into getting a custom suit, paying an extra $300 for the fitting. They measured him top to bottom and ordered the suit. When it arrived, he tried it on in the shop, and they raved about how good it was that he went for the custom fit.
Later on, he started to get suspicious. He saw no sign anywhere in the suit that it was custom, and he saw a suspicious XL marking in it. (My custom suit came with my name on it.) He called the company, gave them the serial number, and learned that it was a standard XL suit, which is exactly what the shop had ordered and paid for.
But back to my custom suit. I have worn it countless times over the past 3 years with no trouble at all. During that time my weight has gone through a range of about 20 pounds. No problem. Hmmmm.
Do use a dealer you can trust. A friend told the story of his custom purchase (not Santi). The shop did a quick measurement and talked him into getting a custom suit, paying an extra $300 for the fitting. They measured him top to bottom and ordered the suit. When it arrived, he tried it on in the shop, and they raved about how good it was that he went for the custom fit.
Later on, he started to get suspicious. He saw no sign anywhere in the suit that it was custom, and he saw a suspicious XL marking in it. (My custom suit came with my name on it.) He called the company, gave them the serial number, and learned that it was a standard XL suit, which is exactly what the shop had ordered and paid for.
But back to my custom suit. I have worn it countless times over the past 3 years with no trouble at all. During that time my weight has gone through a range of about 20 pounds. No problem. Hmmmm.
As I did. My wife and I each ordered a suit, and we measured and re-measured, meticulously filling in the dozen or more measurements on Santi's chart. Her suit was delivered with wrist seals sized for a giant--bigger than mine--even through her wrist measurement was smaller than mine. The dealer wouldn't take responsibility and pointed the finger at Santi and/or the regional distributor, who also wouldn't take responsibility. The emails among the dealer, distributor, Santi and me bounced back and forth for six months before the dealer finally agreed to split the cost of replacing the seals with me. I never could get the dealer to show me exactly what the order looked like that he placed with Santi (or the distributor--I have no idea) or what customization Santi did to the suit.
This.
Who was the dealer...so I can avoid him?
Let me tell another story that has nothing to do with Santi but which may shed some light on this.
When I had my first drysuit, a Whites Fusion, it needed some work (can't remember what) and the shop sent it to Whites. When it came back, it had the work that had been ordered done, but they had also replaced the wrist seals, which had been perfectly fine. The originals had been conical (one size fits all), and they had replaced them with bottle shaped seals, which are sized to the wrist. There was no marking on them to indicate the size. I was then new to drysuits, as was everyone in my shop. The shop called (with me present), and they said that although the order had not mentioned wrist seals, they saw they were bad (they weren't) and had replaced them.
I tried them in the pool, and my hands went numb. We called again and asked about the seals, giving the lot number. They said they were size small. We asked why they had thought size small wrist seals were appropriate for an extra large drysuit. They said the seals would work fine--all I had to do was cut them back if they were uncomfortable. I did--it didn't help. We called again and got the same story.
So I went to the official Whites forum on ScubaBoard and pretended I was ordering a new suit. I said I was interested in getting the bottle seals. I gave my wrist size. The response was that I needed a size large, and they will either fit or not fit--NEVER cut them to make them fit better. When I then wrote the truth publically in that thread, they suddenly agreed to replace the seals. Funny how that worked.
There is a multi-part lesson here:
- Sometimes employees screw up. In my case, someone clearly made a mistake in replacing the seals on my suit instead of the ones they were supposed to replace on another suit. It happens. It is forgivable.
- When that happens, a competent and honest company will admit the mistake and make good on it. Everyone will be happy, except the company will not be happy about losing the cost of that fix. You will feel even better about the company than before, and you will continue to patronize them.
- Some companies have a different philosophy, though. They will fight for every dollar and will absolutely not admit a mistake until it is absolutely proven in a way they cannot deny. They will make the most outrageous lies to cover their errors as best they can.
- Once you realize this is what is happening, you might well be screwed. You may well have to take the loss (or at least half of it).
- When that happens, learn your lesson, and don't use that company again.
- Make sure your friends know about it.
well there is a measure guide on YouTube , you can follow it , in case you could find a tailor to do that , I think only one things you have beware is your shoes size, I had my santi measurement done by a friend , everythings was find except shoes, they are coming too large!!
Lotsa cheap flights between NYC and Jacksonville, Orlando, or Gainesville. Make a day trip to EE. Get some southern food from Alice's around the corner. Fly home. Could be a fun experience. Plus you'd get to experience a place you might not go otherwise.
WetRocks
Contributor
Another vote for EE. I was measured by Doug at a "try" event, then 9 months later confirmed measurements by Cora when I was ready to purchase. We bought 2 "made to measure" suits and multiple undergarments since then, all fit perfect.
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