Santi v. Waterproof but with a plot twist

[Calatinus]

Hi all

As mentioned before in an older thread, I'm about to buy my first drysuit. (About to buy doesn't mean I'll throw my money over the counter tomorrow or next week, but within reasonable time.)

I've participated in a demo day of Waterproof drysuits, and tested the D7X Nylotech. And well, what can I say, I absolutely loved it. Some residual fitting issues, so the store organising the demo day will let me fit another size which may fit me perfectly (at least, that's what the size chart suggests).

There were other inspiring divers with lots of drysuit experience present. Some biased towards Waterproof, some not so. These last mentioned Santi as a very decent (or even superior) alternative to Waterproof, for those for whom it's worth the extra money (allegedly superior inner lining and finish).

I've been looking around a lot, and my eyes have fallen on the Santi E.Lite and E.Lite Plus drysuits. Apart from a German video on YouTube (and my German isn't that good), I can't seem to find out what the significant differences between the 'regular' and the 'Plus' versions are.

There's a demo day of Santi coming up in June, so I'll await that, but I wanted to get ahead of myself with an obvious question: Santi or Waterproof?

Here's the long-awaited plot twist: there's a 400 euros discount on the Waterproof drysuit if I buy it at the store which organised the demo day (in collab with Waterproof).

What are your preferences, and why? Dealbreakers? Does the 400 euros make a difference to you? Some context: I'm currently a mono-tank diver, but surely want to broaden my horizons in the future; if the time's ripe, surely I'd love to get more into tech, cave, wreck diving.

Thanks!

C

 

[jborg]

I will say that both are very popular around here, with WP having a little bit of an edge since they're a local brand, yet Santi having the image of being one step more top-notch. They're both generally high quality, they both produce great drysuits, and they both sometimes get unlucky and produce ****** drysuits. I know divers who swear by {Waterproof,Santi} and would never buy anything else, and divers who tried {Waterproof,Santi} and it was a never ending nightmare of leaks and they'll never go with them again.

Honestly, I don't think there's too much to separate them objectively. Santi has the better/only options for heating (thermovalve etc), but those fit WP drysuits as well. I've had one really disastrous WP drysuit (the EX2, which they now pretend they never manufactured) and one that's great (the D7x).

 

[berndo]

I wouldn't buy either.
I'd either get a Rofos if you don't wanna wait 3 month and don't need made to measure or just get a Seaskin.
Both come at a way better price and I've been hearing a lot of complains about the decrease in Santi's production quality in recent years.

 

[berndo]

...yet Santi having the image of being one step more top-notch. They're both generally high quality, they both produce great drysuits, and they both sometimes get unlucky and produce ****** drysuits.

It's been a long time since I heard anybody call Santi 'high quality'. They have the best and most aggressive marketing and are popular with the GUE crowd that is very vocal...
I don't think they are worth the money at all.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I haven't tried a Santi, but I've owned one Poseidon, two DUI, three Diving Concepts, one USIA, and three Waterproof suits. I'm currently diving the D7X Nylotech and it is by far the best suit I've owned. It's strong but nearly as light as some trilam suits and dries fast. The user-replaceable seals are a deal breaker. I dive with dry gloves and no wrist seals, so swapping out seals is even easier.

 

[RedSeaDiver2]

I haven't tried a Santi, but I've owned one Poseidon, two DUI, three Diving Concepts, one USIA, and three Waterproof suits. I'm currently diving the D7X Nylotech and it is by far the best suit I've owned. It's strong but nearly as light as some trilam suits and dries fast. The user-replaceable seals are a deal breaker. I dive with dry gloves and no wrist seals, so swapping out seals is even easier.

I'm looking at getting a D7X Nylotech as well.

 

[Ulfhedinn]

I love my Santi Elite... when it fit me. Never dove a WP.

 

[Canajan]

I researched a lot and went with a Waterproof D10, at first loved the suit, warm, ruggedly built and decent range of motion. Came time for thicker undergarments because of winter diving, and problems. Suit fit well with minimal garments, but couldn’t get zipper done up with undergarment on. Eventually the zipper glue line got stressed a bit to much and the suit started to leak. Also developed a leak in the right lower leg area that I just couldn’t find / fix.
I always thought I’d take the suit apart and re glue the zipper and fix stuff but just haven’t bothered.
My new Seaskin is way better than the Waterproof suit in my humble opinion.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I've been looking around a lot, and my eyes have fallen on the Santi E.Lite and E.Lite Plus drysuits. Apart from a German video on YouTube (and my German isn't that good), I can't seem to find out what the significant differences between the 'regular' and the 'Plus' versions are.

As far as I can determine, Santi makes suits using one of, or a combination of, three different materials that range from most-durable to least-durable. The E.Lite is made entirely of the most-durable material Santi offers. The E.Lite Plus is made of a combination of that material and the next-most durable material Santi offers. At least in theory, the E.Lite Plus should offer slightly better mobility than the E.Lite, because the next-most durable material is more flexible than the most-durable material.

I have an E.Lite Plus and have had no issues with it.

My previous suit was an E.Motion (not an E.Motion Plus), and that suit was made entirely of the LEAST-durable material. It developed pinhole leaks and is now full of Aquaseal repairs. It was a crazy-lightweight suit, though, and I'm keeping it for tropical travel.

Those are the only two drysuits I have owned, so I have no idea how Santi compares with Waterproof or any other suit. I decided on the Santi because my local dive shop is one of the major Santi dealers in the US, not because it is the greatest suit or a good value.

 

[BlueTrin]

I had terrible experience with Santi:

• Neck neoprene was wrong by 4 sizes
• They put the wrong wrist seals

When I contacted santi to confirm whether they got the correct sizes, they flatly refused to reply, they told me to talk to the local dealer I bought from. So I was never able to confirm what happened or even if the measurements were applied correctly.

The person I bought the drysuit from was a local instructor and just passed me to the local service centre to deal directly with the issues.

The local service centre was more helpful but it took like 3-4 months to get it sorted between the neck seals having to be ordered from Santi HQ and installation.

You can’t get major changes without sending your suit to Poland either. For example I was thinking of getting the interchangeable neck seal system but that’d require the suit to be sent to Santi HQ.

Terrible experience IMHO, the suit is good but for that price the service was terrible, will not buy again.

With your Santi suit you get a printed letter from Santi CEO saying he wants your feedback. Has been almost two years and I am still waiting for a reply

The suit itself is ok but if you have major issues you’ll be out of luck.