Santi vs DUI

[sffrenchman]

OK, I am ready to ditch my Fusion and I have narrowed my search between Santi Elite and DUI FLX Extreme. The Santi is a little more expensive that the DUI and with the DUI, I do get zip seals, and the turn around for a made-to-measure suit is much quicker. Having read countless of posts, I am still undecided . It seems that DUI owners either love their suit or hate it (leaks). So my question to all of you, is what percentage of your dives in a DUI suit were really dry? With my Fusion, i must say that l rarely had a true dry dive (and I am not talking about sweat). So being dry is the most important factor for me.

Thanks for your input.

Christophe

 

[Belmont]

Seulement eu une fuite avec mon TLS en 300 plongées, facilement réparée.

 

[sffrenchman]

Merci pour ta reponse.

 

[Doppler]

I have dived DUI suits in the past but currently have a Santi as my cold-water suit having found DUI's QA and general performance poor. Now, please bear in mind, this relates to a DUI suit purchased in the mid-2000s, but it was a shocker. Never dry.

I have around 250 to 300 dives on the Santi and it has not leaked on me once except when I caught some thermal protection in the neck seal.

Based on my experiences, and only that of course, I would recommend the Santi.

 

[Wayne at DiveSeekers]

I got my made to measure SANTI E.Lite suit June 1st! Mine shipped out from Poland and to me in just under 5 weeks! It is the best Drysuit that I have ever dove! When divers have seen me diving off of NJ they have been druelling over the suit. Fit, construction & flexibility is awesome! Best boot (flexsoles) & pocket design on the market. I've also been enjoying the heated vest which takes 2 seconds for a valve swap in order to work. Besides the vest i have also found their Thinsulate 200 & 400 to be the warmest underwear i have used so far. Price wise is reasonable to DUI when you factor in craftmenshship & quality! They now have a solid US Distributor with any repair needs (if needed) done here in the US and are building a dealer base as well. I feel extremely comfortable with SANTI as a company and with any over their products.

 

[Aqua-Andy]

So why are you ditching the Fusion? just wondering.

 

[sffrenchman]

Several reasons. First, while the concept is a good one, I do not like the bunching of the extra core material around my body. Also, I always have to pull the skin up at the surface as it tends to follow gravity. The suspender attachment to the core layer is not great and is starting to come off. Finally, I have never had a really dry dive with this suit. Some of the leaks can be attributed to exhaust valve, pee valve, and dry gloves, but it seems that I am always damp and cold, even with an MK3 undergarment. The suit has been tested and no leaks could be found so I am not sure what the problem is. I now only use my suit for buoyancy control so that I can add air in order to mitigate the cold. I will keep the suit as a back-up suit when I need work done on my primary.

 

[OceanEdge Outfitters]

OK, I am ready to ditch my Fusion and I have narrowed my search between Santi Elite and DUI FLX Extreme. The Santi is a little more expensive that the DUI and with the DUI, I do get zip seals, and the turn around for a made-to-measure suit is much quicker. Having read countless of posts, I am still undecided . It seems that DUI owners either love their suit or hate it (leaks). So my question to all of you, is what percentage of your dives in a DUI suit were really dry? With my Fusion, i must say that l rarely had a true dry dive (and I am not talking about sweat). So being dry is the most important factor for me.

Thanks for your input.

Christophe

Phi Christophe,

I can easily see how this is a tough decision for you. Both suits that you are lookin at are very nice Drysuits.

There are a few thugs that should really stand out in your decision:
The seam construction is almost bullet proof on the SANTI, everything is double stitched, glued (with conveyer belt glue) and hand applied rubber seam tape.

Flexsoles are reinforced in the huge wear areas like the toe ans heal, in addition the sole is built up around the sides which reinforces everything while keeping the boot extremely low profile, non buoyant and allowing fow maximum flexibility for advanced finning tecghniques.

The SANTI valves are not glued or RTV'd into the suit. This allows for east maintenance and additional bulkhead installation by the end user if he/she elects to add a heated vest or a fully heated under suit.

the SANTI has 11" of telescoping torso which allows for easier droning and doffing of the suit and less wear and tear on the zipper.

The Elite pockets are very practical

Lastly the suspenders and bib system allow for a great place to keep your keys, business cads etc

The DUI zipseals are certainly a convenience providing that you have a scrape set with you. Personally I dont care for the additional bulk as i dont have a lot of realestate in my arms, albeit they are more comfortable than a ridged ring system.


Hope this helps in some way. Good luck with your decision. Let us know what you decide on.

Team OceanEdge Outfitters