Showdown: Santi E.Lite + vs Otter Attlantic

[Sharknado4]

So I'm down to these 2 options from Santi vs Otter and I wanted to summarise here the construction and feature details that I managed to gather, so I can get some further opinions!


Otter's website just mentions that the new Otter Atlantic (not Kevlar) is made from the same skin as the Brittanic, which after some communication with them it's a Cordura Nylon/Butyl/Polyester, with an avg weight of ~530g/m^2 (505 - 560g/m^2) all over the suit.

Overall weight: 6+ Kg range

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Santi E.Lite+ on the other hand uses a combo of Ripstop Nylon/Butylene/Ripstop Nylon 365-425g/sqm and Ripstop Nylon/Butylene/Polyester 515g/sqm (upper suit and back legs).

+ Kevlar knees

Overall weight: ~4 Kg

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They'd both be Made to Measure with a Si-tech Quick Neck seal and neoprene socks + Rock boots

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Differences: Otter vs Santi

Pee valve: Otter vs Apeks/Halcyon

Wrist seals: Kubi fitted vs Santi smart seals

Inflator / Exhaust valves: Si-tech vs Apeks


So regardless the price tag, do you have any strong opinions between one or another?

Intented purpuse is UK waters so far, with intention to longer exposures as I advanced through my tech courses (defo wreck pen and potentially cave)

So how do these 2 kgs of difference translate really in terms of durability/flexibility if anyone has tried both?

And lastly, how about customer support for Santi in UK vs Otter in Europe (Currently in UK, but I might not be soon enough)

Possibly the support bit will be the deciding factor as I've read good reviews for both.

Many thanks and apologies if I'm repeating any previous post, I just couldnt find a straight comparison of the 2.

Happy dives all!

 

[NothingClever]

@Sharknado4

Bumping this old thread.

Did you ever get any comparative feedback from folks?

 

[Rich1280]

As a controversial option, have you looked at Predator? I like mine and I live 30 minutes away from Otter and them and Seaskin are the two dominant suits in the club I see a lot of. My wife and regular buddy are mainly in Santi Elite+ and Elite. This is for predominantly UK wreck diving on UK liveaboards and south coast day boats in twinset or JJ.

Back to your questions:
Cut makes a massive difference, and from my friends the Santi if measured right and MTM seems to be nicer cut in the shoulders and chest. Its just a bit more stylish too. The Atlantic is nice, though I've seen a bit of variance in cut on different people.

Pee valve: The Otter is a badged up Light Monkey Tinkle Valve. I had one, it was perfectly fine, got a H one now, its perfectly fine too. Halcyon service kits (not that you use them much) seem to be easier to get. Not used the Apeks valve.

Wrist Seals: I have Kubis. They're easy to change seals and gloves on, solid aluminium and just work. The Santi cuffs are slightly lighter and more flexible once on so pull the suit down less when you're half dressed, but seem to be equally simple to change seals and gloves. I'd use either interchangeably, maybe with a slight preference on the Santi. You only get suit side on the Santi as part of the spec so need to buy cuff side and gloves separately after.

Inflator/Dump: Inflators are usable interchangeably, I've used both and don't see an issue with either. Just note the difference in size if you want to get a heating bulkhead so you need the right one. I find the SiTech dump to be slightly more sensitive and dump fractionally faster than the Apeks low profile, but only really notable when I switched initially and on direct comparison. I've not used an Apeks high profile. Once you're used to either it isn't really notable, but the lower profile snags slightly less as you gear up on a boat with less shoulder room.

I ordered my Predator with a view on separating my suit servicing to the purchase as I'm surrounded by suit manufacturers and so I can get a fix locally pretty easily. Most decent shops can fix most suits with a bit of effort, so sending stuff back to manufacturer isn't usually necessary unless its something convoluted. With a neck and cuff rings, thats most of the usual seal change fixes removed anyway, so it might be a boots/socks change or pressure test and patch needed which can usually be done locally.

Hope that helps,
Rich