usia drysutis

[gorock]

Are these suits good quality? any experience with them?, good/bad?

Thanks

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Are these suits good quality? any experience with them?, good/bad?

Thanks

Quality is a subjective term. I would say they're quite OK for the money ... comparable, perhaps to an OS Systems or Mobby's.

They're not on par with more expensive suits, like DUI, Diving Concepts, or Andy's ... but they don't cost as much either. You get what you pay for.

Just make sure you get one that fits you properly ... where a drysuit is concerned, fit is by far the most important thing to get right.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Sail 'n Dive]

I just bought one this spring, and it sure was a huge step up from an ill-fitting O'Neill neoprene suit (ok, hold off on the criticism, here, you experienced divers -- yes, I bought it on the internet, which was a huge mistake, especially since I used it for my first drysuit dives !!!). I like it (the USIA suit, that is) a lot. I used the USIA internet tools to fax my measurements to my LDS, and then the LDS dealt directly with them. I liked going through the LDS as they have a long history of working with USIA and should anything have gone wrong, I know that the LDS would have bailed me out big time. Also I needed a lot of advice to select the various options. Delivery was on exactly the day they promised. Checked out the suit in a pool and then traveled to British Columbia for an awesome dive trip. Sure, I had to work hard during my first 2 dives to manage buoyancy etc. (with my lack of experience, this was expected ! ) but the suit itself was extremely well fitted, the valves worked great, the extra material on the knees, butt, etc. came in handy for the dives we did, and the latex seals kept me perfectly dry. So I am quite pleased with the purchase. By the way, if anyone wants to take this O'Neill suit off my hands, I would offer it for next to no $$$ and would provide _real advice_ to any interested buyers about its _actual_ size. The valves work fine, it just needs to be matched up with a diver with appropriate height, body size, etc. Just to give everyone a starting idea: its a women's medium.

 

[OE2X]

I call mine a bag suit. I was so dissapointed with it after 20 dives that I spent an additional $2000. for a DUI CF200. While I've had some issues with this suit (the DUI), fit was not one of them. The DUI like the USIA are off the shelf sizes. There is absolutely no comparison between the two. The DUI fits very nicely and I don't get floaty feet. The USIA fits like a garbage bag and air moves all over the place in it.

I keep the USIA as a backup and last week I had to use it. I don't recommend this brand to anyone.

 

[pgdive]

Just my 2-cents. You can't compare a crushed neoprene suit to a tri-lam. A crushed is supposed to be snugger because the material has more strech, while the tri-lam does not. The inexpensive tri-lams like the USIA and the Mobys have a place, they are good rugged inexpensive suits that allow you to vary your insulation and they dry quickly. A more fair comparison would be for the USIA and the DUI TLS 350.

Paul

 

[OE2X]

Just my 2-cents. You can't compare a crushed neoprene suit to a tri-lam. A crushed is supposed to be snugger because the material has more strech, while the tri-lam does not. The inexpensive tri-lams like the USIA and the Mobys have a place, they are good rugged inexpensive suits that allow to vary your insulation and they dry quickly. A more fair comparison would be for the USIA and the DUI TLS 350.

Paul

While it maybe more fair to compare the 350 to the USIA that wasn't the basis of my comments. It was because of poor fit and lackluster performance that I went out and bought one of the most expensive drysuits on the market. While it is true that you shouldn't compare the two, I wish that I hadn't wasted the money on the USIA in the first place.

The USIA might be a fine suit if you get it custom made. I certainly wouldn't buy another off the rack again. The DUI on the other hand fits me very nicely off the rack and I didn't spend the extra $$$ for a custom fit.

 

[USIA]

While it maybe more fair to compare the 350 to the USIA that wasn't the basis of my comments. It was because of poor fit and lackluster performance that I went out and bought one of the most expensive drysuits on the market. While it is true that you shouldn't compare the two, I wish that I hadn't wasted the money on the USIA in the first place.

The USIA might be a fine suit if you get it custom made. I certainly wouldn't buy another off the rack again. The DUI on the other hand fits me very nicely off the rack and I didn't spend the extra $$$ for a custom fit.

I've seen you bash USIA in about every thread ever started about USIA. While you are more than entitled to your opinion, I'm wondering why someone would buy a suit that didn't fit in the first place. I don't think it is fair for someone to continually bash a particuliar product because it didn't fit. While the USIA suit is a shell suit, it is not made to be baggy. If it is baggy, than you or your LDS made a huge mistake in allowing you to purchase the suit in the first place. Not every Dry Suit is made the same by manufacturers. We all cut our suits differently. While you might fit into a DUI stock suit, it is not USIA's fault that you don't fit in to one of ours. Hey, I can put on a XXL and it won't leak, but it won't fit either. It's not a manufacturer's responsibility to make a suit fit unless you order a Custom. If you order a custom, and it is not right, most manufacturers will stand behind their product and remake the suit.
Maybe you think USIA products are inferior to others on the market, but our suits have the lowest return rate of any other dry suit according to scuba retailers and we are the only company that offers a lifetime warranty against seam leaks. There is a reason that every branch of the U.S. Military uses our dry suits, as well as the NPS, USGS, and U.S. Border patrol the Government of Israel, the government of Egypt, the UAE and Russian and Canadian Special forces. Not to mention nearly 200 Public Safety agencies around the country. If USIA is an inferior product, maybe you should inform them, I'm sure you know better.
Just my .04 :10:

 

[OE2X]

I've seen you bash USIA in about every thread ever started about USIA. While you are more than entitled to your opinion, I'm wondering why someone would buy a suit that didn't fit in the first place. I don't think it is fair for someone to continually bash a particuliar product because it didn't fit. While the USIA suit is a shell suit, it is not made to be baggy. If it is baggy, than you or your LDS made a huge mistake in allowing you to purchase the suit in the first place. Not every Dry Suit is made the same by manufacturers. We all cut our suits differently. While you might fit into a DUI stock suit, it is not USIA's fault that you don't fit in to one of ours. Hey, I can put on a XXL and it won't leak, but it won't fit either. It's not a manufacturer's responsibility to make a suit fit unless you order a Custom. If you order a custom, and it is not right, most manufacturers will stand behind their product and remake the suit.

Actually I have let my views be known on very few USIA threads. Most I avoid like the plague because of responses such as yours.

When I bought the suit, I had never dove a drysuit before. As to the size - well that was what was recommended to me by the LDS. A large was too small and so now I know that the XL is too big. The only way your suits will work is to get them custom made. I was looking at not spending the extra money for a custom suit and ultimately I got what I paid for - an ill fitting, ill functioning suit that I wasted $1,100. on.

If USIA is an inferior product, maybe you should inform them, I'm sure you know better.
Just my .04 :10:

I chose to do one better - I let my money do talking.

 

[Sail 'n Dive]

could I add that my USIA drysuit was "semi-custom" -- that is, it was built with stock parts, I think, but given the fact that I am slim and tall for my weight, USIA mixed and matched parts ( like small with ex-small in my case) so that the suit really does fit my particular build quite well. In fact, the guy at my LDS who is not a BS type said that he had never seen a better fitting suit on a diver. And if you think he was giving me a snow job, I should add that other drysuit divers have said the same thing. So put me down as a satisfied customer, but hey, everyone has their particular preference.
Sail 'n Dive

 

[USIA]

could I add that my USIA drysuit was "semi-custom" -- that is, it was built with stock parts, I think, but given the fact that I am slim and tall for my weight, USIA mixed and matched parts ( like small with ex-small in my case) so that the suit really does fit my particular build quite well. In fact, the guy at my LDS who is not a BS type said that he had never seen a better fitting suit on a diver. And if you think he was giving me a snow job, I should add that other drysuit divers have said the same thing. So put me down as a satisfied customer, but hey, everyone has their particular preference.
Sail 'n Dive

We actually do no mix and match parts. All of your measurements are put into a computer and a Digitizer draws the pattern of the suit for us. That's why with any custom suit, measurements are crucial. If all of your measurements match a Medium except for an inseam, we would build a Medium suit with added length to inseam. But we don't take a med, put Large arms, XL legs, small chest. Although there are some companies that do do this.