I would have to say the best dry suit is the one that fits you the best. An ill fitting dry suit, even the best made in the world, might as well be a hefty lag with a pee hole if it doesn't fit well.
Current top drysuits for rec diving
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T Mogle
Registered
Thanks, @stuartv. I can easily increase my budget. Since it is my first drysuit and I am newish diver it is difficult the sate what I am really after. I then found it sensible to keep the budget low. Also, talk on the home front that the wife wants to take up diving after 20 years. So total cost is quickly getting up. My thinking was first to get a rather basic drysuit, after a year or two, I can get a "proper" drysuit if you like.
If I double my budget, I think I would rather go for a Santi, then O3. More important - will my diving pleasure double if I increase my budget? Most of all - go diving!
Having owned medium range drysuit and topnotch difference is between flexibility (arms mostly), how good it fits and quality of pockets. Like with every item when diving if something is "off" it starts to irritate and lowers the enjoyment of diving. Good suit doesn't feel underwater that you are wearing suit, cheaper one does.
Same as nice pans or not so nice, both cover you legs but with nice pants there is no feeling that you want to take them off.
That doesn't make any economic sense at all. Drysuits last VERY long time (at least the quality ones) and a year or two is barely long enough to even get scratch marks on a quality suit
I compared O3 vs. Santi (I even met Santi's sales rep.) and O3 came out far ahead in terms of features, reputation, quality and even much less cost but higher value. For me Santi wasn't even a consideration at all.
vioch
Contributor
As I already mentioned, I owned DUI TLS 350, Ursuit Kevlar and now own Seaskin. 98% of my dives are cave ones, and I don't feel any decreased pleasure. Some minor decrease in flexibility as Seaskin has more dense trilam, but it should last longer...
And don't consider drysuit without pockets (good pockets)- this is must have option in my opinion.
I have an Otter Atlantic HD, which is their new suit, the successor to the Britannic. Comes in your choice of two materials - the Otter skin trilam made popular by the Britannics or a new Ultralite trilam. It's a great suit, custom cut, all the options I wanted, feels bomb proof, still very new to me but I like the way it dives.
That being said I have several dive buddies with Seaskins so I have seen two of the trilam Nova suits and one of the neoprene Ultra (? - think I have that right?) suits in person. While they cost a fair amount less than say, a Santi, they are in no means poorly or cheaply made. All have looked high quality, and of the two that I know were custom cut they fit as intended, and they allow a ton of options/customization.
If when shopping for a drysuit I was working with a lower budget I wouldn't hesitate to at least consider Seaskin, especially if I was in the UK and could possibly go put my hands & eyes on one. I happened to get a large bonus from work right around the time I was ready for a suit so I splurged and went with the Otter, but I think I would have been satisfied with a Seaskin trilam as well, and had some money left over.
That being said I have several dive buddies with Seaskins so I have seen two of the trilam Nova suits and one of the neoprene Ultra (? - think I have that right?) suits in person. While they cost a fair amount less than say, a Santi, they are in no means poorly or cheaply made. All have looked high quality, and of the two that I know were custom cut they fit as intended, and they allow a ton of options/customization.
If when shopping for a drysuit I was working with a lower budget I wouldn't hesitate to at least consider Seaskin, especially if I was in the UK and could possibly go put my hands & eyes on one. I happened to get a large bonus from work right around the time I was ready for a suit so I splurged and went with the Otter, but I think I would have been satisfied with a Seaskin trilam as well, and had some money left over.
Degenerate
Contributor
This is pretty much the best post in this thread.
When I did my OW and AOW the dive shop had top notch Ursuit drysuits, but as is often the case with rentals none of them fit me very well.
I was wet in one place or another after every dive, which made the experience less pleasant.
I went way over my intended budget when I got my first drysuit and honestly I have never regretted it for a second.
My Waterproof D7X fits me like a dream and has never had a leak in almost 100 dives now, the compatibility with the Ultima ring system right out of the box was a nice added bonus.
While brand is important to a certain point, what truly matters in the end is how well it fits you.
runsongas
Contributor
waterproof should be cheaper. their manufacturing costs should have come way down since they started making them in china.
If I were going to spend that much, I would get an O3 over a Santi, without any question. And 10 times so, if I were in the UK. I only personally know 2 people that have ordered Santi suits in the last 3 or 4 years. Both of those people have had serious issues with their suits. Mostly issues of fit. Personally, I simply would not even consider a Santi drysuit.
I have owned a total of 4 drysuits. First was a Bare. Second was a Waterproof. I'm not really an off-the-rack body shape, so, while both suits were good quality and fit me fairly well, neither one fit me perfectly. For my 3rd suit, I took a flyer and ordered a Seaskin trilam. It fit perfectly and had every single feature I wanted. It is still my main drysuit. I since sold my Waterproof and I had no more use for it after I got the Seaskin.
So then I decided I would like to also have a compressed neoprene drysuit. Simple and basic. A suit to wear in moderate temperature ranges, where I would not need hardly any undergarments, but also would not be TOO hot. I ordered the Seaskin Ultra (compressed neoprene suit) and it also fits perfectly and is very high quality. Full disclosure: I've only had it about 4 months and it does have a pinhole leak that is getting my right heel wet when I dive. I'm still working with Seaskin on figuring that out and fixing it. No big deal, as far as I'm concerned, but I felt obliged to mention it.
Why buy a suit now with an expectation of buying a new suit in a year or two, when you can just buy a "proper" drysuit now, that will fit right and that has all the features you want? AND is actually within your stated budget?
clownfishsydney
Contributor
Today I used my new Seaskin neoprene drysuit for the first time. Water was 16.7C, so not too cold but this is a site that you drift with the current the whole dive so even in warm conditions you get cold because you hardly do any kicking.
I only had on my minimum undergarments and was very warm. No water at all through the wrists or neck, different to my last neoprene suit (neoprene seals on both). I also went for a single wrist valve, no problems at all with its use.
Very happy with my purchase, price was less than half the price of an Australian custom drysuit.
I only had on my minimum undergarments and was very warm. No water at all through the wrists or neck, different to my last neoprene suit (neoprene seals on both). I also went for a single wrist valve, no problems at all with its use.
Very happy with my purchase, price was less than half the price of an Australian custom drysuit.
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