Drysuit noob questions

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Geis sou Christo!

I would suggest getting something made in Europe for the sake of any servicing/issues/etc.. There's Santi from Poland, Waterproof in Sweden, Ursuit from Finland, and probably more than I'm not aware of.

I'd look at investigating what dry glove system you want. Definitely take some time to research what you think will work best for you.

 

[Christozs]

I've used a Bare and a Santi, both are nice. Is there a local Bare support incase of issue?

Granted, I've never gotten factory work done on a suit, the issues are all time dependent wear items. You need a cheap local seal guy, and he will be brand agnostic, so it does not matter, and that means don't let lack of Bare local site scare you away.

Besides the fit of the suit overall, confirm you have a good sized boot, so you are comfortable kicking.

I didn't buy my Santi new. If I had, I would have not been happy with the high price. I got it used and it was very worth the $400 I paid for the suit, but I did put another $400 into new boots and seals so it is essentially brand new. Great for that price.

If by local you mean in Denmark, yes. But not in Copenhagen where i live. It is still no issue, it takes a day to have it delivered.
Santi is extremely out of my budget, except if i buy it from Poland. Which i am not really keen since i always try to support the local market.

Hello fellow Denmark resident!
I bought the Santi Elite+ and the memory of swiping my card still makes me shudder. It's very nice, but also expensive. Whatever you do, don't get tunnel vision, and don't get impatient, because you can buy great trilaminate drysuits used. Ask in clubs or search online in the usual danish Facebook groups.

I guess much of it comes down to your cold tolerance, and how much money you want to spend.
I don't get very cold, and I bought the Santi bz-400, and dove with it only once. I felt that it was so bulky, that I need unreasonably much led for all that insulation to go down, and stay down. I now dive with ski-underware, jogging pants and a bunch of jumpers. Also woolen socks + the 4th element socks, because having cold feet sucks.

I used my 5mm neoprene gloves for a long time, and I actually slightly prefer them to the drygloves, but ended up getting the Santi drygloves anyways, only because my armseal kept leaking.

Don't buy everything at once. You might not need drygloves at all. They are just one more thing that can fail.

Hej! I found a lot of good ones on DBA but an average Dane is a bit bigger than me. It is a bit hard to find the right sizing there.
The BARE i found though is used (<10 dives) but it is from a dive shop.

Looks like SANTI and Waterproof are pretty popular here. But all SANTI and most Waterproof prices hurt a lot.

After getting all this feedback here maybe i will wait a bit with the dry glove system and just buy a 5mm neoprene gloves for the start. I think i will miss the dexterity though and i will switch soon.

Geis sou Christo!

I would suggest getting something made in Europe for the sake of any servicing/issues/etc.. There's Santi from Poland, Waterproof in Sweden, Ursuit from Finland, and probably more than I'm not aware of.

I'd look at investigating what dry glove system you want. Definitely take some time to research what you think will work best for you.

Geia!
Yeah some local dive shops are really into promoting me the Waterproof and Ursuit dry suits.
It is so hard to choose which one is the best! I am thinking either of going local (Bare, Waterproof, Ursuit), going custom (Seaskin) or going all in and just get the FE Argonaut that i fell in love from the start

 

[jborg]

After getting all this feedback here maybe i will wait a bit with the dry glove system and just buy a 5mm neoprene gloves for the start. I think i will miss the dexterity though and i will switch soon.

For what it's worth, for my diving just on the other side of the bridge (hej!) having my body be warm and dry increased my tolerance for cold fingers and head a lot. I have the dry gloves, but have been diving regular 2mm wet gloves and 3mm hood since it was about 10 C in the water this spring.

 

[EireDiver606]

SANTI is indeed pricey, but getting it from Poland could drop the price to 1800 euros. Haven't heard the best about their customer service though and that concerns me a bit. I wouldn't want to be without a drysuit for months in case something breaks.

I’m fairly sure Santi don’t drop their price even if you go to the factory and ask. I heard this from someone who tried to get a factory discount.
Santi customer service is excellent, from what I’ve experienced and what I’ve heard from others too. It depends where you are in the world.

Also people keep saying how Santi is pricey, yes they are but they are top notch suits that come with very nice warranties, and extras like a very good quality bag, hood, mask strap, repairs for everything. Other manufacturers just give you the suit... so don’t think it’s as expensive as you think.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Geia!
Yeah some local dive shops are really into promoting me the Waterproof and Ursuit dry suits.
It is so hard to choose which one is the best! I am thinking either of going local (Bare, Waterproof, Ursuit), going custom (Seaskin) or going all in and just get the FE Argonaut that i fell in love from the start

My next dry suit will be Deep 6, which is manufactured for them by Ursuit. I have stuff from Waterproof (not a dry suit) and they make good stuff.

In general, I expect you to be happy with whatever purchase you make.

 

[davehicks]

Hi,

I am PADI AOW for a year now and i live in Denmark. Yesterday i did my dive #27 (only) with my 5mm wetsuit and a 3/5 mm vest and felt as cold as i never felt before. So from today i start looking of dry suits, inner suits and dry gloves system.

Searching around and reading here i realized that there is no top brand for it. It depends on the country, suppliers, style and type of diving you are doing.

In DK i have found a used BARE EXPEDITION HD2 TECH DRY MEN with some upgrades and less than 10 dives in ML (from most size charts in different brands i fit in ML). But Poland is next to us and for 100 euros more i could get a new SANTI. I have to admit that i really like the FE Argonaut but i find it much more expensive than the other 2.

For the BARE, the shop adviced me to add the SI-TECH dry glove system but i think i would go for the (almost twice more expensive) KUBI. Do you think it is worth it?

For inner suit i am thinking of the FE arctic (2 pieces) and when 2021 comes having the SANTI bz400x on top.

As you can see i am kinda lost, so any input would be highly appreciated!

Best,
A Greek in Denmark

That Si-Tech Antares ring system is garbage. Go with something else. I use the WaterProof Ultima rings which are great, and I hear good things about Kubi too.

 

[Boston Breakwater]

Hello. It seems like you've answered your own question. Keep doing your research, and buy what is comfortable for you, and what you like.
Cheers.

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

Geis sou Christo!

I would suggest getting something made in Europe for the sake of any servicing/issues/etc.. There's Santi from Poland, Waterproof in Sweden, Ursuit from Finland, and probably more than I'm not aware of.

I'd look at investigating what dry glove system you want. Definitely take some time to research what you think will work best for you.

Otter dry suits, O'Three dry suits and Northern Diver dry suits are made in the UK and all three have a good reputation.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Otter dry suits, O'Three dry suits and Northern Diver dry suits are made in the UK and all three have a good reputation.

Yes, but I don't know how Brexit is going to turn out, hence I didn't mention those.

 

[Rollin]

Santi customer service is excellent, from what I’ve experienced and what I’ve heard from others too.

Well, not always. My zipper leaked after 10 dives (like, within a month) and it was not repaired under warranty. My dive shop had to pay for it. The E.motion was a real lemon. It fell apart, quiet literally, after 150 dives. I'm sure the other suits are just fine. Many happy customers, but I'm diving Ursuit now.