Is DUI really the best?
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Skull
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This is an SB favorite thread question ... fact is most divers ...not all divers but most usually purchase 1 maybe 2 drysuits in their lives. Reality is most divers don't have a real informative opinion .. just an opinion based on what they currently own. There are some who have several ... but for the average diver ... it's down to the devil they know.
DUI will make a custom fit suit at a premium in price. It will fit properly until you either gain or lose weight which they will adjust for you for a price. I own a CLX 450 which is heavier than most but I tumble through the rocks and wrecks of SoCal and the only thing I need serviced are the seals .... which every DS owner needs done eventually. Most suits leak around the seals or through the vents/inflator ports. I fortunately live in San Diego so I can drop my suit off at DUI's main mfg/service shop and within a few days to a week have it back.
Someone on the boards said it best ... they are all a bag of rubber which keeps you dry -essentially they are all the same. It is a matter of how much do you want to pay and how far do you have to ship it to get it repaired. If you know a good seal repair shop in your region then that solves 3/4 of all your repair battles. If not then set up a Fed Ex or UPS account cause you are going to be mailing it a lot to the mfg for for repairs regardless of the mfg.
I like Bares wet suits so I would try one of their DS ... DUI is a local mfg, so that was a no brain-er for me ... their mfg shop is literally 7 minutes from my house.
Finally even though I unlike many of countryman am a proud capitalist pig and do shop at Walmart and honestly could care less if the product is made by slave labor in upper Cambodia ... fact is I like to keep folks here in San Diego employed and that truly was a deciding factor for me when choosing a DS mfg. Besides folks from Cambodia/Vietnam don't dive Dry and certainly don't surf!!! H2O Andy can testify!
DUI will make a custom fit suit at a premium in price. It will fit properly until you either gain or lose weight which they will adjust for you for a price. I own a CLX 450 which is heavier than most but I tumble through the rocks and wrecks of SoCal and the only thing I need serviced are the seals .... which every DS owner needs done eventually. Most suits leak around the seals or through the vents/inflator ports. I fortunately live in San Diego so I can drop my suit off at DUI's main mfg/service shop and within a few days to a week have it back.
Someone on the boards said it best ... they are all a bag of rubber which keeps you dry -essentially they are all the same. It is a matter of how much do you want to pay and how far do you have to ship it to get it repaired. If you know a good seal repair shop in your region then that solves 3/4 of all your repair battles. If not then set up a Fed Ex or UPS account cause you are going to be mailing it a lot to the mfg for for repairs regardless of the mfg.
I like Bares wet suits so I would try one of their DS ... DUI is a local mfg, so that was a no brain-er for me ... their mfg shop is literally 7 minutes from my house.
Finally even though I unlike many of countryman am a proud capitalist pig and do shop at Walmart and honestly could care less if the product is made by slave labor in upper Cambodia ... fact is I like to keep folks here in San Diego employed and that truly was a deciding factor for me when choosing a DS mfg. Besides folks from Cambodia/Vietnam don't dive Dry and certainly don't surf!!! H2O Andy can testify!
Well, I can say that I spent several years traveling around North America for business and looking at as many dry suits as I could find.
What impressed me the most was DUI's attention to the details. No other DS manufacturer was even close.
For example, take a look at how suspenders are attached to the inside of the DS. Most manufacturers attach the suspender directly to the DS.This focuses a lot of tension on a small area. DUI places a patch at the contact point to spread out the force.
It is the finishing details like suspender attachments, and many other details, that makes DUI drysuits so good.
What impressed me the most was DUI's attention to the details. No other DS manufacturer was even close.
For example, take a look at how suspenders are attached to the inside of the DS. Most manufacturers attach the suspender directly to the DS.This focuses a lot of tension on a small area. DUI places a patch at the contact point to spread out the force.
It is the finishing details like suspender attachments, and many other details, that makes DUI drysuits so good.
Calling all DS users.......
Does *anyone* reading this think that slightly better suspender glue justifies double the price?
Has anyone even *HAD* problems with their suspenders?
Speak now or forever hold your peace.
R..
the LDS says Bare dropped the ball and was sitting on fulfilling the order. i've come to expect just a lower level of customer service from this industry as a whole so i wasn't surprised.
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The DUI fans will say yes, the Whites fans will say theirs is the best, etc. etc. Seek out rental suits to try, go to the DUI demo days, and try as many suits as you can. do Whites demos as well. then make a decision.
For the record, I've owned two DUI drysuits, a TLS350 and now a CLX 50/50. I love my DUI suit.
For the record, I've owned two DUI drysuits, a TLS350 and now a CLX 50/50. I love my DUI suit.
tight rope walker
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I do not know what the best suit is, I just know what has worked for me. I presently own two vikings and have no issues. As I stated in a previous thread, I have been under the ice more times than I care to admit, with no issues. I have heard some people say that you are always going to get a little wet in a dry suit. I must be doing something wrong as I have never gotten even moist.
Banged on the rocks, scraped on the bottom, you name it, my suits have never skipped a beat.
I bought mine based on watching some commercial divers. I felt if it was good enough for them to wear, five days a week, under some pretty grueling conditions, then it would be good enough for my style of diving.
And now that I have become a gentleman diver, it's even better.
Banged on the rocks, scraped on the bottom, you name it, my suits have never skipped a beat.
I bought mine based on watching some commercial divers. I felt if it was good enough for them to wear, five days a week, under some pretty grueling conditions, then it would be good enough for my style of diving.
And now that I have become a gentleman diver, it's even better.
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