Jeremy Williams
Contributor
Disclaimer: I wrote a lot of words. Sorry. I purchased this suit with my own funds and neither Ursuit nor DRIS asked me to do this. Caveat Emptor.
I have previously owned only one drysuit. Outside of some long ago training dives and a DUI Demo Day (remember those!), I’ve only really dove dry in an ill-fitting DUI TLS 350 that I purchased second hand. Maybe third hand. It was what I could afford at the time and I had some spectacular dives with it.
But I always felt more confident in a wetsuit. And most of my diving has not been dry as a result.
Yet as my diving aspirations have moved towards more technical training, it simply wasn’t going to happen without something new. My very excellent Bare 5mm was not going to be sufficient. Nor was my old TLS which would need a serious trip to repair for new seals and zippers if it was to survive this evolution. I really wanted a new drysuit.
My local shop sells DUI. Although much has been made here of the decline of that once venerable brand, cost was the primary factor that made me seek a suit elsewhere. Their premium line drysuits are unapologetically expensive. I also wasn’t sold on the Zip Seal glove from either a cost or don/doff perspective. I wanted a high quality suit at a mid-tier price. But what and from whom?
I wanted a good fitting suit but I was close enough to a standard XL in most brands that it did not seem to make sense to get a custom cut. I wanted quality workmanship and solid durability. It had to be self-donning. I wanted attached boots and good thigh pockets. I really wanted a wrist and neck system so I could swap out a busted seal. And I also wanted to be able to add dry gloves when appropriate. I feel like these are common enough asks and I had lots of options. I researched everything from Aqualung to USIA to Rofos to Santi to Waterproof and more.
I spoke to a few mail order shops including all the usual suspects often recommend here. I settled on DRIS. The Ursuit Softdura was the right price point with the right options. The warranty promo from DRIS for the holiday sale was the icing on the cake and I ordered it with tech boots and the factory SI tech wrist and neck system.
This is the worst part of my review... It was over 100 days between the time I placed the order and my receipt of the drysuit. Basically 15 weeks. That was far longer than the already long 8-10 weeks of lead time that I was given when I ordered. I waiting all summer for this suit with mounting frustration. And I still don’t really know why it took so long. Mike at DRIS placed some blame on Ursuit. I have no doubt that Ursuit was a part of the problem. But I know that DRIS was not doing what they should have done given the poor and uncertain communication I received from them. The exact cause of the delays is something I’m not pursuing because I don’t see the point. There is plenty enough blame for them both.
But it arrived! Finally. And (spoiler alert) it’s pretty great. The workmanship seems very good at this early stage. The suspenders are nicely adjustable. The tech boots are very similar to the Delta 5 boot from ScubaPro that I dive wet (and like). There are lots of nice details on the suit. The two thigh pockets are really great with lots of velcro and inside there is a d-ring and two bungees. There is also an extra little zipper pocket on the flap.
Reinforcement in the seat, crotch, elbows, knees, and shin all seem nicely done. The collar will let you tuck in a hood. And the overall mostly-black-and-grey effect is a sharp looking drysuit. Some images online show a contrast stitching but my suit doesn’t have it.
I had to trim the silicone neck seal a bit. Having never used one I had hoped that the stock size might be stretchy enough to be comfortable but it was too tight for my 17.5” neck. I’m going to re-evaluate after a few more dives and trim again. The all-plastic zipper is much different than the old metal-toothed one on my DUI.
As I said, I’m generally XL-sized and that includes my hands. The round SI Tech Quick Cuff wrist rings were a big challenge for me with the latex seals that came on the suit from the factory. They were heavy duty bottle-shaped seals and really hard to don and doff. I swapped the wrist seals for silicone and that has helped a lot.
There were a few other interesting things in the box as well. My suit included a quick attach inflator hose from SI Tech called a ‘Balder’ that is different than the more generic ones I have already. Very ‘Ikea’ with the naming, right?
BALDER Quick On Hose Int´l - Hoses/Inflation Devices - Products - SI-TECH
The retain/release ring is held open when disconnected from the valve so you just have to push it on. It’s a small improvement and one that I simply wasn’t aware of previously.
Also, I believe as a result of ordering the neck system, an SI Tech Combi tool was included.
Combi tool - Modular Solutions - Products - SI-TECH
Finally, some talc and zipper lube was included. The suit was delivered with a very lightweight Ursuit logo storage bag. That bag might survive a few years as long as you never take it with you to a dive site or boat.
I purchased the QCS dry gloves from DRIS. These attach nicely to the Quick Cuff and so far I think this was a good choice. It was difficult to see how this all went together based on looking at images online. But once I had all the parts in front of me it went together very nicely. It takes more effort than you'd think to remove the Quick Cuff ring from the suit and I don't think I would have gotten it done without the video from Mike at DRIS that is posted on YouTube.
Overall, I like the suit a lot. Only time will tell how it holds up, but I'm optimistic. For the price, I think it was a good value. DRIS stumbled quite a bit on this, but ultimately Mike got it done. I’d be glad to answer other questions, and I hope this help you if you are considering this suit.
I have previously owned only one drysuit. Outside of some long ago training dives and a DUI Demo Day (remember those!), I’ve only really dove dry in an ill-fitting DUI TLS 350 that I purchased second hand. Maybe third hand. It was what I could afford at the time and I had some spectacular dives with it.
But I always felt more confident in a wetsuit. And most of my diving has not been dry as a result.
Yet as my diving aspirations have moved towards more technical training, it simply wasn’t going to happen without something new. My very excellent Bare 5mm was not going to be sufficient. Nor was my old TLS which would need a serious trip to repair for new seals and zippers if it was to survive this evolution. I really wanted a new drysuit.
My local shop sells DUI. Although much has been made here of the decline of that once venerable brand, cost was the primary factor that made me seek a suit elsewhere. Their premium line drysuits are unapologetically expensive. I also wasn’t sold on the Zip Seal glove from either a cost or don/doff perspective. I wanted a high quality suit at a mid-tier price. But what and from whom?
I wanted a good fitting suit but I was close enough to a standard XL in most brands that it did not seem to make sense to get a custom cut. I wanted quality workmanship and solid durability. It had to be self-donning. I wanted attached boots and good thigh pockets. I really wanted a wrist and neck system so I could swap out a busted seal. And I also wanted to be able to add dry gloves when appropriate. I feel like these are common enough asks and I had lots of options. I researched everything from Aqualung to USIA to Rofos to Santi to Waterproof and more.
I spoke to a few mail order shops including all the usual suspects often recommend here. I settled on DRIS. The Ursuit Softdura was the right price point with the right options. The warranty promo from DRIS for the holiday sale was the icing on the cake and I ordered it with tech boots and the factory SI tech wrist and neck system.
This is the worst part of my review... It was over 100 days between the time I placed the order and my receipt of the drysuit. Basically 15 weeks. That was far longer than the already long 8-10 weeks of lead time that I was given when I ordered. I waiting all summer for this suit with mounting frustration. And I still don’t really know why it took so long. Mike at DRIS placed some blame on Ursuit. I have no doubt that Ursuit was a part of the problem. But I know that DRIS was not doing what they should have done given the poor and uncertain communication I received from them. The exact cause of the delays is something I’m not pursuing because I don’t see the point. There is plenty enough blame for them both.
But it arrived! Finally. And (spoiler alert) it’s pretty great. The workmanship seems very good at this early stage. The suspenders are nicely adjustable. The tech boots are very similar to the Delta 5 boot from ScubaPro that I dive wet (and like). There are lots of nice details on the suit. The two thigh pockets are really great with lots of velcro and inside there is a d-ring and two bungees. There is also an extra little zipper pocket on the flap.
Reinforcement in the seat, crotch, elbows, knees, and shin all seem nicely done. The collar will let you tuck in a hood. And the overall mostly-black-and-grey effect is a sharp looking drysuit. Some images online show a contrast stitching but my suit doesn’t have it.
I had to trim the silicone neck seal a bit. Having never used one I had hoped that the stock size might be stretchy enough to be comfortable but it was too tight for my 17.5” neck. I’m going to re-evaluate after a few more dives and trim again. The all-plastic zipper is much different than the old metal-toothed one on my DUI.
As I said, I’m generally XL-sized and that includes my hands. The round SI Tech Quick Cuff wrist rings were a big challenge for me with the latex seals that came on the suit from the factory. They were heavy duty bottle-shaped seals and really hard to don and doff. I swapped the wrist seals for silicone and that has helped a lot.
There were a few other interesting things in the box as well. My suit included a quick attach inflator hose from SI Tech called a ‘Balder’ that is different than the more generic ones I have already. Very ‘Ikea’ with the naming, right?
BALDER Quick On Hose Int´l - Hoses/Inflation Devices - Products - SI-TECH
The retain/release ring is held open when disconnected from the valve so you just have to push it on. It’s a small improvement and one that I simply wasn’t aware of previously.
Also, I believe as a result of ordering the neck system, an SI Tech Combi tool was included.
Combi tool - Modular Solutions - Products - SI-TECH
Finally, some talc and zipper lube was included. The suit was delivered with a very lightweight Ursuit logo storage bag. That bag might survive a few years as long as you never take it with you to a dive site or boat.
I purchased the QCS dry gloves from DRIS. These attach nicely to the Quick Cuff and so far I think this was a good choice. It was difficult to see how this all went together based on looking at images online. But once I had all the parts in front of me it went together very nicely. It takes more effort than you'd think to remove the Quick Cuff ring from the suit and I don't think I would have gotten it done without the video from Mike at DRIS that is posted on YouTube.
Overall, I like the suit a lot. Only time will tell how it holds up, but I'm optimistic. For the price, I think it was a good value. DRIS stumbled quite a bit on this, but ultimately Mike got it done. I’d be glad to answer other questions, and I hope this help you if you are considering this suit.
