custom DUI suit experience?

[jason]

Do yourself a favor and collect a consensus from the group and then talk to Steve Gamble about his recommendation of the best suit for your hard earned dollars. Steve sees a lot of suits and has great insight into what makes a great suit and what won't last. I had this exact conversation with him a week ago, you should too.

Thanks. I've had several chats with Steve about suits over the years. He's made several repairs and alterations on my existing suits. It is, however, a bit harder for him to provide me with a range of personal experiences switching from stock sized suits to custom fit ones.

[OFG-1]

I've seen these suits but have wondered a bit about durability.

IMHO, the build quality is better than DUI. The material is heavier than the TLS. I have about 150 dives on mine, and I made a couple of errors when ordering it.

1 - Unless you are into auto-asphyxiation, do not order the heavy duty neck seal. Its tough, but just does not stretch out to fit well.
2 - I ordered the heavy duty wrist seals. They are fine, but you will need talc to get them on.
3 - I did not specify the location of the left pocket, and the default is on the outside thigh, DIR style. I sidemount, and its not a easy to use place, while the right is on the front thigh.
4 - They want a lot for a pee valve, get the suit and install one yourself.

There is an option for extra heavy undersuit users, Forrest specified this and got a bit of extra bulk. DO NOT try to measure yourself for the suit. Gerry tried and her arms are a bit short.

I ordered neoprene socks and wear booties over.

Overall, I am happy. You will not pay the VAT on the website, but you will pay customs duty, will just about even out.

Cheers

One more thing, I ordered the heavy duty zipper. It is heavy duty. I managed to screw up my right rotator cuff, and its tough to zip at the bottom of travel due to the shoulder issues.

[jason]

IMHO, the build quality is better than DUI. The material is heavier than the TLS. I have about 200 dives on mine, and I made a couple of errors when ordering it.

1 - Unless you are into auto-asphyxiation, do not order the heavy duty neck seal. Its tough, but just does not stretch out to fit well.
2 - I ordered the heavy duty wrist seals. They are fine, but you will need talc to get them on.
3 - I did not specify the location of the left pocket, and the default is on the outside thigh, DIR style. I sidemount, and its not a easy to use place, while the right is on the front thigh.
4 - They want a lot for a pee valve, get the suit and install one yourself.

There is an option for extra heavy undersuit users, Forrest specified this and got a bit of extra bulk. DO NOT try to measure yourself for the suit. Gerry tried and her arms are a bit short.

I ordered neoprene socks and wear booties over.

Overall, I am happy. You will not pay the VAT on the website, but you will pay customs duty, will just about even out.

Cheers

Thanks. That was very helpful information. Do you notice any improvement in mobility with a custom fit suit versus one that you purchased off the shelf?

[OFG-1]

Thanks. That was very helpful information. Do you notice any improvement in mobility with a custom fit suit versus one that you purchased off the shelf?

No, but I have less bulk in the suit. I am 5'11, 215 pounds and ride the chart between XL and XXl depending on the suit. My Black Ice was a L, but should have been a XL-short. My mobility issues are from arthritis and the undersuit I pick. Most dives I use a 200 gram thinsulate or a Weezle Extreme plus for longer dives. The Weezle gives me more flexibility.

[jason]

No, but I have less bulk in the suit. I am 5'11, 215 pounds and ride the chart between XL and XXl depending on the suit. My Black Ice was a L, but should have been a XL-short. My mobility issues are from arthritis and the undersuit I pick. Most dives I use a 200 gram thinsulate or a Weezle Extreme plus for longer dives. The Weezle gives me more flexibility.

Thank you. Very helpful.

[jj1987]

Did you notice any difference in fit/mobility relative to a stock suit?

The answer to this is 100% dependent on who measures you and what your body shape/size is. DUI suites are not truly custom, they use premade panels and mix/match sizes to fit your body. I say this just to let you know what to expect, not to bash the process. Look up some of the WKPP videos, those suits fit like gloves.

I guess I should mention I was looking at the FLX, with my previous experience being stock Medium CF200 and TLS350.

I have a FLX. If you were even remotely happy with the TLS350 (worst suit I've ever owned) you'll love the FLX.

Do yourself a favor and collect a consensus from the group and then talk to Steve Gamble about his recommendation of the best suit for your hard earned dollars. Steve sees a lot of suits and has great insight into what makes a great suit and what won't last. I had this exact conversation with him a week ago, you should too.

Steve has bashed every brand drysuit I've heard him talk about. He's great (the best IMO) at repairs, but one of the last people I'd ask for advice on which suit to buy. He does seem to slip from time to time and compliment the FLX or Santi suits.

[jason]

The answer to this is 100% dependent on who measures you and what your body shape/size is. DUI suites are not truly custom, they use premade panels and mix/match sizes to fit your body. I say this just to let you know what to expect, not to bash the process.

I hadn't realized this was how the custom suits were made. Thanks for elaborating on the process.

[JMB2262]

The answer to this is 100% dependent on who measures you and what your body shape/size is. DUI suites are not truly custom, they use premade panels and mix/match sizes to fit your body. I say this just to let you know what to expect, not to bash the process. Look up some of the WKPP videos, those suits fit like gloves.


I have a FLX. If you were even remotely happy with the TLS350 (worst suit I've ever owned) you'll love the FLX.



Steve has bashed every brand drysuit I've heard him talk about. He's great (the best IMO) at repairs, but one of the last people I'd ask for advice on which suit to buy. He does seem to slip from time to time and compliment the FLX or Santi suits.

I agree with the part it depends on who measures you. Totally disagree with the part about the pre made panels. I have been in their factory many times and watched mine or my friends measurements go into a cad machine and the fabric get cut. It is custom.

Also agree with you're comment about a TLS versus a FLX. I would never buy a TLS for cave diving. Either buy a FLX or a CLX.


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[rddvet]

The answer to this is 100% dependent on who measures you and what your body shape/size is. DUI suites are not truly custom, they use premade panels and mix/match sizes to fit your body. I say this just to let you know what to expect, not to bash the process. Look up some of the WKPP videos, those suits fit like gloves.


I have a FLX. If you were even remotely happy with the TLS350 (worst suit I've ever owned) you'll love the FLX.



Steve has bashed every brand drysuit I've heard him talk about. He's great (the best IMO) at repairs, but one of the last people I'd ask for advice on which suit to buy. He does seem to slip from time to time and compliment the FLX or Santi suits.

He compliments the flx and raves about the sf techs. He has seen alot of problems with santi lately and doesnt recommend them.

I'm headed home from ginnie and will give my full experience with the current dui custom suit I'm trying to get. Dui is not foing so good right now. I'll write it up tonight.


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[PfcAJ]

Flx is really good. However, it needs the cloverleaf crotch pad. Don’t let anyone talk you out of it.