Loving my custom Santi E.Lite Plus!!! After significant due diligence across dry suit manufacturers and their product offerings, I chose Santi to replace my first trilaminate drysuit that had provided 20 years of cold water diving and which had been upgraded with SiTech neck and wrist seals, installation of Halcyon pee-valve and replacement of thigh pockets with large Light Monkey pockets positioned slightly forward (5 cm) for my sidemount diving. All these modifications were adopted in the purchase of my E.Lite Plus, which I believe will easily last 20 years .... I hope I do, too, as that will have my still diving at 90!!!!!! WELL DONE, SANTI!!!!!!
I deal with drysuits on nearly an every day basis. Drysuits are practically my number one piece of gear most of my customers invest in, and what I spend the most time working on for customers. When you were talking about the dump valve positioning, may I make a recommendation? When I was active duty, myself and many guys I know favored moving the dump valve down to a position just above the elbow on the outside of the sleeve. This location offers a number of great advantages over any of the “standard” shoulder positions. First, since we dive in a horizontal position, it makes dumping air the easiest it can possibly be. Air tends to get trapped in the upper shoulders on the back side. Even with a shoulder dump in the “DIR” position, it still requires you to tilt your body upwards slightly, and rotate the arm to get the air to come out. With the valve near the elbow on the outside, it is possible to dump air, all air, even the small excess that gets trapped, without ever changing your trim, and without rotating the arm. You simply raise the elbow, keeping the arm bent to trap air at the elbow, and air vents out without moving the body even the slightest bit. Next, shoulder height dump valves tend to get caught on BC straps and gear when donning and doffing, and sometimes they can get damaged, or worse. Placing the valve just above the elbow moves it lower on the arm, preventing gear from snagging it. And finally, shoulder dump valves are hard to reach when you have a lot of gear on, especially with many rebreather units. DIR positions even more so, making it difficult to reach and potentially dangerous in an emergency when you need to press the valve to vent. Placing the valve just above the elbow makes it very easy to reach, even with lots of gear on, making it safer. Check here for an example: instagram.com/p/CZg_FZ1Pc06/
Getting ready to buy my first Drysuit and decided on Santi. Really great details here that will help me finalize my purchase, as well as care for the suit. Thanks so much!
Great video. If you've got small hands, is the Santi Smartseals system still recommended? I guess the concern is that there may be room for your arms/hands to move back within the suit if the ring is a single size?
The rings are not solid and flexible so I don't think that will be an issue for small hands, you just need to get the correct small sized wrist seal to go inside the ring to fit around your wrist I would say but give Santi a message I am sure they can help you further. Regards, Steve
Question regarding my BCD & those inflator valves: Scubapro Hydros X Lady - doesn't that inflator valve clash with the position of the chest buckle/belt?
Loving my custom Santi E.Lite Plus!!! After significant due diligence across dry suit manufacturers and their product offerings, I chose Santi to replace my first trilaminate drysuit that had provided 20 years of cold water diving and which had been upgraded with SiTech neck and wrist seals, installation of Halcyon pee-valve and replacement of thigh pockets with large Light Monkey pockets positioned slightly forward (5 cm) for my sidemount diving. All these modifications were adopted in the purchase of my E.Lite Plus, which I believe will easily last 20 years .... I hope I do, too, as that will have my still diving at 90!!!!!! WELL DONE, SANTI!!!!!!
Awesome video. Most videos gloss over so much in their reviews but this answered every question I have. Thanks!
I deal with drysuits on nearly an every day basis. Drysuits are practically my number one piece of gear most of my customers invest in, and what I spend the most time working on for customers. When you were talking about the dump valve positioning, may I make a recommendation? When I was active duty, myself and many guys I know favored moving the dump valve down to a position just above the elbow on the outside of the sleeve. This location offers a number of great advantages over any of the “standard” shoulder positions. First, since we dive in a horizontal position, it makes dumping air the easiest it can possibly be. Air tends to get trapped in the upper shoulders on the back side. Even with a shoulder dump in the “DIR” position, it still requires you to tilt your body upwards slightly, and rotate the arm to get the air to come out. With the valve near the elbow on the outside, it is possible to dump air, all air, even the small excess that gets trapped, without ever changing your trim, and without rotating the arm. You simply raise the elbow, keeping the arm bent to trap air at the elbow, and air vents out without moving the body even the slightest bit. Next, shoulder height dump valves tend to get caught on BC straps and gear when donning and doffing, and sometimes they can get damaged, or worse. Placing the valve just above the elbow moves it lower on the arm, preventing gear from snagging it. And finally, shoulder dump valves are hard to reach when you have a lot of gear on, especially with many rebreather units. DIR positions even more so, making it difficult to reach and potentially dangerous in an emergency when you need to press the valve to vent. Placing the valve just above the elbow makes it very easy to reach, even with lots of gear on, making it safer. Check here for an example: instagram.com/p/CZg_FZ1Pc06/
Getting ready to buy my first Drysuit and decided on Santi. Really great details here that will help me finalize my purchase, as well as care for the suit. Thanks so much!
Great we could help you, I think you will be happy you invested with Santi
Great video. Answered lots of questions for me.
Thank you so much for this. Answered all the questions I had. I will be getting a Santi E.lite + soon
Great video. If you've got small hands, is the Santi Smartseals system still recommended? I guess the concern is that there may be room for your arms/hands to move back within the suit if the ring is a single size?
The rings are not solid and flexible so I don't think that will be an issue for small hands, you just need to get the correct small sized wrist seal to go inside the ring to fit around your wrist I would say but give Santi a message I am sure they can help you further. Regards, Steve
@@sidemountscubadiving thanks, I'll check with the supplier. Maybe Kubi is better for my use as they come in different sizes. Let's see what they say!
Question regarding my BCD & those inflator valves:
Scubapro Hydros X Lady - doesn't that inflator valve clash with the position of the chest buckle/belt?
Yes it does! You can change the placement of that buckle if Im not mistaken. For me I just got used to it.
I love my E-Lite +