DRIS is THE place to go for dry suits!!
DRIS is THE place to go for dry suits!! Many thanks to them for partnering with DIVEIN on YouTube!! After DIVEIN's drysuit videos, particularly the one on Bare X-Mission drysuits, yesterday (Jan 19, 2026), I and my friend (who is also my SSI XR Instructor) drove 6 hrs to DRIS in Plainfield, IL and spent over 4 hours with Bill - who was simply fantastic - as he fully explained and showed me the features of the suits I was interested in from Fourth Element, Bare (the X-Mission DIVEIN discussed in their video), and Santi - in addition to seal and dry glove systems. He helped settle on the suit that best met my needs, measured me, and got me into ordering a Santi E-Lite Plus that only required three minor modifications from a stock size, and added the options I wanted. SAVED $$$ over a full custom!! It's a freakin' sharp looking suit with the color scheme I selected! Getting the premium drysuit warranty (a $450 value) thrown in for free based on the video was easy, and I upgraded it to the platinum warranty for a little more. My advice: I went there with a well-considered list of: (a) how I will use the suit (temp ranges, boat, shore, BPW, SM, etc.), (b) undergarments and active heat I planned to use, (c) specific attributes I was looking for in the following categories: Materials, Zipper, Cut, Seals, Pockets, Pee Valve, and Feet (ex: user-replaceable seals, reinforced knees, neo socks, plastic zipper, left leg balanced pee valve, etc.), (d) what I considered "nice-to-haves" (ex: reinforced elbows & seat, low-profile exhaust valve, etc.) and, (e) importantly, things I did NOT want (ex: back zipper, boots, cave cut, replaceable seal systems that use CLIPS, etc.) I took considerable time to develop the list from my own experiences and with advice from people I trust who have more experience than I do. It was VERY helpful to do that homework ahead of time and provide that list to Bill and it formed the basis for his recommendations. I could not have asked for a better experience!