Best inexpensive drysuit?

[ORSales]

Your right. The Heat is $699 CDN.

If your going to go the whole hog to a drysuit, its worth the extra hun.

More a comment on the lucifer. It has a pretty dodgy track record.

Ignite = $1442 CAD

Soul = $1180 CAD

Heat = $785 CAD

NP = $599 CAD

+ tax....

drysuits.jpg

Actually, Starsky is right here. We have a separate CAD price list that looks like this for drysuits:

Ignite - $1,299 CAD
Soul - $999 CAD
Heat - $699 CAD

Lots of great comments here. I've personally been using the Soul for the last 3 seasons. Granted, it's the only drysuit I've used, but it was a complete game changer from a wetsuit.

This season I will be switching to the Heat (likely with socks). I wear a helmet in the winter here as there is a lot of debris in the water, so the hood is moot, and I find I can live without the relief zip .However, I can easily see the relief zip as worth the extra $$$!

At $599 US, we targeted the Heat as a viable alternative to a high end wetsuit for winter kiting. We are quite proud of the value the Heat provides at that price compared to any other drysuit in that price bracket.

Ned - OR

[foilonfoil]

Just keep a close eye on Amazon. For some reason, one off colors and sizes pop up discounted. Currently there is a black and orange at around $730 in size XL...

[SENDIT!]

*Disclaimer-I sell Souls (haha I've always wanted to say that!) and several other brands of drysuits.

I bought my Soul drysuit about 2 years ago and I've never looked back. It is worth every penny, IMHO, if you ride in the cold. I no longer have that time where I'm weighing whether it's worth going out or not. If it's windy, I'm going. I've been out when it's in the mid 30's F with 20 knot winds and been toasty warm. Except for my hands.

I, for one, don't want the socks on my feet. I don't like losing the feel of the board and am only just now accepting riding with my NP Elite booties. Those are almost like kiting barefoot. I understand that others are used to riding in booties, so no big deal for them. One thing that is DEFINITELY worth having is the relief zip. Not having to take the suit off to get rid of all that excess coffee...PRICELESS.

One thing that I realized that illustrates how great the suit is: I totally forget that I have it on when I'm riding. That, in and of itself, is a victory.

I won't get into posting links here, but we still have a few closeout Souls left, in limited sizes, at the $699 price.

Good luck and hopefully none of us need drysuits this winter.

SENDIT!

[CaptainArgh]

I have a Soul and really like it. The pee zip is a deal breaker now that I have one. ...but honestly, I don't get any more or less enjoyment out of my sessions than when I had a much cheaper Oneil suit or than my friends who still have them. If you are some sort of industry professional and you demand a suit greater than $1000 in cost, go for it. But for most of us winter sessions are few and also shorter.

This whole "you get what you pay for" stigma doesn't always apply. Read the reviews and see if the cheaper suits are falling apart or in some way failing out in the water. They aren't. The "get what you pay for" may apply to some products but I just haven't seen it apply to dry suits. You are paying for features, you are paying for the brand name, you are paying for a good warranty...all good stuff. But they all seem to have the exact same seals and very similar material (non of which is breathable even though they say it is, and by the way the more breathable it is, the more likely it will drip on you in a long session).

So, while I have great things to say about my OR suit, the original poster titiled this "Best inexpensive drysuit" and that isn't it. Get yourself the Oneil Boost or Assault and don't look back.
If you want some killer features and a dedicated kite company that will stand behind the product, get an OR suit.

[alpha84]

I grabbed a Soul as well last January. ABSOLUTELY love it! I won't get into why I like it so much since the last few people hit the high points. I'd recommend the Soul all the way.

Another option is the Patagonia suit. If you apply for a Patagonia Pro account and get approved you can get their suit for 450, it retails for 700. As long as you can justify the account it shouldn't be a problem.

[pecmajor]

I've used the Lucifer for past two spring and fall seasons on Lake Ontario. Love it. No leaks. Warm breathable material. Easy to put on. Real nice price.

[atomic-chomik]

Coming from a Whitewater background and having been through a number of different suits such as navaro another knock off and kokatat(my kokatat was nice), can say beyond any degree of certainly that buying a cheap suit is a waste of money, and its unsafe. I now use an OR Soul and think it is a great suit that doesn't break the bank. In fact they actually have the Coast Guard up here on the Canadian West Coast in them.
Cheap suits, leak period; many times by the seams and can actually be a hazard if you have to swim in. As well, knock off suits are made with inferior engineering and fit, causing then to be restrictive or too baggy.
Like somebody said previously, I've seen them go sale on amazon for cheap, Another option is to call OR headquarters(ask for todd) and explain to then where you are at. They may very well have an excellent condition demo or previous years stock they would be willing to get you into for a good deal. Very helpful guys, want people in their gear.

[ORSales]

Hey all John Z here back from vacation...

Just want to add one comment regarding "cheap" suits.

While we offer 3 different price point suits the price points are determined by features offered, not by quality of material or workmanship.

All 3 of our sport suits (Heat, Soul & Ignite) use the same high quality breathable materials, hand dipped latex seals and Ti-Zip Master Seal zippers. The pricing breaks down for these suits based on the lack of relief zip for the Heat and fewer overall seams when compared to the Soul or the added features of the Ignite (including a 1 atmosphere dry zip on the jacket as well).

Officially, we don't even consider the Heat to be a "cheap" suit... rather it is a performance orientated, lighter weight alternative to our best selling Soul!

JZ

[Candleflame]

Bought my Dry Fashion Drysuit for about 200 dollars at a sailing exibition. Works amazing.

[Dirk]

As mentioned above Dry Fashion from Germany (http://www.dryfashion.de/index.php/en/home) also makes a solid product for a good price. They have done this for more than 30 years. You can also customize the sizing and some features like built in socks.

Personally, I still prefer OR for well thought through features like the way they have placed the zipper. And their cut is less bulky without restraining mobility.