Anyone has experience with the Mystic drysuit? Can they compare it to other dry suit like the OR pyro?

I believe the Mystic is pretty similar to the original Pyro (not the Pro) but has a plastic zipper rather than brass.

Fighter, indeed I suppose it is each to their own. I can assure you that we have done extensive testing on the options and choose to use latex based on our results. It might be that you have only used cheaper latex seals? I will agree that poor quality latex will rot, crumble and relax over time. We use high quality poly urethane latex seals that hold up over time. As indicated before though, we can build you a suit with neoprene seals if you want!

Regarding leaks, all of our suits are tank tested before shipping so they are (in theory) dry. Many times suits leak because of 3 easily solved issues:

1) Your under layers are trapped between the skin and the seal and wick moisture in. Be sure the seal is flat against your skin.
2) The seal is not flat, litterally, against your skin. Be sure the seal is not bunched or folded back on itself and is lying flat against your skin.
3) The seal is pulled down over your wrist or ankle bones. Pull the seal far enough up your arm or leg to be on the smooth skin to avoid leaks caused by awkward boney wrists or ankles!



Urban,

Just confusion on both our parts, I knew you were talking of the GUL suits but I wanted to point out that we feature the over lay on the Classic and Pro versions of our Pyro suits...

Many thanks!

John

ORSales talks a lot about years of R&D and experience with drysuits. If you wonder how a kite company can have all of that, check out whitesdiving.com It is the same place.
http://www.whitesdiving.com/index.php?site=4&id=104

Here is a picture of the neoprene neck seal on my O'neill drysuit.



I have not owned an OR drysuit, so I cannot compare the durability of their seal to the seal shown. I have used an OS systems drysuit that has latex seals. I can say the neck seal on my O'Neill is FAR more durable and comfortable in comparison. The O'Neill does let a little water in when I crash hard at speed or head first, but this is only a couple of ounces of water at most.

As ORSales said, to each his own. For myself, A Pyro Pro with a neoprene neck seal has to be the best option for kitesurfing.

Can I order it that way from my local dealer and what would that option cost?

I use a Gul sailing drysuit. One of the great features is Latex socks on the bottom. I put on a thick pair of socks, the drysuit and then a thin pair of boots and your feet stay totally warm and dry. I would be curious to hear from OR or others why kiting drysuits do not come this way.

Generally speaking small customizations like changing the seals on a new (pre-built) suit we do not charge for. We ask dealerships to take a deposit and we just enter the change into our next production run, which tends to opperate on a 4-5 week turn around. Full customization of the suit's size, etc is $160 retail on top of the suit's cost but is based on a very thorough sizing form and is guarenteed to fit.

We can do neoprene seals, we can do latex socks and we can do "soft socks" which are just little booties made of suit material that you slide neoprene boots over. The soft sock might be a slight expense for the materials, I'd have to check with production.

John Z

After reading this thread (and others) I opted to get an OR Pyro Pro drysuit. I've never worn a drysuit before, only wetsuits (Oneil's have been my favorite). I gave the Pyro Pro a try last weekend at Waddell Creek in crappy, underpowered conditions. Lousy kiting, but a pretty good test for the drysuit. I got "crunched" by lots of small waves, and was totally submersed several times. I was wearing board shorts under fleece pants, and two t-shirts (one long sleeved, the other short sleeved) and no booties. Everyone else was wearing 4/3 or 5/4/3 wetsuits.

Gotta say I was very happy with how the OR drysuit performed. I got a bit of water (maybe half a cup) up one leg, less than that up the other, and even less up the arms and neck, but not enough to effect my warmth, and I didn't even notice it until I took off the suit. Maneuverability was much better than any wetsuit I've ever worn (even better than my 3/2). The "shrink wrap" effect when the suit is under water was new to me, but other than feeling a bit weird, didn't effect my maneuverability at all.

On the beach I did get kind of hot while rigging my kite, and my seat harness tended to slide down until I hooked in to my kite, but otherwise I didn't have any real problems at all.

We'll see how this suit holds up in a couple years, but so far I'm pretty happy with it.

Gul have a new range of drysuits aimed at kitesurfing/jet sking etc. Re-enforced in wear areas, and flex where it's needed. Also has neoprene cuffs around the ankle seals, and footstraps to stop suit riding up. Tried mine 1st time today in the North Sea. Real nice, slight seeping through ankle seals after 3 hrs riding, but not really a problem. Quite reasonably priced also. Mine is the Gul enforcer with back zip, (which I can zip and unzip myself) I believe they also do a front zip version. Worth a look.
Also 1st outing with 10.5 Ion 2 and LF footbeds. Very comfortable day!

John Z,

Thanks for the great customer service and my "perfect drysuit"!

I love the ease of taking off a drysuit that has a neoprene neck seal and it is much more comfortable to wear than latex. Plus, the rest of the suit is comfy, dry, and bomb proof.

I love the fact that I can get such a well built drysuit and order it exactly the way I want it. All of this was made easy by your great team. It doesn't get any better than that!

Don