I hate to say it, but in a word, "No".
Full disclosure, I haven't taken the hit either. It's always "next year". That said, my basement is littered with tops (and dry pants) that are "pretty dry". The only pieces of gear that are ever truly dry are new pieces and Jenny's Kokatat shorty and GMER drysuit. Believe me, I know, it's hard to drop the hammer when every year you find tops X%+ off that are "good enough".
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The bottom line is that nothing on the market has (yet) proven itself remotely close to the GMER's quality and record.
Sweet may be a competitor in the near future but they're not there yet. It is my understanding that they have been re-branding their suits for Sandiline's pro team under the Adidas label for a awhile now but are also now selling them under the "Sickline" tag in Europe. Unfortuneately, they're more expensive than Kokatat, aren't proven in the retail market, and they don't have a stateside support infrastructure yet. Sweet seems to have an amazing material though and their dry-tops have thus far been performing on par with Kokatat. If they can match Kokatat's quality and support, their ergonomics and design extras like multiple dry-pockets could quickly earn them the top spot in coming years.
Stateside? You're looking at IR, Stohlquist, Palm, NRS, Peak UK, Level 6, and a few others.
Each make a great suit for light to moderate use, but I haven't seen any last reliably for 6+ seasons (2 years of East Coast year-round kayaking). Most, as you've experienced, honestly don't make it nearly that far.
They primarily fail in the material department. The various fabrics used separate (delaminate), often imperceptibly, and that is when your elbow or back "starts soaking through". Or worse, the fabric is a cheap, treated getup and we all know how well spray on waterproofing products work. Fabric impregnation is a sad, sad thing. I'm not going to point out particularly bad brands...
The second most common failure point is in the taping and/or stitching. "Precision taping" or "No Cross-Taping" is all the rage in the buzzword department, but it doesn't mean much if the tape doesn't stick. Under the tape, "double stitched" gets a lot of tag room but that doesn't mean much either if the gauge isn't thick enough and close/uniform enough to prove durable. Your suit has thousands of holes. Every last one of them has to withstand unbelievable temperature change, sheering forces, abrasion, and every other nature of frequent abuse.
Several of the above mentioned companies have made enormous leaps in the last few years. Honest to god leaps and bounds. Unfortunately, I don't personally believe that they're quite there yet. IR's new Double D "four layer" retails for $940. I imagine they'll be selling it for $700-$940. Even if their four-layer material (I have two of their tops) proves to be bomber, I expect them to have issues with taping and/or stitching on their dry-suits. Dry-Suits are simply exposed to so much more abuse than a typical dry-top. I hope I'm wrong.
This is a great time to decide for yourself with Gauley coming up. You'll get to hold most of the suits in your hands and check them out. Go handle a Kokatat top/suit and know that it is bomber and dry. Next go hold a Sweet top and check out their design. Then go feel the others. Check the stitching with particular attention to the uniformity and how it is terminated. Can you see glue leaching from any of the tape? Can you get a finger nail under the tape at any joints? Those are the weak (wet) points. Is $400 worth that? Is $400 worth being always dry and not buying a second suit until you've beaten the hell out of your first?
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Long story short, Kokatat has a monopoly on Gore-Tex materials and has enjoyed the R&D benefits and experience that only a sole-source contract with the US Navy offers. Their shit is solid, known, and if it isn't, they fix it or replace it no questions asked (some may say to a fault).
Jerry Stezar sent his ~5 year old GMER in a couple years back to replace one of his Gore-Tex socks. He had worn a hole in it. They called him up to tell him that his suit was delaminating and I shit you not, they sent him a brand new GMER. You know Jerry, ask him if there is an alternative to a $1000 GMER.
I apologize for the long email. I've just been wet and cold quite a bit with plenty of time to mull over the details. I've also been lucky enough to slip into some sweet, sweet GMER's over the years when it was prudent to do so. I really, really hate being cold...
My take,
Dave
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