Bare 7mm Arctic Full Mens Suit reviews

I'm considering purchasing this suit. There are several sites including leasurepro who have this listed for $189.00 with free shipping. Does anybody have any reviews on the suits as far as comfort, reliability, fit, ease of dressing/undressing etc.

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Matt

I had one a few years ago. Good suit for the money. Worked well in Socal waters. quality was ok. for max protection in cold water, you need to use the step in jacket. Most of the time the jumpsuit alone with a good hood was all I needed.

I have one and I am happy with it. I have used it in 47 degree water and was fairly comfortable. Bare offers many different sizes and it would be hard not to find a size that would fit you. I have roughly 40 dives on my suit and it still looks brand new. As far as the ease of putting it on, it is a 7mm so it does take some tugging and pulling. The ankle zippers are a great help though. I had a Harvey’s 7mm before and the Bare is much easier to put on. I also have less water transference but this could be accounted to a better fitting suit. The only problem I have with it is zipping up the back of the suit the last few inches. The zipper seal has a tendency to get ate up by the zipper if you are not careful. I usually just have someone zip up the last few inches for me. Don’t forget scubatoys will give you a 10% discount for being a Scubaboard member. I bought mine from them and the price is great and you can’t beat the customer service.

Used to own one and I was very happy with it. I paired my 7mm suit with a 5mm hooded vest and dove it in 50F waters. The nice thing about Bare suits, are the different sizes to choose from.

I have one and a 7mm hooded shorty that together is very warm in cold water 50-
It is comfortable, and for the money very well made. Bare is also very helpful in warantee matters as well, which can save you a great deal of money down the road if something happens. Good luck.

bert

I bought one from LP last year and so far this has been the ebst of three 7mil suits that I have owned. I have yet to buy the hooded vest but with a hood and gloves I have been comfortable down to the mid 50's.

I don't have the Arctic, but I do have two 7mm BARE wetsuits; the Alpine full hooded and a 10 year old two piece farmer john and step in. Both are very good suits. The obvious difference is the thickness (single layer vs. double) and the full isn't quite up to temps below 50f for me, so I'd add a layer if possible (I gotta lose the gut first though!)

They are both very comfortable and easy to don/doff, and the fit is great (the 10 yr old one used to be when I was xl, now I'm xxxl. Seems like there should be an exclamation mark when you have that many x's in your size.) One of my needs is the ability to put on and off myself, and the Bare is easy. Very good quality materials and workmanship.

Couple of other things;
With the attached hood, I never get the cold shot of water down the back, it's down the front! (the Alpine is front zip.)

It seems like the newer material in the full suit is more stretchy than the older two piece, and I notice the suit holds water like a bag when I exit post-dive. Not a lot, just enough so you notice you have something like a bag of water that is draining down your legs. Guess this makes it easier to put on and fit your form, but seems like the stretchier neoprene would be more compressable at depth. I know with the 7mil, I'm pretty uncomfortable at the surface in ~46f, and it gets a little too cold at around 90 fsw.

I have an Arctic, and I love it.

Another vote for the Artic. I used it w/ a 3/5 hooded vest for a bunch of dives in SoCal in Jan (53-55F) and stayed nice and warm. I have an XL, and it's a little tighter than my XL 5/4 Bare Velocity, but it also doesn't have the hyperstretch fabric inserts like the Velocity.

John

If you are going to dive consistently in 50 degree water, I'd recommend going with a drysuit. I have the bare xcd2 pro and love it. I used to think I was OK with my semi dry and when I went dry it made all the difference in the world in comfortability.