Choosing a 7mm

[MikadoWu]

Hello all,

I will be heading up to Lake Ontario to do some diving in May early June. With my daughter moving up there from Florida, this will be a annual thin for a couple year.

In Florida I dive a Bare 3 or 5mm Medium/Large Short Wet-suit. I am 5'7" 180 lbs with an athletic build.

My Boots and hood are 4th Elements, who make the only 4E wide boot for my feet.

Would purchasing another Bare do me well, or is there a better one for that environment?

What are the thoughts on the Reactive v the Velocity, Worth the money? Just not sure about dressing like Tron.

Thanks,

 

[Squirm88]

If I was in the market for a 7mm I would seriously consider the Deep6 7mm while it is on sale.

 

[CuriousRambler]

I had a Bare Arctic 7mm back in the day, and no complaints at all (aside from a bit of a wrestle to get my Mongo feet through the ankles). I "outgrew" it, so it unfortunately saw very little use, maybe 15 dives.

Time to buy a new one as I get back into things, my Deep6 is scheduled for delivery tomorrow. There's quite a bit of conversation here, which helped me decide. Plus, nearly half the price of the Bare doesn't hurt.

 

[MikadoWu]

If I was in the market for a 7mm I would seriously consider the Deep6 7mm while it is on sale.

The price is yummy, but the sizing is not. I would need a large and it would get really loose in areas..

 

[MikadoWu]

I had a Bare Arctic 7mm back in the day, and no complaints at all (aside from a bit of a wrestle to get my Mongo feet through the ankles). I "outgrew" it, so it unfortunately saw very little use, maybe 15 dives.

Time to buy a new one as I get back into things, my Deep6 is scheduled for delivery tomorrow. There's quite a bit of conversation here, which helped me decide. Plus, nearly half the price of the Bare doesn't hurt.

I have tried fitting into similar sized wet-suits. They just do not work, why I ended up with Bare. I am not a Brand guy, I was hoping up north might have Manufactures I have not heard of. I have gear from Apex, Zeagle, Atomic, 4th Element, HOG, DGX, Bare, among others. Tried to buy some Deep 6 2 years ago, but they canceled 6 weeks later without explanation. i have no brand loyalty here but to my comfort and safety.

 

[AustinV]

I am 5'7" as well, about 172-175 on average. Bare fits me the best, both my 7 and my 5 mm wetsuits are bare. Waterproof would probably be the second best fitting. My 7 mm is the Bare Elastek. Can't remember off top of my head which size it is, I could check later.

 

[CuriousRambler]

I have tried fitting into similar sized wet-suits. They just do not work, why I ended up with Bare. I am not a Brand guy, I was hoping up north might have Manufactures I have not heard of. I have gear from Apex, Zeagle, Atomic, 4th Element, HOG, DGX, Bare, among others. Tried to buy some Deep 6 2 years ago, but they canceled 6 weeks later without explanation. i have no brand loyalty here but to my comfort and safety.

Honestly, I'm a little concerned about sizing as well. Some measurements I'm perfectly in "large" range (waist), others (height/chest) I'm perfectly in "XL," and by weight alone I'm XXL. I've always had issues getting things to fit off the rack though. Broad-shouldered, narrow waist. Don't exercise enough to call myself "fit," but I'm nowhere near obese, while walking the BMI line between "overweight" and "obese" (since we all know BMI is flawless). I figure for the price difference between the Deep6 and a Bare, I can send it out to Terrapin to have it strategically shrunk, as needed.

That said, in interest of keeping your thread on track: if I were in your shoes and I knew my Bare fit me right, I think you'd have a hard time convincing me to try anything else, regardless of cost. But I'm definitely biased in that I never find things that "just fit."

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

The water temps up here that time of year are in the mid to low 40's F. I dive a Bare 4mm compressed neoprene dry suit but that wouldn't be practical for a once a year trip. At the very least I would go with a semi dry wet suit. Bare makes a 8/7 Velocity semi dry with attached hood, Scuba Pro has a 7.5 Nova Scotia semi dry that comes with an unattached hood. and Hollis has a 8/7/6 Neotek semi dry with attached hood. The Bare & Scuba Pro has better wrist & ankle seals. Size is the most important consideration, especially at these water temps and Bare has the most size options of all the wet suit companies, so I would start there. You will also need a pair of 7mm boots and a pair of 5mm gloves or 7mm 3 finger gloves depending on your cold tolerance.

 

[runsongas]

for the amount of money a good 7mm runs, a customized seaskin should be considered. if you don't go crazy on the options, it isn't that much more.

 

[MikadoWu]

The water temps up here that time of year are in the mid to low 40's F. I dive a Bare 4mm compressed neoprene dry suit but that wouldn't be practical for a once a year trip. At the very least I would go with a semi dry wet suit. Bare makes a 8/7 Velocity semi dry with attached hood, Scuba Pro has a 7.5 Nova Scotia semi dry that comes with an unattached hood. and Hollis has a 8/7/6 Neotek semi dry with attached hood. The Bare & Scuba Pro has better wrist & ankle seals. Size is the most important consideration, especially at these water temps and Bare has the most size options of all the wet suit companies, so I would start there. You will also need a pair of 7mm boots and a pair of 5mm gloves or 7mm 3 finger gloves depending on your cold tolerance.

Good Info here. I found a Bare Reactive 7mm last night for $300, that I was debating on till I saw your post. Do you think there would be that much of a difference between the Reactive 7mm and a 8/7 Velocity semi dry? Never really looked into Semi-Dry before. I already have Hood (bald head loves warmth), Gloves at 7mm, Boots are 6.5mm.