bare nex gen

[HeatCker]

i normally dive wet but am contemplating on getting a Bare nex gen dry suit
water temps thru out the season range from high 30's to mid 70's
all of my diving is recreational and most in local ontario waters
bare is one of the manufactures that the local dive shop carries
made in canada, price, warranty, local availability are whats drawing me to this suit
to those that have had experience with this suit what are your comments / impressions
i realize its not a top of the line suit
thanks guys

 

[grf88]

My previous suit was a Bare Nexgen that I used for about 5 years and is now my backup suit. I got a package deal for suit, underwear, gloves, boots and hood for less than $1000. The suit is tough, well made and I enjoyed diving it, the primary issue I has was that I needed a buddy to close the zipper. If you want pockets best to get them installed by the factory if that is an option as the material is difficult to glue, on my fist attempt they came off. I was very happy with the suit and most others that I met with the same suit were also happy with the Nexgen.

 

[Bopper]

to those that have had experience with this suit what are your comments / impressions
i realize its not a top of the line suit

I started diving dry in about October of 2012. Since then, I've purchased about 12 used drysuits, as I love to buy/repair/test/sell them. I've gone through Pinnacle, DUI, Whites, USIA, Northern Diver, BARE HD Trilam, Mobby's, Diving Concepts, and others. The drysuit I never sold? Bare NexGen. Awesome suit. My main suit. My backup suit: my other NexGen.

Things I especially love about it (besides the price):

• Very light and flexible
  • Only the DUI TLS350 (another awesome suit) exceeded the "lightness" of the suit. You may not think this is a critical aspect to a drysuit, but I've found it to be one of the most important details. Being in a drysuit that feels like it's made out of Rhinocerous skin is no fun; diving it, storing it; traveling with it, whatever. MANY drysuits are way thicker and much less flexible.
• Simplicity. There are no add'l features that are dubious in added value such as an over zipper, a neck collar, cuffs around the wrist seals, even suspenders (i'm not crazy about suspenders). The suit has no "telescoping torso"; it's just a glorified body bag (don't mean to sound morbid). Nothing wrong w. telescoping torsos; they're brilliant and very effective. But they add cost to a drysuit. Because of the super simple design of the NexGen (and the rear shoulder entry), it doesn't need a telescoping torso; it fits perfect without one. SO easy to get into and out of. It doesn't end up looking nearly as slick or as tailored as other suits, but functionally it works great.
  • However one detail that I do wish they had was pockets. And apparently, due to the nature of the trilam material, you should send your suit off to BARE to have these installed. I tried gluing w. Aquaseal and they peeled right off. I mean they peeled right off (even after days of allowing the glue to cure).
• Rear shoulder entry: For the life of me I don't know why front diagonal entry seems to be the most popular among other drysuits. Rear shoulder entry is so easy to slip into and out of. They say the drawback is you can't close it yourself, but I've never been in a situation where there isn't another diver standing right there who is happy to close the zipper for you. I also have a friend who is a solo diver who has found that he can close his NexGen by himself (flexible I guess).

Anyway, I have to say that every drysuit I've purchased has done a great job of what it's supposed to do. When you read a forum like this, you tend to believe that there's only a couple great choices. Really, there are many great choices. You almost can't go wrong. *BUT*, if the NexGen is on your list of possible choices, don't think that it's inferior just because of the price point. It is better than many of the $2K drysuits I've repaired...and sold.

 

[HeatCker]

thanks for your input guys .. appreciate it

 

[HeatCker]

i took a nexgen for a test dive in the lds pool
based on my measurements the suit was sized correctly
pool temps were warm, 84F, so i wore a thin sweat suit as undergarments
lots more room for thicker undergarments for colder water temps
one thing i noticed was that the suit material shrink wraps around the shoulder dump valve
the material is bilam (thin and flexible) and i'm guessing reacts differently than trilam and neoprene ????
i almost have to pump the air out of the suit, chicken wing style
is this common for other suits, other materials
hope i explained myself correctly

 

[spc751]

Bare makes good drysuits but they put the exhaust valve in a terrible location.

 

[Instructor_Tom]

Once you get used to the suit you will dump air instinctively, but yes there are times that you have to chicken wing to force air out of the suit because of the forward/down orientation.

I normally have do this right before i exit a cave system to make sure im negative and i don't get blown out


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[covediver]

I have been diving the same NEXGEN since 2002. It has dives in Alaska, Canada, and the Great Lakes (about 15 to 25 dives dives per year, boat and shore). Seals have been replaced once, at which time I had suspenders put in (should be a standard feature as far as I am concerned). Thus far I have not had a single problem. Back zip does require help of a buddy, but I never got any complaints (if you do, you probably need to find a new buddy), Their customer service was great a few years back. But, when I was at the LA Scuba show a few years back, they seemed reluctant to discuss the suit and I feel like I got the bum's rush when I concentrated on the nexgen rather than one of their upscale suits.

The undergarment accompanying the suit was not sufficient for the 36 degree water if find myself diving in. Not a big deal. Great suit.

 

[Mikko Ilari Laakkonen]

At least bare suits made in Malta have option for changing the exhaust valve location.

- Mikko Laakkonen -

I love diving and teaching others to dive.

 

[Diver0001]

i normally dive wet but am contemplating on getting a Bare nex gen dry suit
water temps thru out the season range from high 30's to mid 70's
all of my diving is recreational and most in local ontario waters
bare is one of the manufactures that the local dive shop carries
made in canada, price, warranty, local availability are whats drawing me to this suit
to those that have had experience with this suit what are your comments / impressions
i realize its not a top of the line suit
thanks guys

The bilam material isn't overly robust but the up-side is that repairs are simple and you can do it yourself.

The fit of the suit is also a bit baggy which will create more drag in the water as compared to some of the better designed suits. You'll mostly notice this in current.

Price is good, though and Bare makes solid products. I never noticed any issues with the dump valve location or function.

R..

---------- Post added February 20th, 2014 at 11:43 PM ----------

Anyway, I have to say that every drysuit I've purchased has done a great job of what it's supposed to do.

In other words, he's never had a DUI (ducking)

R..