Bare Velocity

[willardj]

Bare suit's ROCK!!! We have 2-3/2's and a 7/6. You can't beat the fit. My wife had the hardest time finding a suit that fit. Entill we came across the Bare line. The men's Xtra lg short fit her like it was custom made. With her being a lil top heavy the women's suits just didn't cut it. She liked the men's suit's better anyway.

Only Bare suit's for us for now own.

 

[CC1020]

I have a Bare 5/4 Velocity, and have been extremely happy with it. I have used it down to 58 degrees, with hood and gloves, and it was reasonably comfortable.

 

[djanni]

Any thoughts / opinions on Bare Velocity 5/4 mm??

My wife and I have Bare Velocity 5/4's. We think they run small.

 

[thelawgoddess]

i thought the bares seem to fit like other high quality wetsuits such as neil pryde and oneill. many people new to buying wetsuits do not realize that you would not generally order a wetsuit in your normal clothing size. my bare wetsuit is 3 even-sizes larger than my street clothing, and the fit is about as perfect as one could hope for from a suit that doesn't cost 3 times more. it really is a comfortable, great-looking, fantastically-valued suit. i get cold easily, so i ordered the velocity 5/4 for a 9-day trip to cozumel and it was perfect.

 

[rje634]

Does anybody have anything to say about the Bare Progressive suits?

 

[djanni]

Any thoughts / opinions on Bare Velocity 5/4 mm??

My wife and I both have Bare 5/4mm's. We are trying to sell them. You can look here; http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=184148

They are great wetsuits and we also have Bare 1mm suits. We both think the Bare line tends to run a bit small and couple that with a 10-12 lb weight gain and we need to sell them.

 

[thelawgoddess]

Does anybody have anything to say about the Bare Progressive suits?

well, the new velocity suits are called "progressive stretch" ... but i'm not sure they're really much different from the older suits.

according to bare, "What makes the Velocity Series of wetsuits special is the combination of three material types, each with their own stretch characteristics. This unique combo is called Progressive Stretch."

the suit i got in november has "hydrostretch" panels which are thinner and stretchier than the bulk of the suit, and it definitely fits and feels nicer than suits i've had that didn't have panels like this. great for mobility.

 

[BKP]

I've got a 5/4 Progressive Velocity, as well. Not sure if it runs small, however, it's the first suit that fits me 'off the rack' in an XLS (5'9, 44" chest, 34" waist, 185lbs.). I love it ('cept if I had to do over again, I'd do solid black).

Funny though, I also have a little difficulty getting it zipped....

 

[Phenol]

I have a 5/4 Velocity size MLT that I use it for summer freshwater dives in the St Lawrence/1000 Islands (60-75 deg). It's very nicely made, and fits well, snugly where it counts. Maybe it's just me (or maybe I'm unfairly comparing with a 2/3mm), but it also feels just a bit on the stiff side -- not excessively, but it's certainly not as stretchy as the 7mm Henderson Hyperstretch my wife tried once. I also find the collar is a bit too high in front (an issue on the surface when I'm standing fully kitted up - gag!). I'll trim the collar a bit and see how that goes this summer.

 

[flamingfish]

Are the Bare size charts (body measurements) reasonably accurate? In other words, can you look at the charts and figure out what size you'd wear? Here's a link to the charts:

Bare size charts

(Henderson's are way, way off, at least for the Hyperstretch.)

By the way, I'm female, 5'8", and tend toward the bottom heavy. I haven't had the opportunity to try on a Bare suit, so I'd appreciate any input on how the women's suits are cut in that regard.

I'm looking for a warm water suit for liveaboard dive dive diving (in other words, I'll be in and out of it all day, so I don't want something I have to fight with too much). I'm used to wearing a 3mm and adding a vest & hood at night -- would anyone recommend going with a 5/4 instead? If I were to buy another Hyperstretch (which is the suit I'm replacing -- it's now too big) I would probably do that, because the Hyperstretch material doesn't seem to be as warm as regular neoprene, but I don't know if the extra-stretchy material from other companies is also less insulating.