Bare vs. Diving Concepts Dry Suits

[ppo2_diver]

I'm considering buy a dry suit. I had my mind set on a Bare Trilam HD. But a buddy of mine said I should look at Diving Concepts. What are the pros and cons of each suit? How do the suits match up price wise?

Thanks.

 

[diver_paula]

I really like my Diving Concepts suit. Can't compare it to a Bare's but do like it.

o I've been diving in it for two seasons and have not had one leak.
o The stretchy tri-laminate is wonderful!!!!
o The down side of the suit is that I opted for the wrist dump. Never again. Go with the shoulder dump!
o The rubber boots are very thick - can dive without socks if you like.
o The boots can be tough to get on. For me as well as a male friend / diver. & I have extremely narrow ankles and feet.
o The bag the suit came in is useless. I'm using the bag from my last dry suit. (White's - didn't leak in 7 years but I wanted to try the stretchy tri-lainate.)
o Dries quickly.

BTW - I'm now using Weezles dry suit undies. Love 'em! Warm and they dry extremely quickly!

Have fun shopping.
Paula

 

[ERP]

diver_paula once bubbled...
[The down side of the suit is that I opted for the wrist dump. Never again. Go with the shoulder dump!

Just wondering hy you didn't like the wrist dump?
I have a forearm dump on my DUI and much prefer it to the shoulder dump I've used previously.

 

[diver_paula]

My thoughts on the cuff dump...

o It doesn't exhaust the gas as fast as the shoulder dumps which makes it harder to descend.
o When diving in a quarry / shore dive, the position of the dump makes it much harder to dispel air to descend in water that I can stand up in.
o When I'm diving on a wreck I need to get more vertical to dump some air. With a shoulder dump I simply rolled a bit to the right.
o I miss having the ability to close the dump when I like.
o When ascending I have to put my arm up in the air thus making my ability to do anything with my hand near zilch.
o Leaves less space to wrist / arm mount anything.

It's basically just personal preference. I'm thinking about getting my suit altered but haven't fully decided yet.

Hope that helps.
Paula

 

[ERP]

Ahh, you have a slightly different setup than I do.

I have a variable type dump valve mounted about centrally on my forearm, leaving enough space for a compass below it.

I dive with a minimal amount of air in my suit and can't say I've noticed a difference in the speed the valve dumps.

I also mostly shore dive and haven't had a problem dumping at the surface.

I can dump air on a dive just by raising my arm and without going vertical at all. I also feel I have more control over when I dump air with the forearm dump.

As you say though it's a personal preference thing.

 

[NurseShark]

also looked at the Diving Concepts suit but being Canadian, a customized Bare is less expensive (since Bare is a Canadian company & local for me) than a Diving Concepts. I've only done about 5 dives in it so I'm still working out some bugs (I have very narrow feet & althought the boots are the right size they are a bit wide & tend to trap air & this suit is a bit more buoyant than the Mobby's trilam that I had previously). The telescoping torso is good for flexiblility & the material it is made of is indestructable. The boots are very insulating & the soles are thick enough that you can walk over rough surfaces without hurting your feet but flexible enough for different fin kicks. The inflator valve is smooooth & I got the forearm dump which dumps very quickly & I can reach it to adjust it if I need to. The pocket that it comes with is a bellows pocket and a reasonable size without being bulky. No problems at all with leaks. The zipper for self entry/exit isn't !00% self operated. The way the zipper curves over your shoulder means that I can't quite get the last few inches of the zipper open myself & I need those inches to get myself out.

 

[WoofDiver]

I noticed that most of the people here are using Tri-lam material for their suits; any thoughts on the Diving Concepts crushed neoprean? I am currently getting pricing for both types.

Thanks.

 

[gbrandon]

I have the compressed neoprene and I love it . (the pinnacle 200)

 

[Chris H]

WoofDiver once bubbled...
I noticed that most of the people here are using Tri-lam material for their suits; any thoughts on the Diving Concepts crushed neoprean? I am currently getting pricing for both types.

Thanks.

I have a Bare Tr-lam ATR HD on order right now, but I've heard VERY positive things about the Diving Concepts suits. My TDI insructor said he has 900+ dives on his Diving Concepts crushed neoprene suit in the last 3 years and it is still going. It didn't look brand new by any strech of the imagination, but those are impressive numbers anyhow. I don't think either suit is a bad idea.

 

[WoofDiver]

Do you folks do much wreck diving in WI (Great Lakes)? This is where my concern is: I have been told that Tri-lam suits do not hold up very well as far as wrecks are concerned but that crushed neoprean is the best. I have some misgivings about the CN type suits but I want the best for doing Video/Wreck diving.