Bare vs. Henderson

[jbichsel]

Does anyone have experience with both of these? Particularly the Henderson Hyperstretch 7mm and Bare Arctic 7mm or Artic SGS 7mm.

I am diving waters from the 40's to mid 70's.

Full suit with hooded vest or 2pc (farmer john & step-in)?

Thanks for any input.

 

[jreihl]

I should be receiving my Bare 7mm SGS in a couple of days. I live in chicago and will be doing some quarry and cold water diving as well. I'll let you know. (it may be a week or two)

 

[squidguy]

The Hyperstretch is probably the strretchiest but the surface is easily turned fuzzy from velcro, etc. The SGS had some stretchy stuff also, I have the 3mm Bare and it is great, love the colours. The Arctic is heavy duty! If you are going to dive 70+ waters, a two piece 7mm would be overkill.

 

[jbichsel]

with 7mm Arctic Hooded vest? I think this sounds like a more variable combination.

Anyone have this combo? Would spending the extra $$ for the SGS be worth it?

 

[Soggy]

I have the Bare Arctic hooded fullsuit. It's a great suit. I've dived it in 75 degree water in the Bahamas and South Carolina and also in 38 degree water in New England. When in New England, I layer a 5mm core warmer underneath the suit (it's a tad bit bulky in the body) and that keeps me reasonably warm. Henderson Hyperstretch is great, but it compresses very easily with depth so your 7mm suit will quickly become a 3mm or 2mm.

 

[nomoreno]

I try my Bare SGS today and it is a pretty good suit, as opposed to a Bare farmer john I used to wear. Still feel pretty warm down in 63 degree water.

However, I notice that SGS is not covered the "last mile" of my wrists and the bottom parts. Don't know why but it would make the donning much easier if the "last mile" use SGS. Besides that, it is a good suit.

 

[alaity47]

I got a 7mm Henderson Hyperstretch earlier this year when I got sick of trying on uncomfortably, ratty rental wetsuits.

Yes, it takes forever to dry. Yes, it gets velcro fuzzies.

But it is absolutely worth it to be able to get in and out of the damn thing in half the time it used to take! The most uncomfortable part of scuba diving was always squirming into a wetsuit in the sun when I'm sweaty... and I had a nasty habit of tearing the skin off on my knuckles while yanking at the suit, too.

Plus, I tend to gain and lose weight in a range of about 20 pounds, and this thing still fits comfortably.

I'd absolutely recommend the Henderson Hyperstretch, especially to any new-ish divers who still find equipment and wetsuits a struggle!

FYI, my husband completely disagrees with me... he got the gold core Henderson, and thinks its quick dry-time is worth its lack of stretchiness! I get mocked constantly about how my wetsuit is still hanging up to dry in the bathroom 2 days after a dive! Just goes to show how people's priorities can differ...

Anastasia

 

[KrisB]

There's always Bare's Arctic Hooded Fullsuit http://www.bare-wetsuits.com/bareshop/diveproduct.asp?dept_id=23010&pf_id=61423 -- it is considered a "semi-dry" suit and seems to be the suit of choice for colder water diving (unless it's really cold and you're going dry).

Besides, it's cheaper than the SGS!

 

[jbichsel]

7mm Fullsuit
7mm Hooded vest
3/5mm Hooded collar vest
7mm boots
5mm gloves

Decided against SGS just due to cost at this time. I'm sure later I will go SGS and put this one in student inventory.

I found that the Bare fit even better than the Hyperstretch while trying them on at a LDS. (If "local" means 75 miles away).

 

[Brian Gilpin]

I purchased a Bare 7mm Artic dive suit today. They have a great size range and I was able to purchase my first off the rack suit. Ordinarily I use a Whites neoprene drysuit but this weekend at Monterey my wrist seals went bad. The water was 61 degrees so I rented a wetsuit from Aquarius Dive Shop at Breakwater so I could continue divemaster duties. To my surprise I really enjoyed the dives and have decided that in temperate conditions a wet suit is easier and more fun. The Henderson seems to be of similar quality if you can get a good fit.