BARE vs VIKING drysuits?

[1969ivan1]

I have a question for u all. I am currently looking at the BARE nex gen and the VIKING extreme drysuit. The bare can be had for a little less and witht the lace upo rock style boots. The viking can be had with built in boots and some really nice underwear. Does anyone ot there have an opinion which of these 2 suits is the better or are they generally equal? I have no personal experience so anything u all can tell me would be a great help....
1969ivan1
realivan@hotmail.com

 

[seahunter]

I don't quite understand why this is in the Sea Hunt Era forum but - having sold and used both I suggest they are entirely different suits and a comparison would be hard to make.
The Bare NexGen is a no frills trilam suit. It has no redeeming qualities other than it is fairly tough, light and should keep you dry. You will need plenty of underwear to keep warm. I don't think it's available with the Bare soft socks that fit into the Trek boots but I could be wrong. They can be added aftermarket. The Tek boot option is excellent. Service if required is quick and easy with Bare.
The Viking suit is a rubber suit. It too requires lots of underwear (Trilam & rubber suits give no thermal protection as do neoprene based suits). The Tek boots are not an option but the molded rubber boots are pretty good. It is heavier than the NexGen and maybe morewear resistant but a bit harder to repair or get service.

These are both good suits if you don't do a lot of really cold diving. Here is Canada and certainly if you dive year-round (through the ice) a neoprene suit is most popular.
Before you buy, check out the Bare XCD2 - now there's a suit! Sure it costs more but every penny is well spent.

 

[Bob3]

Guessed I missed this one when it was first posted, so I'll slip in an obviously biased comment for the sake of the folks doing a search.

The Viking Xtreme is a single layer of densely woven polyester that's been impregnated with what appears to be (& acts like) a butyl urethane compound. Very light weight, tough, fast drying, and no laminations to come apart. There are also no sewn seams to soak up oil & other contaminants.
The zipper, seals & valves are the same as used on the Viking Pro suits, a favorite of PSD & military divers. The knee/shin pad goes from above the knee down to the top of the boot. Great bang for the buck, it is the toughest suit you'll find for the $$.
I haven't used the Bare, though it did seem to be using lighter weight fabric & seals. To their credit, they do use Si Tech valves (as does Viking). There are probably more size choices with the Bare. The Xtreme has only 5.
The Xtreme comes standard with an attached latex hood with Thinsulate underhood. A neoprene hood option is available for cold water use.