Product Review: New “Generation 2” BARE SB Drysuit

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

While I don't own nor have ever dived a FX100, I do know of a few divers that have owned them for a few years now. No delamination issues. The material is much LESS stretchy than the SB's. I was told it does dive a bit like a large bag on your body; not a good thing, but the suit has held up well and the owners like it.

I think if I ever did pick one up on the second hand market I'd rip out the zipper and have a YKK plastic zipper installed on it. The material does seem tough, and at least for my needs, I wouldn't hesitate to use it on a wreck dive with sharp rusted metal.
 
Last edited:
Is it right that it's a bilaminate?

With no delamination issues, perhaps Hollis has found the right "stretchiness" for a memberane suit?

If the FX100 is less stretchy than the Gen2 BARE SB, then it's not very stretchy at all.
 
Any updates on how you like the new suit in the water?
 
I know... It's killing me too. :)

103° here in Savannah the past couple days. All dives have been by 3mm wetsuit, and THAT seems hot. :)

As soon as it cools down a bit and I can wear it without passing out, I'll give it a dive.

Meanwhile, I think I'll get that neck seal trimmed out and might even go ahead and install a company logo on the right arm.
 
Not yet. Soon. Still too hot to dive dry.

My summer 3 mil O'Neill wetsuit was looking a bit threadbare this summer, so I went ahead and bought a very pretty BARE Reactive 3 mil wetsuit to serve as my summer wetsuit for work.

The first day of diving I really paid dearly for it... The thing is HOT. No, seriously... I almost passed out. I ditched the hood about an hour into the dive (I was working in barnacle-water and needed something to keep the marine life out of my ears), but that didn't help much.

I repeatedly flushed the suit through the neck-hole, but still overheated badly. I don't remember getting out of the water, which is really, really bad. I didn't feel well until the next morning. Heat exhaustion underwater is a very odd thing.

...So for the past couple of months I've been working in my threadbare O'Neill - probably my 100th O'Neill wetsuit since the 1980's. I'm a big fan of O'Neill wetsuits, and they've always served me better than any other suit... Which I always order from Austin's Dive Center in Miami. Can't seem to find them otherwise. O'Neill is a PITA company to deal with... But MAN can they make a nice suit! This BARE Reactive looks to be easily as high quality and as good - if not better - of a fit... But apparently a LOT warmer. A surprise, really, since the O'Neills have always been very warm, cozy wetsuits. I believe BARE's marketing about "cellulant technology" now. :)

For reference, the water temp was over 90 this summer. That's WAY to warm for a 3 mil BARE Reactive.

I should be able to use the Reactive in a week or two. Meanwhile, I glued a company logo patch on the right shoulder. Kinda a test, really, to see how it'd turn out before I do the same to the XCS2.

...Still a month or two away from being able to dive the XCS2. I may send it out to DUI to have a patch sewn and sealed onto the shoulder, factory-style. I'm not sure how happy I am with the glue job... Or how much confidence I have in it.
 
Alright... I dove the warranty-replacement BARE XCS2 today for the first time. Impressions were very good. Excellent, in fact. I've started another thread about it, since this product review is no longer about the BARE SB: Product Review: BARE XCS2 "Tech Dry" Drysuit
 

Back
Top Bottom