After researching the Nexus, Bare, and Viking suits, I decided to go with the Viking Extreme. The chances are that the Viking is quite similar to the other suits. I have a friend (boomx5) that dives with a Bare NexGen suit that seems extremely similar in quality and construction, and boomx5 has over 150 dives on his suit with only a couple of, easily fixed, leaks that were caused by normal usage.
Fortunately for me, Bob3 is about 3 mintues from my local dive shop, and he was kind enough to let me check out a Viking Extreme 03 size suit. Like Rodale's magazine says about the Extreme, it's really built tough. The construction of the suit alone sold me on getting it, and everything else just made me feel better about the purchase. Luckily for me a size 02 fits me perfect.
I have dry gloves and have installed a p-valve, but the attached dry hood didn't fit my face. My face is narrow, and there were 1/4 inch gaps at my temples that let water in quite efficiently. I've since removed the dry hood, and use a regular neoprene drysuit hood. I'll be adding pockets once 5th Dimension ships them.
I've had 4 dives on the suit since I picked it up 2 weeks ago, and will have another 5 dives on it this coming weekend. The verdict so far is that the Viking Extreme is an incredible suit. I've been in 50 to 55 degree water, and I was perfectly warm. I use a 300g fleece SoftWear undergarment with fleece socks and capilene thermal underwear. The exhaust valve with the undergarment vents perfectly, and I have to close down the valve to keep air in the suit (a good thing in my opinion when you want to vent quickly). With the attached neoprene, I have found that a combination of fin keepers and gators work really well in minimizing the volume of air in my legs and feet.
It's been a dry and warm suit so far, and I'm really happy I went with the Viking. I would strongly recommend talking to Bob3 on this site about sizing and price as you continue researching suits. The chances are he'll definitely have a deal similar to the other suits you're looking at.
Hope this helps. I spent about a year researching on and off before making this purchase, and although the Viking isn't a custom DUI or Diving Concept suit, it fits me perfectly and keeps me warm and dry.
~ Jason
