Waterproof or Bare?

[Fishy49]

Hi everyone,

I am looking for a new semi-dry suit and hood and gloves, and from what I have heard, Waterproof and Bare seem to be the warmest and generally highest in quality. Could anyone please tell me from experience which is the better quality brand - like which company's suit of identical specifications keeps you warmest, or lasts the longest. Thanks

[Oliver T]

I was looking at this just last year.

I bought an Oneal in the end. Super warm, really well made, not any more costly than the 2 your looking at, but so much warmer than the Bare one the Mrs got.

[Roz]

I've noticed a trend with regard to serious cold water divers - they are all diving WaterProof products - ie hoods and gloves, because they really work. They are warm, easy to don and dive and remove afterwards. WaterProof are from Sweden and they do a lot of testing in home waters, working on the premise that if they are good enough there, they will be ok in other temperate waters.

Never dived a WaterProof suit - yet. But love the construction, the cut, the materials. In my opinion they are a superior suit and if they perform as well as the WaterProof accessories, ie hood and gloves, then the suit will be great.

[Maria CM]

Can't give a balanced opinion on this as I don't use Bare but I do love the quality etc of Waterproof.

best wishes,

Maria

[Twinsetmad]

I have a Waterproof semidry and really I think I prefered the Scubapro Everflex I had previously. The waterproof is a nice suit, But the Scubapro was better.:( warmer and a fair bit more flexible.

[Fishy49]

I ask because I am looking for a semi-dry set-up to dive all year round in the UK, so warmth is my main concern, but warmth in temperatures in like 6 degrees, so I would be layering up with under and over-vests up to about 14mm. Does anyone have any experience of such a set-up from either brands?

[Alex Liddon]

I have the 5mm Waterproof Lynxs.

I have worn it all year doing safety diver cover for Oulton Broad powerboat racing. (april to september ) and never felt cold.

Also worn in Malta and diving off Swanage.

[Gasgow]

I have a Waterproof semidry and really I think I prefered the Scubapro Everflex I had previously. The waterproof is a nice suit, But the Scubapro was better.:( warmer and a fair bit more flexible.

I'd agree with the warmth of the everflex I bought one last november and dived with it and the matching hooded shorty over the top until june then just used the full suit.

I used it for 30-35 dives but have now gone to drysuit diving and a 3mm for traveling (16deg+).

The scubapro setup (full and shorty) is now for sale if your interested (size large and VGC).

I like the look of the waterproof even at 14 stone and a bit out of shape it still makes you look like Robocop, however when I last went out to dahab the dive leader had one and moaned that he was cold, even in 20deg water!!!!

[whitenoise]

I have the 7mm Waterproof Aries, but have recently bought a 5mm Bare Elastek.

The Waterproof suit is good and does keep you warm however there were a number of problems which I didn't like. The neck seal with the zip was my main annoyance - while it does have a practical use (remove the tightness around the neck before the dive) I was often forgetting to do it up! I would often have to get my buddy to do the zip up (it was quite stiff), and then shortly after it would work it way down anyway. The suit was too big for me and I did start to find the arm and leg zips annoying, especially when trying to take off the suit. I also found the leg pads to be a bit too hard and sometimes did give me a little bruising.

Tried the O'neill 5mm sector in MT which I really liked, but sadly it wasn't tall enough, and they didn't do any other suitable sizes which was a shame, other wise they probably would have had my money.

Wanted to try on the Fourth Element Proteus (in size MT), but no local (or even not local!) shops had them in stock, FE couldn't send one out for me to try, and everywhere was they can order it but you have to buy it. So that was a bit of a disappointment.

Eventually I came across Bare after a recommendation on another forum. It seems that their sizes seem to favour more taller, thinner people (such as myself) which seemingly few other makers do. Managed to try on the Bare Elastek (also in MT) and its great! The suit has a really nice feel and is easy (well as easy as wetsuits go!) to take on/off. I much prefer the no zips on the arms and legs and it seems to seal nicely. It seems very few people have these suits in stock or sell them, but managed to speak to a very friendly chap from their Malta factory. He sent a suit to the UK distributor which then sent it to my LDS to try on, no obligation to buy! Now theres service :) It's not cheap, but its good quality.

In terms of hoods, I use the Waterproof 5mm/7mm and its great. Did use the gloves but felt they were too clunky. I much prefer my Scubapro 3mm Everflex, or my O'Neill 3mm.

In terms of warmth, its a difficult one as everyone is different, and the conditions on each dive are different. I've used the waterproof down to about 8 degrees (with 2mm under vest) but was chilly after 20 minutes. I wouldn't like to do the 14mm route however as thats just too much neoprene and will require loads of weight.

Up until extremely recently I was a very anti-drysuit person, but as I gain more experience using my suit I have seen the light so to speak. I had read many many times why I should be using a drysuit in the UK, but had just ignored this advice. Semi-dry diving can be done but its for people with more 'natural insulation' than thin people like me. If theres one piece of advice I'll give you, save your cash on your semi, under and over vests and buy a drysuit for year round use!

:eek: After my extreme anti-drysuit opinions of the past I can't believe I've just said that!

HTH

Just thought, if you like Waterproof you might want to check out their new W1 suit (http://www.waterproof.se/pages/w1_1.html).

[IainC]

I've noticed a trend with regard to serious cold water divers - they are all diving WaterProof products - ie hoods and gloves, because they really work. They are warm, easy to don and dive and remove afterwards. WaterProof are from Sweden and they do a lot of testing in home waters, working on the premise that if they are good enough there, they will be ok in other temperate waters.

Just to be contrary - I bought a Waterproof hood and I hate it. Big flappy neck bit that is no use over a dry suti unless you have one of thsoe comfort neck things to tuck it in, silly little vent things on top that just let cold water in.

My Waterproof 5mm semi dry though - that I like - they were the only people who made enough different sizes that I could get one that fit.

[neil_richardson]

dived a Draco for years now,, love the suit, but yehh gree about the hood... im using a beaver hood, and traded the waterproof hood for a reel...

N