Bare 5mm Velocity Ultra 2.0 Full Men's

BARE's official guidance: above 75°F (24°C), a 3–5mm; from 68–75°F (20–24°C), a 5–7mm; below 68°F (20°C), a 7mm or more; and below 50°F (10°C), BARE recommends moving to a drysuit. Everyone's cold tolerance differs — if you tend to run cold or do long repetitive dives, size the thickness up a step.

BARE covers all wetsuits with a 2-year warranty on workmanship and materials for defects, with repair or replacement at BARE's option. Normal wear, misuse, and unauthorized repairs are excluded. (The longer 7-year seam coverage you may have read about applies to BARE drysuits, not wetsuits.)

A wetsuit should feel snug everywhere, with no loose pockets at the lower back, armpits, or behind the knees where water can collect and flush. It will feel tighter than normal clothing on land, which is expected, because the suit works by holding a thin layer of water that your body warms. If you cannot take a full breath or the neck chokes you it is too small, and if you can pinch loose folds of neoprene it is too big.

Most divers wear a swimsuit, a rash guard, or a thin dive-specific base layer under a wetsuit. A slick base layer makes a tight suit much easier to pull on and cuts down chafing at the neck, shoulders, and underarms. Avoid thick cotton clothing, which soaks up water, bunches, and makes you colder rather than warmer.

Work upward in small sections, pulling a little neoprene at a time rather than yanking on one spot, and get the suit fully seated at the ankles and knees before working on the hips and shoulders. A plastic bag over each foot and hand, or wetting the suit first, helps it slide into place. Grip with flat palms rather than fingertips, since fingernails are the most common cause of torn neoprene.

As a general rule, thicker neoprene insulates more, so a higher millimeter rating is warmer in the same conditions. Warmth also depends heavily on fit, suit style, seam construction, whether you add a hood, boots, and gloves, how long the dive is, and your own cold tolerance, so two divers in identical suits can feel very differently. Use thickness as a starting point and refine it against your local conditions and personal experience.

Rinse it inside and out in fresh water after every dive day, and use a wetsuit-specific wash occasionally to control odor. Dry it inside-out first and then flip it, always out of direct sunlight, because UV and heat break down neoprene faster than anything else. Store it hanging on a wide-shouldered hanger or laid flat rather than folded, so you do not set permanent creases.

Lifespan depends far more on use and care than on age, so a suit dived hard in sun and chlorine may soften within a couple of seasons while a well-rinsed occasional-use suit can last many years. Signs a suit is finished include compressed neoprene that no longer feels buoyant or warm, splitting seams, and looseness in areas that used to be snug. Repairing small cuts and seam separations early adds meaningfully to a suit's life.

A full suit covers arms and legs, a shorty stops at the upper arms and thighs, and separates such as tops, bottoms, and hooded vests layer to add warmth where you want it. Layering a vest or top under a full suit adds core warmth and can extend the range of a suit you already own. Choose based on how much coverage you want, both for warmth and for protection against stings and abrasion.

Ultrawarmth Omnired is a neoprene technology used in the torso that converts your own body heat into infrared energy, which BARE states helps increase circulation and body warmth. It works alongside the 5 mm thickness, the double glued Secure-Lock seams and the internal skin-in flip seals at mid-forearm and mid-calf, all of which reduce water entry and flushing to keep heat where you want it.

Yes. The suit has heavy-duty ankle zippers and wrist zippers in addition to the heavy-duty back zipper, so you can open the cuffs to get hands and feet through quickly. The back zipper includes a skin-to-skin internal sealing flap for smoother zipping and reduced water entry, and the collar uses a hook-and-loop Suit Saver booklet to stop snags.

The Bare 5mm Velocity Ultra 2.0 Full Men's is offered in Black and Blue, in sizes S through 3XL. Short and tall variants are available, including MT, MLS, MLT, LS, LT, XLS, XLT and 2XLS, so divers with longer or shorter torso and leg proportions can get a snug fit. Blue is offered in S, M, ML, L, XL and 2XL.

Each suit ships with a re-usable hanger and a PLA compostable/recyclable bag, which also makes storage easier at home. The suit itself carries BARE's 2-year warranty coverage.