Bare HD2: The Drysuit That Finally Ended My Drysuit Problems

Disclosure: This is an independent account of equipment I use or have used. I work in the diving industry and sell some of the brands or products mentioned, but I am not paid or sponsored to promote them and none of the equipment discussed here was supplied to me free. My preferences are personal conclusions from use, not universal buying advice.

Safety note: Equipment articles cannot replace formal scuba or technical-diving training, a manufacturer manual, a gas plan or a dive plan. Configuration choices must make sense for the diver, environment, team and training involved.

Why a custom trilaminate suit became my winter and technical choice.

Why a custom trilaminate suit became my winter and technical choice. Exposure protection is part comfort, part performance and, in some configurations, part of the overall buoyancy strategy.

What changes the choice

I reached the Bare HD2 after several drysuits that taught me what I did not want. I previously used neoprene and other drysuits, including experiences with leakage and one suit that became unreliable after surprisingly few dives.

The HD2 cost more and I ordered it made to measure, but for roughly two years it has done the essential thing: kept me dry while remaining comfortable enough to use often. For me, that reliability is worth more than a long feature list.

The practical point

The best exposure system is the one that keeps the diver functional for the whole dive, including the time spent before and after the water.

Why the HD2 felt like the end of a search

I had several drysuits before the BARE HD2 and some of those experiences were frustrating, including suits that leaked far sooner than I expected. I eventually spent substantially more on a made-to-measure HD2 trilaminate because fit, construction and staying dry had become worth paying for. After two years of my use it has done exactly what I wanted.

BARE positions the HD2 as a heavy-duty technical/expedition trilaminate platform with reinforced construction and custom options. My conclusion is more personal: after years of compromise, it is the drysuit that let me stop thinking about the drysuit and concentrate on the dive.

Thermal protection changes the entire configuration

A suit is not just clothing. Its thickness and buoyancy alter weighting, trim, mobility and gas use, and a drysuit adds a separate buoyancy space that must be managed. That is why I do not ask which suit is “best” in isolation. I ask what water temperature, surface weather, duration, workload and dive type I expect. The fundamentals are covered in my articles on how wetsuits provide thermal protection and how a drysuit changes thermal protection and buoyancy management.

In Malta, my practical ladder is simple. A soft old Scubapro 3 mm remains my summer suit while it still does its job. When I want substantially more wet protection I use the Waterproof W1 7 mm, and the front zip matters because I can close it myself. When cold, surface wind, long technical exposure or the need for an independent buoyancy space justify it, I use my made-to-measure BARE HD2 trilaminate drysuit.

Convenience is not trivial

Being able to dress without depending on someone else is valuable when I am teaching, guiding or simply arriving at a site with no helper standing beside me. The same is true of gloves, hood and boots: if they make valve work, finning or equipment handling awkward, warmth has been bought by sacrificing another part of the system. My choices try to keep enough dexterity for the dive I am actually doing.

Redundancy must be described accurately

On selected technical sidemount dives with a single-bladder wing, I value the drysuit as a separate source of buoyancy. That does not turn every drysuit dive into a technical procedure and it does not remove the need for appropriate training. It simply shows again that one component can have more than one system-level function.

Comfort is part of safety, but so is mobility

Being warm enough can improve concentration and gas use, but an exposure system that prevents me from reaching valves, clips or fins creates another problem. I therefore test the complete combination: suit, undergarments if any, hood, gloves, boots, fins and weighting. Thermal protection is a system, not a thickness number printed on neoprene.

Current manufacturer context

BARE positions the HD2 as a heavy-duty technical/expedition drysuit with reinforced trilaminate construction and custom/made-to-measure options. That gives context for why I chose it after earlier drysuit frustration; my claim that it “ended my problems” remains personal experience, not a guarantee another suit will leak or another HD2 never will.

BARE — Expedition HD2 Tech Dry