dolbersen
Registered
Brief gear background: I've got an Xcel Polar 7mm wetsuit with integrated hood, and an Atomic Z1 with M1 exhaust.
Communicating with my buddy has proven, challenging. Not for me, for my buddy! I can't hear anything through my hood aside from my own bubbles/regulator and power inflator.
Luckily we've learned how to communicate with our dive lights like many others have. We've got the H2Yo rattles but I can't hear that, even from less than 3' away! On the one hand, this is good because it reinforces good buddy awareness. On the other hand I worry that if my buddy runs out of air or gets eaten by a shark I won't know it!
So what should I do? Should I cut some ear holes in my hood? I don't really like that idea: I like to be warm! Should we just keep to the light-based communication? Does this present a problem to other divers? Are drysuit hoods much different from wetsuit hoods? Going to 48 degrees for a couple minutes makes a dry suit look pretty sweet
Also, do the drysuit gloves keep your hands dry, and thus warm? We had to ascend to warmer waters on our last dive because my buddy was too cold and I was starting to get worried about my fingers being able to function properly!
Communicating with my buddy has proven, challenging. Not for me, for my buddy! I can't hear anything through my hood aside from my own bubbles/regulator and power inflator.
Luckily we've learned how to communicate with our dive lights like many others have. We've got the H2Yo rattles but I can't hear that, even from less than 3' away! On the one hand, this is good because it reinforces good buddy awareness. On the other hand I worry that if my buddy runs out of air or gets eaten by a shark I won't know it!
So what should I do? Should I cut some ear holes in my hood? I don't really like that idea: I like to be warm! Should we just keep to the light-based communication? Does this present a problem to other divers? Are drysuit hoods much different from wetsuit hoods? Going to 48 degrees for a couple minutes makes a dry suit look pretty sweet
Also, do the drysuit gloves keep your hands dry, and thus warm? We had to ascend to warmer waters on our last dive because my buddy was too cold and I was starting to get worried about my fingers being able to function properly!