Cold water hood

[Rickoz]

Gday

I would like some advice on a hood please from divers who have used them & would you buy it again.

Neoprene, Crushed Neo.., or ?

In Titanium, Plush lined or ?

2mm, 3mm, 5mm ect

off the shelf, custom made.

The hood will be used with a dry suit on long or deco dives maybe even trimix in water temp about 10c. /F?

[DivingGal]

A Bare drysuit hood. It's neoprene 5ml (I think -- but it is thick). I use it when I know the water temp can get below 10c (50f). Other than the usual 'flash face freeze' -- which has nothing to do with the hood capabilities, just naked skin and cold water, I've not had a problem or any complaints.

[Alban]

Hello Rickoz

You will loose a considerable amount of heat through the head so a good hood is important. As you said they do come in a range of thickness's up to 7mm it should be a good fit but not to tight across the ears, a smoth skin seal across the face and neck will reduce flushing, as for titanium that is just sales talk.

Good luck Alban

[Rickoz]

Sorry one more to the list.

Semi-dry do they keep you warmer than normal hoods

Like semi-dry V wet-suit your wet anyway

[Alban]

Hi again Rickoz

The semidry hood was the hood I discribed with the smoth skin seals around the face and neck , yes they will keep your head warmer than a wetsuit hood without any seals but it must fit correctly. It is as the name suggests designed to allow a small amount of water around the head , your head will warm this up to an extent but it should not be so loose as to allow water to flush through which will draw heat away from your head.

Some hoods come with a vent in the top to allow air to escape which may have migrated into the the hood from either your mask or regs. Others may have a reflective patch on top.A point worth remembering is rescue helicopters have heat seaking equipment with your hood on it may not be able to locate you .

Try a few on in your local shops and see which fit the best.

Yours Alban

[Stone]

My 7 mil Henderson Hyperstrech hood is more comfortable that the hood on my Scubapro 2.5 mil hooded vest.

<edit> Sorry, just noticed drysuit hoods were the topic </edit>

[techdiver2us]

The Bare hood I have has a short neck, but is warmer than my Henderson because the Henderson exposes too much of my face.

[mddolson]

I use an attached latex hood.
This acts strictly as a water barrier.
Under it I use a 7mm neoprene hood, with plush lining, with the skirt and face seal cut back to allow close fit around my neck seal, and about 1 inch of latex hood to seal against my face.

I live/dive in Canada, Great Lakes area year round.
Water temp varies 70° to 50°F in summer,
and 45°-32°F in winter.

My dive times are 45 minutes to 90 minutes.

works for me

MikeD
:blfish:

[MechDiver]

My vote also goes to the Bare dry hood, but mostly due to the zipper. You also need to decide on whether to use a skirt. My Bare drysuit does not have the "warm neck" feature DUI has, so I use the short hood. DUI, as well as Bare, and others, make a hood with skirt to tuck in around the suit over the neck seal. My neck will get cold when doing surface swims on my back as the water gets forced up inside the hood. Other than that one situation, my short hood does fine.

Phil

[-BlueHole-]

I use a White's hood, where I dive is pretty cold (4-6 C), but now I have no more problems