Dry or Wet Hood??

[ScubaStan81]

Hi All,
I recently got myself in a dry suit.
Haven't done a dive in it yet, but before I do I am wondering if I need to change my hood from a wetsuit.

Been reading up about hoods and it seems that they all the same in a way and may not need to spend the money on a new one.

I'll be mainly diving in 10-15C water in Victoria/Australia.

Question is if the hood fits well, do I need to change to a different one or is dry suit hod going to make that much difference?

Thanks

 

[PeterNBiddle]

What did you wear when you took your dry suit class?

 

[ScubaStan81]

didn't do a drysuit class yet either

 

[PeterNBiddle]

didn't do a drysuit class yet either

Either take a class or get someone with *hundreds* of dry dives under their belt to teach you the ropes. Preferably take the class.

Either way you need multiple supervised pool and then OW dives before you treat dry diving as normal diving.

Don't f**k around with this one. Dry suits are very different from wet. They are great but not knowing how to use one intimately can get you killed dead.

I used a 7mm wet hood when I dived dry and it worked pretty well.

 

[00wabbit]

I use a Waterproof brand 5/7 hood. It's a wet hood and fits and works very well. They also make a thicker version if you feel you need it.

the main difference in a drysuit hood is that the neck is shorter so it doesn't interfere with the neck seal.


Also- get someone to show you the ropes so you don't rocket to the surface upside down or black out because your neck seal is too tight and other fun stuff.

 

[scubastingray]

I think it's very helpful to have someone to give you some pointers and be around when you do start dry, but it is sort of absurd how some dive shops try to regulate it. Read about it, and practice in a safe environment. Since that isn't the point of your thread, here's what I'll say on the hood.

Most of the time, you will need a new hood. Most drysuits do not have a bib to tuck under, so the flaps that go under your wetsuit hood when worn with a wetsuit will hang uselessly and flop about. Drysuit wet hoods have a neck, but no flaps. You can always modify yours, but obviously the hood is near useless for dry diving.

Dry hoods are also an option, and typically have a neck seal with an attached latex hood. This is what I use. You wear a beanie underneath for added warmth, and it seals around your face. In my experience These are seldom completely dry, but there is very little water movement. I have done dives where my hair came out bone dry, but that is the exception not the norm. If you do go that route, be sure to purchase a hood vent, otherwise you can get balloon head when you clear your mask, which is a pain to deal with and certainly makes it a wetter experience.

One final piece of advice, is be very conservative in cutting. I made the mistake of trimming a hood once so that it fit properly, but then realized I forgot to account for how much you crane your head upwards when you are in proper trim. This means that your neck gets stretched, and the piece that goes over your chin becomes shorter and shorter.

 

[tomfcrist]

didn't do a drysuit class yet either

Either take a class or get someone with *hundreds* of dry dives under their belt to teach you the ropes. Preferably take the class.

I used a 7mm wet hood when I dived dry and it worked pretty well.

Really dude? How does one need a drysuit class to understand the differences between drysuit hoods and wetsuit hoods. Maybe he was already planning to take a class....maybe he plans on getting mentorship from a friend.

The answer to his question has since been answered, but the answer at the end of your post was very telling of your experience with a drysuit.you CAN use a wetsuit hood with a drysuit, but the extra material will get in the way and be uncomfortable.

 

[ontdiver]

At the temp quoted (10-15C), a good fitting 7mm dry hood (or variations such as the vented Aqualung 7/4 Flex that I have) will provide a good level of comfort. We see a few divers using a wet hood/drysuit combo in the St. Lawrence, but they are very much in the minority.

 

[kafkaland]

On the topic of hoods: I'm also considering buying a drysuit (already took my drysuit cert course - it was worth it), and got intrigued by the Viking suits. They often come with an attached latex hood. How do you equalize your ears with one of those? With a wet hood, I always have to make sure I flood it or the air space in my outer ears under the hood makes equalization very hard. But doing that with a dry hood would obviously defeat its purpose. So how does one equalize with a latex hood that's attached to the suit?

 

[3D diver]

I dive a Viking with the latex hood. As Scubastingray mentioned, you wear a beanie underneath. This provides warmth and an air path to your ears. Without it, the latex would seal your ear canals and lead to a severe squeeze.

To get air into the hood I blow air into my mask, holding the mask so air then passes into the hood. It takes some practice but isn't much harder than clearing water from your mask. Some air can vent into the hood past the neck seal too.

If you get a latex hood, get a purge valve too. I had one installed by Viking and recently had to replace it (DRIS stocks it.) I used to use mask-nose purge valves, but they are getting hard to find. Without a purge valve the latex hoods will balloon.