Hood and Mask - Which comes first?

[Rhone Man]

If you wear a thin hood (1 or 2mm) you really have to wear the strap outside, otherwise your exhaust bubble will trickle inside next to your forehead, and swell up inside your hood and you look like the Mekon from Dan Dare (picture included for those too young or not British enough to remember Dan Dare).

 

[dwhthediver]

Can't you just don the hood, then pull it back so that your head slides through the face opening, then wear it around your neck while you don the mask? Or would that stretch out and damage the face seal in the long run?

Yes you can, and I do, and still using the same Mares hood for the last 5 years with no issues, I don't get cold, I don't worry about the valves pushing up my mask strap, and I just am more comfortable that way.

 

[DCBC]

Can't you just don the hood, then pull it back so that your head slides through the face opening, then wear it around your neck while you don the mask? Or would that stretch out and damage the face seal in the long run?

I suppose you could do it that way. It just seems a whole lot easier to just put on the mask when you're ready to. Pulling on a hood (which could be attached to a dry suit for example) might cause the mask strap to slip forwards, if you did what you're suggesting. You'd have to retry the whole process over again.

Some people put a sweater on by putting the arms on first, others pull the head through first. I guess it depends upon personal preference. Just in 44 years of diving, I've never even heard that this was even a consideration. LOL

 

[Trace Malinowski]

I wear the mask both over and under the hood depending upon the conditions. I prefer not to wear a hood, but when I do, it is often easier for me to wear the mask under the hood so that I don't need to readjust my mask strap. I tend to wear a hood once the water temperature drops below 55°F.

When I dive with GUE/DIR divers, I wear the mask strap over the hood since that is the preferred team position. One of the reasons it is preferred is that a significant amount of heat loss can occur around the temple area when wearing a hood. A mask worn over the hood helps to press the hood into greater protective contact with the head and reduces the flow of water under the hood. If you've ever been behind a swimming diver, scootering, or diving into current or cave flow, the benefits of wearing the mask over the hood become more apparent. Being warmer is the greatest pro to a mask over the hood. If a mask is leaking due to the hood, trimming the hood slightly may help. If you trim your hood, you must be careful and only cut away millimeters at a time because it doesn't take much cutting to remove too much neoprene and losing the benefit described above.

The greatest pro for wearing the mask under the hood is the ability to retain the mask if the strap breaks, or if a kick from a buddy, or the speed of a current might knock it off your head otherwise. A mask worn in this position will more often be seated correctly and not leak during the dive. I thought it felt strange when I first tried it, but in practical use, this position afforded me better comfort with less leakage.

If you are a new diver, or new to wearing hoods, developing the skills for properly seating the mask over the hood when gearing up and after clearing or removing the mask underwater might be a good idea.

Trying the mask both over and under the hood will allow you to build experience towards a preference while developing your skill as a diver.

 

[vjanelle]

If your mask strap/lenses/glass breaks, are you going to take off your hood at depth to swap it?

(You do carry a spare mask right? Or have practiced neutral ascents while blind with a buddy?)

 

[Trace Malinowski]

If your mask strap/lenses/glass breaks, are you going to take off your hood at depth to swap it?

(You do carry a spare mask right? Or have practiced neutral ascents while blind with a buddy?)

It is highly unlikely that a good mask would break or lose a lens during a dive. Lack of awareness could certainly cause a diver to impact wreckage or environmental features such as submerged trees or coral outcroppings. Possible, yes. But, it is far more probable that the mask would be lost due to current, flow, or contact with another diver's fin or even one's own first stage or isolator knob. Wearing the mask under the hood actually backs up a broken mask strap and helps retain the mask on the diver's face. Since most recreational divers do not carry spare masks, wearing a mask under the hood is more beneficial since it would be less likely to be lost. This was the strongest argument for this position being DIR back in the day that it was debated. However, due to the long exposures of Wakulla dives and the increased chill of moving water upon the head when scootering or when swimming in tandem, the correct position was determined to be outside the hood for the better insulation characteristics of mask over hood. If a mask strap is broken, or if the integrity of a mask is compromised, it may be removed without having to remove the hood.

I do carry a spare mask - always. Even this past week in Bermuda, I had a back up mask in my X-shorts pocket. Back up masks should be adjusted to be worn over the hood (when hoods are worn) since they are a team resource. I am quite practiced at no mask ascents as well as teaching the skill in all classes whether recreational, technical or cave. In fact, my students joke that they actually get to see in class once in a while.

I suppose you could do it that way. It just seems a whole lot easier to just put on the mask when you're ready to. Pulling on a hood (which could be attached to a dry suit for example) might cause the mask strap to slip forwards, if you did what you're suggesting. You'd have to retry the whole process over again.

Some people put a sweater on by putting the arms on first, others pull the head through first. I guess it depends upon personal preference. Just in 44 years of diving, I've never even heard that this was even a consideration. LOL

I've found that when wearing the mask under the hood, I will put the hood on first and position my back up regulator around my neck. Then, I'll pull the hood off the top of my head and leave it around my neck. When it is time to put on the mask, I make sure the strap is in the correct spot at the back of the head and carefully pull the hood up over the strap and make sure everything is secure. I actually started wearing the mask under the hood because on hot days it was easier to leave the hood off until the last second prior to dropping under the surface. It's also pretty easy to ditch the hood underwater when returning to shallow warm water by pulling it off with one hand, removing and replacing the regulator from your mouth with the other to clear the hood, make sure the strap is still correctly positioned, and finally tuck the hood into the pack on the backplate or stow the hood in a pocket.

 

[gbray]

I prefer my mask over my hood for all the reasons cited above. I too have found my isolator valve tends to push my strap up slightly.I have become accustomed to the proper position of my mask and find myself repositioning the strap without even thinking about it.

I wear a hooded vest with my wet suit. Once on a hot summer day diving a spring fed quarry with an extreme thermocline I tried wearing my hood over my mask so I could pull the hood off while in the warmer water at the end of the dive. This worked great as I got really warm after ascending above the cline but it just didn't feel right at depth having my hood over my mask strap. There is something to be said for consistancy in gear configuration.