Hooded Vests? Best? Worst? Best buy?

[Wiznutaggie]

Searched for a current thread on this, but didn't find one. I'm Looking into a hooded vest in the 5mm range and there are a number of contenders. Scubapro, Pinnacle, Henderson, Bare all have an offering. Any preferences out there?

 

[tursiops]

The best ones are comfortable, hood fits, and water doesn't go down the neck.
5mm might be pretty thick; don't forget you have to put a wetsuit over it.
I've had Henderson, Exel, and probably a couple others. My favorite right now is not hooded, but it is a great vest, made by Waterproof.

 

[Hatul]

The best ones are comfortable, hood fits, and water doesn't go down the neck.
5mm might be pretty thick; don't forget you have to put a wetsuit over it.
I've had Henderson, Exel, and probably a couple others. My favorite right now is not hooded, but it is a great vest, made by Waterproof.

It's debatable whether to put the vest under or over your jumpsuit. I've tried both and prefer the hooded vest over my wetsuit, as I think it's more comfortable and makes a better seal with my skin.

The other part of the argument is, when I'm buying my wetsuit I fit without the vest, so I know it fits right without it. Now if put the vest inside it's going to fit tight. Vest over the wetsuit does not affect the fit.

 

[tursiops]

It's debatable whether to put the vest under or over your jumpsuit. I've tried both and prefer the hooded vest over my wetsuit, as I think it's more comfortable and makes a better seal with my skin.

Yep. Debatable.
See Search results for query: hooded vest over under for lots of comments.

 

[k4kafka]

When I get cold (anything below 80 F) I use a 5/3 Henderson. I use it over my 5mm wetsuit.

 

[stuartv]

My favorite hood is my Bare Ultrawarmth 7/5 drysuit hood.

I have a Bare 5/3 hooded vest (or is it a 7/3? I can't remember for sure now) that I rarely wear, but when I have worn it, it has been very comfortable and warm, including the hood part being very comfortable.

I prefer to wear it over my wetsuit, so my Bare 3 and 5mm wetsuits are XL and my hooded vest is XXL. That arrangement fits me and works well.

I like to wear it on the outside so that I can put it on last and take it off first. I have never found any hood arrangement to be all that comfortable when I pull it down around my neck, so I don't like to put the hooded vest on first, as that would mean I have the hood up all the time, or have it pulled down and uncomfortable. Also, if I'm wearing the hooded vest, when I get out of the water, I will take it off, but I might still leave my wetsuit on and zipped up (possibly with a boat coat over it).