7mm suit w/ or w/out attached hood?

[diveprof]

My belief is that if it is cold enough to wear my 7mm, it is cold enough to wear a hood. Comfort is the key. When you are cold you go through more air. I believe that a hooded wetsuit will offer more warmth/less water intrusion, but I don't necessarily believe that having an attached hood is absolutely necessary. If you are set on these two products, then I would probably go for the hooded suit. I have "evolved" to the opinion that you better off getting a 7mm suit in the $160-200 range and replacing it when you get about 200-250 dives on it. I am not sure that the "top of the line" suits necessarily give you much more value. Rodale's Scuba Diving mag reviews seem to support this as well. a Tester's Choice of theirs was the 7mm Akona which is a good value at under $200. Whether or not I buy a middle of the line suit or a top end suit, I get about the same wear out of them before they start to lose their thermal value. Warmth/comfort is important to me. Forget diving the suits that become 50% Aquaseal/50% neoprene.

 

[wetrat]

thanks for the replies,

How well does the semi-dry work, does anyone have one of these?

thanks again!
Bob

The new Pinnacle semi-drys look pretty sweet, but I have a buddy who had one for about 75 dives then bought a drysuit. Semi-drys use various barriers and seals to prevent cold water from flowing through the suit. But like Compudude said, there's no way to get around neoprene compressing so even a semi-dry will get colder over time.

John

 

[ChrisA]

hi,
I am concidering 2 7mm suits
1 ONEILL 7MM 7000X J-TYPE FIREWALL SEMI-DRY JUMPSUIT WITH ATTACHED HOOD
2 ONEILL 7MM SECTOR FSW JUMPSUIT

they are about the same $
-Bob

The attached hood should make for less water circulation inside the suit. If it wears out you can have it replaced. It is not hard to fix a wetsuit. Replacing a hood might cost $50

One reason not to get the hood would be that the attached hood comes in one size. Maybe the hood is to big or to small? Only one way to know try it on.

I've actually got one of the 7MM 7000X J-TYPE suits but it does not fit anyone I know. The size small seems to be built for some one about 5' 6" and 95 pounds

 

[ChrisA]

... I have "evolved" to the opinion that you better off getting a 7mm suit in the $160-200 range and replacing it when you get about 200-250 dives on it. I am not sure that the "top of the line" suits necessarily give you much more value..

I have to agree. I'll be replacing my 7mm Body glove withanother $200 suit this summber as the old suit has about 220 dive on it.

Another option is a custom suit. Off the rack suits are made with a kind of "soft" neoprene so that they can fit a wider range of body shapes. A custom suit dose not need to depend on stretch for a good fit. They can use some very sturdy material that will last longer and be warmmer at depth. But you pay about $360 for a suit that lasts maybe 50% longer. Here in So. Cal the scuba sales all hapen in June So I gues I'll just buy a new $200 (sale price) suit ever second June. But I'm using a drysuit now on some dives so maybe the wetsuits will liast longer

 

[Hoosier]

If you go with 7mm, the attached option is a good deal because it means that the water is cold enough to wear the hood. There are many factors to distinguish the value of the brand, such as warmness, durability, dryness, warranty, etc... It is the personal decision. Based on my experience, Henderson gold core suit is worth every penny.

 

[CompuDude]

Re semi-drys:

They SEEM like a good idea. (And take this with a grain of salt, because I've never dove one.)

But I'll never own one. Two reasons: (1) I'm ok in a regular wetsuit for all local diving conditions, and I'd rather put the money money towards a drysuit. (2) Wet. As in, wetting. As in, cutting loose. As in, what to do that gatorade you finished drinking 20 minutes before the dive started... (Gotta keep hydrated!) No big deal in [your own] wetsuit. And dry suits have the pee valve option. A semi-dry, however... well, I wouldn't want to have to cut loose in one, and finish off the rest of the dive while marinating. Actual wetsuits have just enough water movement to replace the water inside periodically. Ironically, the better the semi dry, the less likely that is to happen...

 

[blatter]

As others have said - if it is cold enough for a 7mm suit it is cold enough for a hood - and attached hoods are much more comfortable IMO than seperate hoods as there are fewer layers around the neck allowing more flexibility.

Attached hood also reduce water flow (that cold trickle you get with a seperate hood is really horrible) and as abonus are harder to forget.

Have had at least 6 two piece 7mm suits with attached hoods and farmer john type pants over the years, I run them into the ground before replacing, especially over the last 14 years since getting a drysuit for when it gets too cold - so I can stretch out the life of a wetsuit quite a bit by using it just over summer which get shorter as suit gets thinner. Have not noticed the hood wearing any faster than the rest of the jacket although all my suits compress quite a lot after a couple of years - this may be related to depth of dives.

The bits that wear out first on my suits are the knees, crotch, beaver tail and elbows.

One thing worth consideing is getting a custom made suit unless one off the rack fits perfectly - usually doesn't cost a whole lot more and may greatly add to comfort level - this is probably even more important for suits with attached hood or one peice suits where there is less scope to mix and match.

If it is almost cold enough for a 7mm suit I use a 5mm suit with an attached hood - less weight and more flexibility. If possible, it may be helpful to try some different types of suits and see what works for you.

 

[m3830431]

As stated early my hood is the first thing to come off. Also in a little warmer water I don't wear it or I let water in through the top and colder water you can wear a hooded vest.

 

[scubaxris]

My recomendation is for the attached hood. I my experience you will be much warmer with an attached hood. As others have mentioned, having it attached reduces the amount of water movement in the suit.
-Christopher

 

[ThatsSomeBadHatHarry]

l8ike i said, i have th e pinnacle polar and it is a semi dry. i love it so far. you can prime it with warm water that will stay with you (though i haven't even needed to do that) so far i've used it in 54 degree water and have been very comfortable so far. as for the peeing, i go before the dive and if i have to hold it, i do.

there is another method for going in a semi dry: go vertical (with head down) and purge your reg through your neck to send the water out your ankles.