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

[BelikinBob]

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 $

I would like the first one, but I have heard that hoods wear out faster than the suit will so its best to buy seperatly. Is this ture?

thoughts/suggestions please.
-Bob

 

[CompuDude]

I've never heard that about hoods, but I'll grant it's possible.

Are you the type of person that wears a wetsuit into the ground, or do you replace them periodically to avoid the problems of compressed neoprene over time? I have a friend with 300 dives on his 7mm wetsuit. He now wears his 3mm wetsuit under it, to try to keep warmer, and still complains of the temps. (Note he was never cold when the 7mm suit was new.) So with a combined "10mm" of neoprene, he is still cold.

Neoprene compresses everytime you dive, and never quite goes back to full. It takes a while for this to happen, but it DOES happen. So... are you going to try to keep the suit for hundreds of dives? If so, then the hood wearing out MAY be a concern. Of course, by them, the neoprene will be fairly compressed anyway. But I know lots of people with attached hoods, and don't recall any of them complaining that their hood wears out too fast.

I'll also note you could always cut the hood off and buy a separate hood.

I'd say go for the built in hood, but that's just one man's opinion...

 

[Kriterian]

I don't know about anyone else but I personally can not stand hoods. However, most of the inland diving here in NC is in quarries, which are not known for their warmliness.

So for that reason I would go with a seperate hood simply because once I get out of the water, it's the first thing I want to come off me. Well except for the mask and regulator, otherwise you're in for a lot of pain...trust me.

 

[Bretagus]

I've got a big head, so finding a hood that fit me _perfectly_ took a while, but was definitely worth it. I've had hoods that gave me crazy jaw fatigue, or squeezed on my ears too tightly... but I guess if the attached hood fits really well, go for it.

 

[CompuDude]

I don't know about anyone else but I personally can not stand hoods. However, most of the inland diving here in NC is in quarries, which are not known for their warmliness.

So for that reason I would go with a seperate hood simply because once I get out of the water, it's the first thing I want to come off me. Well except for the mask and regulator, otherwise you're in for a lot of pain...trust me.

I hate hoods, too. Passionately. It's the single-most hated thing for me, with cold water diving.

That said, it's not being around my neck that bothers me, it's my inability to hear well in one. So sliding the hood back and leaving it around my neck suffices (in wetsuits with attached hoods). They're designed to do that, so what's the problem there? In fact, it's one less thing to hold onto, when they're built in, and you don't have to unzip your suit to get the flaps out.

 

[ThatsSomeBadHatHarry]

i have a pinnacle polar and it has an attached hood. granted i have only been able to use it a few times so far but i like it alot. the only problem i forsee with it is if it is warm enough to not wear a hood, i may have to. It might be feasable to just pull it off like a hoodie and use it that way. i doubt i'll opt to not use it though.

in any event, having the hood is nice because it is one more thing that i dont have the opportunity to forget. it is there, it is perfectly sealed (because it is part of the suit) and is really comfortable.

 

[Boat Chick]

My husband's 7mm has the attached hood. He will never go back to a separate hood with a 7mm again. Everyone's right, one less thing to forget. When he gets out of the water he just pushes it back off his head. Easy peasy!

 

[BelikinBob]

thanks for the replies,

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

thanks again!
Bob

 

[ProfessorAronnax]

I not a huge hood fan either but not much of a choice when it's cold. I just use my hooded wetsuit when temps dictate and use the full/no hood when I can get away with it. Regarding the wear issue, don't really think it's a problem.

 

[wetrat]

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 $

I would like the first one, but I have heard that hoods wear out faster than the suit will so its best to buy seperatly. Is this ture?

thoughts/suggestions please.
-Bob

Hey Bob,

I have around 80 dives on my 7mm suit with attached hood and I haven't noticed the hood wearing any more than the rest of the suit. Attached hoods are one less thing to find when you're pulling your gear together. Attached hoods are also warmer. A separate hood usually has a skirt that is bunched up around your shoulders, leaving channels for water to enter your suit and pockets for water movement around your shoulders and chest. If you live on a part of the planet where you have to dive with a hood year round, I'd go with attached. That said, I just bought a drysuit so I'm leaving the cold clammy wetsuit life behind.

John