Attaching a latex hood?

[Fireman1396]

Ok so I'm new to drysuit diving, and have read several posts about pros and cons of latex hoods, and I would like to entertain the idea of attaching a latex hood to my suit.

I currently have to replace the neck seal, and as I wanted to attach a hood aswell I was thinking of attaching the new neck seal to the inside of the suit and the hood to the outside.

The thought process being if anything happened to either the seal or the hood I could replace them independently.

Is this how it should be done anyway? Or am I way off. Havnt seen anything about it either way. Other than hood/seal combos.

 

[3D diver]

FWIW: On the Viking suits ( and my Hunter-Gates DUI suit) the neck seal is attached to the outside of the suit and the hood attached on top of that.

Any time I've had to have one or the other replaced, they both were replaced.

Another option would be to have DUI attache a zip seal system.

 

[KathyIGH]

Hi. This is Kathy with DUI. Just a small comment. Attaching a hood to a drysuit is not common. I've never tried it myself. I've heard it can be a challenge to get on and off. 3D diver might be able to address this better. If you are new to drysuit diving, and do not need an attached hood for a specific reason, you might be more comfortable with a separate hood.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Latex hoods are cold and offer no insulation so you'll need something under it. Unless you are diving truly contaminated water and need that level of protection a standard hood is a better choice. What does your drysuit instructor say about it?
You also list yourself as a PSD diver. What does your team use and what does your PSD Instructor say? The one who taught your actual Public Safety Diving course.

 

[3D diver]

Yeah, you wear a cloth beanie under the latex hood. That & air provide the insulation...like drysuit undies for your head.

I had my purge valve pop off resulting in an immediate hood flood (55F water). It hurt at first, but warmed up nicely and I continued my dive comfortably for another 10 or 15 minutes.

 

[Fireman1396]

Thank you everyone for the input. I have not yet consulted my instructor, figured I would just throw it out here and see what stuck. This suit is my personal suit, so team SOP's won't affect that. The team currently does not yet exist, it's in the works and we are in the process of getting everyone up to speed. So for this instance, it's a personal preference.