Drysuit Hood Question

[bladephotog]

I just ordered my first drysuit, a Bare ATR HD. They make both a regular hood and a zip hood for their drysuits. Is one preferred or is it a matter of comfort. Thanks in advance.

 

[crab]

My take is that the hood zipper is a solution to a problem that does not exist. I have seen several people with a zippered hood in various states of unzip during a dive and have not once seen a person having technical difficulties with a non-zip hood. Hoods, like most things in life, are better off with fewer moving parts...

 

[theskull]

The zipper hood does have kind of an S&M appeal to it, though.

theskull

 

[Dive Junky]

Why is the zipper even needed? Seems to me its just a place to catch your hair. I don't know about you but I have caught my hair in enough zippers.

 

[WileEDiver]

I think the idea is that unzipped it slides over your head and neck a little easier. You can then zip it to make it an appropriately tight fit. I tried one on one time just for grins and didn't care for it at all.

 

[No Fish]

I have a Bare hood with a zipper. I like it. It goes on easier, no big fight to get it on your head. And , NO, you can't catch your hair in it. There is a liner under the zipper to prohibit that. They fit my head nicely. Trust me, on this particular hood, you need the zip.

I have recently attached a latex hood to my Bare tri-lam Commercial suit. I like it better.

 

[ScubaSarus]

I have bare a zippered hood because that was all that was available. I dont use the zipper feature of it and leave it zipped putting it on and taking it off. The zipper so far has been a pain in the ***.

 

[bcsean]

Never saw a need for the zipper. I have the unzippered hood and have never had a problem pulling it on or off. Fits great. I agree with Crab here, solution to a problem that doesn't exist. Plus, how bad would it suck if that zipper died when you were out on a diveboat ready to go diving for a day and had no back up hood?

 

[Hyper-limits]

Never saw a need for the zipper. I have the unzippered hood and have never had a problem pulling it on or off. Fits great. I agree with Crab here, solution to a problem that doesn't exist. Plus, how bad would it suck if that zipper died when you were out on a diveboat ready to go diving for a day and had no back up hood?

A friend of mine gave me a hood with a zipper, I'm cheap so I took it.
That the first hood I own with a zipper and the last. If I pay good money for that piece
of crap I be pretty upset. I'm in total agreement with some of the statement above
Solution to a problem that doesn't exist. A regular hood work just fine.

 

[AtomicWalrus]

There isn't a whole lot of difference between hoods with zip and without. The zip just makes it easier to put on the hood because it makes the opening wider. Not a big deal for most men, but my wife does not like standard hoods because she gets her hair pulled every time. The zipper can cause you trouble when it breaks - that's happened to a couple of my buddies before dives. Diving with the hood unzipped is definitely NOT recommended! Might as well not be wearing a hood in that case. I've had my Bare zipped hood for a couple of years now and have had no problems with it, although I'm thinking that it might be time to replace it soon - neoprene is getting kind of compressed.