Hood traps air from reg exhaust - 2 possible solutions - which should I adopt?

[RJP]

Thanks for any input.

Didn't see anyone offer this input, but if the exhaust from your reg is getting into your hood it means one thing and one thing only:

YOUR HOOD DOESN'T FIT RIGHT!

If your hood fits correctly it should form a nice seal around your face and there would be no way that reg exhaust could get inside it. Air, like water, follows the path of least resistance, and will simply go up and around your hood versus trying to work it's way under a properly fitting hood. This is especially true if you're wearing your mask strap OVER the hood.

I'm going to hazard a guess that your hood DOES fit properly and what is happening is that you are exhaling through your nose to some extent, that air is escaping your mask by slipping up under the skirt (which is likely tucked under your hood) on your forehead and around your temples, then finding it's way under and into the hood.

Wearing the mask strap under the hood won't help much, as the one thing it will do for sure is pull the hood away from your face where the strap goes under and then allowing reg exhaust (and cold water) to get under the hood.

 

[Kamchatka]

Wearing a hooded vest, I recently found that the bubbles from my regulator exhaust were ending up in my hood. I have considered cutting a small hole in the top (the back of my head which would be on top as I swim horizontally) to allow the trapped aire to escape. But maybe its a good thing since air is a better insulator than water obviously.

One definite problem with the trapped air though is that it pushes my mask strap around. I almost lost my mask at one point. One solution it seems would be to put the mask on first so that the strap is inside the hood. Any significant problem with this?

Thanks for any input.
Dave

Agree with those that suggest burning a small hole in your hat. This is such a common thing that many hoods have holes, or places where it's implied they could be made. I just looked at my hoods: the Bare dry hood has, as previously referred to, offset holes, the 7MM Henderson gold core has a semi-hole awaiting my heated 16 penny, the 5MM Henderson has a hole through it and the 7MM two-tone gray hood, from the era when divers breathed through reeds, has no hole. I've seen many NJ divers use the strap-inside-the-hood method so that may be another satisfactory solution but I wonder if that's more to keep from losing the mask.

 

[saltwater taffy]

I have found that making a + in the hood versus a hole works quite well. The + vents the air out but then seals back down.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

Diving in warm tropical waters works the best!



Seriously, though, using the nail trick works wonders. I ruined a hood by thinking that putting the holes near my ears in a effort to expel the air ASAP was a very bad idea as the ears kept opening and closing. Got a couple nasty earaches.

 

[drbill]

I always wear my mask strap inside the hood. I'm a videographer with a camera housing in my right hand. If my mask strap breaks, I don't have to worry about letting go of my housing to try to grab a descending mask... it stays put.

 

[Nemrod]

Or use a double hose regulator.

N