Hooded vest can't turn head

[Chocoholic]

I just got my Henderson Gold Core hooded vest from Scubatoys and I love the way it fits.... except I can only turn my head a bit. So my question is how much more stretch do you think it will have in the water. I have a regular wetsuit and it stretches quite a bit more when wet, but this is my first experience with gold core. I can't return it once I use it so I was trying to get some input to decide. (I had a heck of a time getting the thing off, but that is another story)

 

[H2Andy]

hehehehe... yeah, taking a vest/hood off is a pain

i don't know about the Henderson, but my no-name vest/hood (3 mil) was a lot more
flexible in the water. once in the water, i didn't even notice it was on. on land,
it was much more stiff.

 

[ScubaTwo]

dont mean to hijack but how much weight did you add for the hooded vest if any? I just got one and havent used it yet. Mines a 5 mil. Thanks for any advice.

 

[H2Andy]

not sure with a 5 mil... i didn't add any extra weight for my 3 mil

 

[ScubaTwo]

not sure with a 5 mil... i didn't add any extra weight for my 3 mil

*looks at you accusingly* arnt you the one who didnt have to add any weight when you went dry? Just make me jelous why dont you! JK

 

[H2Andy]

hehehehe... it helps when you dive with steel tanks

 

[Chocoholic]

I'm going to Puerto Vallarta in two weeks. I think the water is about 73 according to the website. Thing is I freeze easily, so I figure a hooded vest will work under a 5mm full suit. It is a 5/3mm I'm not sure how much extra weight. I'm thinking I'll try about 2 pounds extra and see what happens when I jump in.

 

[ScubaTwo]

I'm going to Puerto Vallarta in two weeks. I think the water is about 73 according to the website. Thing is I freeze easily, so I figure a hooded vest will work under a 5mm full suit. It is a 5/3mm I'm not sure how much extra weight. I'm thinking I'll try about 2 pounds extra and see what happens when I jump in.

guess thats what I will have to do. just experiment. mines a 5/3 also. Just when I get my weight set for one thing I get another thing and have to do it all over lol.

 

[d@n]

I don't notice any problem turning my head in my Henderson 5/3 hooded vest.
I add about 2 lbs to compensate for it. The best way is to weigh it down in a pool and see what it takes to keep it down when it has NO air at all trapped in it.

 

[spectrum]

I have the BARE 3mm vest w/5mm Hood that I've used with mu BARE 5/4 Velocity and it fits nice, but here is what I learned.....

When I decided to get the vest the LDS did not carry the item in BARE, they had Acona and a few other, the fits were disasters so I didn't buy. I found a BRAE dealer in the next state that had one and it poped on like it was made for me. He also gave me donning and doffing tips.

To don, roll the bottom up sort of like a sweater, start into the sleeves, pop it down over your head then bring it down around your torso.

To doff, Pull the front material forward in front of an arm opening Then put that side's hand into the arm opening, down around your chest and out the bottom. Slip it up off your torso and exite the second arm. Pop it off your head.

The BARE one has skin material in the neck for flexibility but it can be a bit clingy. This goes away once a bit of water finds it's way in. If I have the suit snot out I'll rub some on my neck and that keeps my neck comfy before I go in. My wife also like the Vanilla scent post dive.

It's definitely a great layering garment and well worth the trouble to find one that works for you. Great head protection and it puts the kibosh to the zipper seepage. With suit mentioned above we were OK skindiving for 90 minutes with water in the low 50sF. Your experince at depth will vary.

Pete

PS: My wife got her's from LiquidFit, they add a side zipper that makes it a no brainer.