hooded vest- under or over the wetsuit?

[gedmondson]

Why not try it both ways and decide for yourself!

 

[docmartin]

i tried an found it significantly warmer worn outside. it felt like my upper body stayed completely dry because water entry at the neck tends to be the biggest problem. wit the hooded vest on the outside this weak spot is eliminated.

 

[SoCalScot]

Thank you for all the advice every one. I have tried it inside and it worked pretty good. The only cool water flushing I felt was around my crotch and butt which was not bad. I did not feel any cooler water on my core at all. I think I'll try it outside next time. I have some deep dives coming up on the next trip that will go towards master cert so that should be a good test of my over all thermal protection. I'm just hoping its enough to keep me warm so I can concentrate on the tasks at hand and not stress down there because I'm freezing. Once I get cold it seems that that is all I can think about for the remainder of the dive. ya gotta love SoCal Diving!

 

[mistressmotorsports]

I wear mine on the outside because it keeps more water out that way, at least for me. However, there is one huge drawback to this. It is darn near impossible to flush your wetsuit after peeing in it if the vest is on the outside.

Mike

 

[ProfessorAronnax]

I wear my 5mm Scuba Pro hooded vest on the outside of my 3mm full-never really thought about it-seemed convienient-works well at 55 degrees

 

[BKP]

I wanted to bring this thread back to life, and expand on it for those that wear the hooded vest *under* their full suit.

First: what are the thicknesses of your hooded vest and full suit combination;
Second: If you sized your full suit to fit snug when you bought it, how do you get the additional 3 to 5 mm of rubber on the hooded vest *under* it without feeling like you've been mummified, and perhaps even compromising your respiration?

 

[mistressmotorsports]

Ooh, good question. I would supposed this varies by diver and wetsuit. For me, with my 7mm full suit, I usually wear the vest outside. But, I have worn it inside on occasion. Because my suit is really stretchy (good for donning, less good for staying warm at depth,) I don't notice a big difference. My 3mm full suit is far less stretchy and actually harder to get on than the 7, and it definitely feels tighter if I stick my vest underneath. I don't really notice it underwater, but sitting on the boat waiting to jump in, I am definitely a little constricted. Maybe another reason to wear the vest outside?

BTW, my hooded vest is 3mm. I wear it a lot, with any of my neoprene wetsuits or even sometimes with just a non-insulated dive skin or shorts. Looks pretty dorky with shorts, but a warm head equals a warm diver.

Mike

 

[WetLens]

In current or colder water, outside. For most normal diving, inside. In current, mask strap inside; in cold, mask strap outside. Newer suits have much more flexibility than "back in the day." I have found that it really doesn't matter much for fit whether it is in or out and I wear it with shorties, 1 mil, 5 mil and 7 mil suits (BTW, it is a 3 mil hooded vest). When I was doing a lot of current diving (St. Clair River mostly), I had an attached hood on the jacket, not the farmer John.

 

[AbyssalPlains]

Hooded vests should always be worn on the inside of your wetsuit. The vest provides benefits in two ways. First, it thickens the overall layer of neoprene between two masses of differing heats (your warm body and the less-warm water) so it retards the transfer of heat from the higher source (you) to the lower source (the water). For that benefit it would not really matter if it was worn inside or out. But more immediately apparent is the benefit gained by the layering effect. Any water that wants to flush in or out of your suit through your neck or any other area, and take away the warmest water we have that is surrounding our core, has to now travel a much longer path down the inside of your suit, to your belly, then back up into the vest, then reverse that process to steal away that nice warm water which we have expended precious BTU's on heating up. You can see how slowing this process can really help us reduce how much water we need to warm up on every dive.
And, your wetsuit will seal even better against the nice smooth hooded vest material than it would against your skin. So you win again!

This is the theory, and for years I used to wear my hooded vest underneath. Lately, though, I've started wearing it on the outside and for some reason find that it's a tad warmer. But I am not sure enough to vote for one way or the other.

 

[Token]

My vest is an excellent snug fit against my skin, so I'll be wearing it under my wetsuit. Given possible variations of size, obviously some experimentation is in order.

One consideration for vest-inside wear might be that you can take your wetsuit off, or skin it down to your waist without taking off the vest. Donning or doffing the vest with the wetsuit underneath it might be pretty difficult.

[my vest is a Waterproof Canis 3mm/5mm hood model]