How do you wear a hooded vest

[dartref]

I wore hooded vest for the first time last weekend. I wore it under my suit but found the seams of the vest irritating on the shoulder when covered by my full wetsuit, and then even moreso when I but the BC on. So I too wondered if it would be more comfortable when worn on the outside.

But here is my official newbie question....when wearing a 3mil suit, then adding a 3 mil vest, does that actually provide 6 mil of warmth, or is it still 3 mil (just twice as thick), or is there some physics formula that would conclude some level of warmth in the middle?

 

[spectrum]

But here is my official newbie question....when wearing a 3mil suit, then adding a 3 mil vest, does that actually provide 6 mil of warmth, or is it still 3 mil (just twice as thick), or is there some physics formula that would conclude some level of warmth in the middle?

Mmmm there are no appreciable seams in my Bare chicken vest, what brand do you have?

Regarding the 2 layers the film of water between the 2 layers is something of a barrier in it's own right. It's not an insulator but it's a transition the energy must make so I'd say you get performace better than a single 6mm layer.

The only gotach is in how the neoprene was measured by the brand, 3mm is not all that thick and if they include the nylon in their tolerance then you loose twice since the nylon backing is a poor insulator.

More important is that the vest will shield you from water that gets in through your zipper. The water will have to follow a labyrinth path and be fairly warm before it gets to your skin. The hooded vest also gives great closure to your neck opening and that adds to comfort in a huge way.

IMO the hooded chicken vest is a "must have" fullsuit accesory.

Pete

 

[dartref]

Thanks, I really appreciate all the info. BTW, I rented a Henderson Gold Core 3mil vest for the weekend. It was the seam across the shoulder that bothered me. However, I'll admit to significant personal shoulder injuries that may or may not have been aggravated by the seam.

 

[Dive1Dennis]

I have a Scubapro 5mm hooded vest. It fits nice and snug, so it works perfectly under my 7mm streamer. Really limits that cold water seepage down the back of the neck. I have never tried mine over the outside of the steamer. I don’t think it would fit, and I never had a reason to try it that way. Just my 2PSI.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

For around 30 years I wore the hooded vest under the standard 2-piece 7mm FJ and jacket wetsuit and other suits. I have since purchased one-piece wetsuits with back zip. 3mm and 5mm suits which are for warmer water. My back zip suits allow too much water in to be very thermally efficient, but they are ok depending on temperature. They are more comfortable and easier to put on and off in my opinion,

I tried using the hooded vest both inside and outside the back-zip suits. OUTSIDE was considerably better. The wetsuit neck seal works better when you don't have a hood through it..smooth rubber directlt to skin on neck. It also seemed to seal the rear back zipper better, but this is the opposite of what I would expect.

If your wetsuit is comfortable and you can find a hooded vest large enough to go over the outside of the suit, you may find that you prefer the vest outside the wetsuit.

 

[Scuba Jerm]

I've never heard of anyone wearing the hooded vest on the outside. I personally think you will get more core warmth wearing it under. It would be an interesting test to see which is truely more effective, but my hypothesis is that under is better.

 

[pfriedel]

I switched from a normal hood to a hooded step-in because the hood was wrecking my neck seal and causing more flushing, leaving me colder than when I started. I'm kind of tempted to see if I can aquaseal the outside of my hood (neck) to make a skin/skin surface to see if it reduces flushing, as the step-in is overkill unless I'm diving colder than 50 degrees.