How to wear hood?

[Chip Elliott]

After getting my C-card I have been reading and reading (I'd rather be diving and diving, but hey, it is winter!). I've read Jill Heinrerth's "The Scuba Diver's Guide to Underwater Video," "Jim Lapenta's :A Practical Guide for the New Diver" and then Clay Coleman's "The Certified Diver's Handbook."

In Clay's book it states that the hood should be worn on the OUTSIDE of the wetsuit. Let me quote from page 59: "Many divers wear the bib inside the wet-suit neck seal- a strategy that looks great but usually backfires. When the bib is worn inside, the neck seal cannot work as it was designed and more water actually enters the suit. However, if the bib is worn outside the wet suit, it will work to shed water away from the neck seal."

Any advice?

Also, any other "must/good read" books I should be aware of?

 

[Bratface]

I prefer a hooded vest but when I did wear a hood, I wore the bib outside of my wetsuit. It was just more comfortable.

 

[scubadada]

For real warmth, consider a hooded vest. I wear mine inside my full suit, I've seen people wear them outside as well.

I haven't used a hood for quite a while, always wore it tucked in. I don't recall seeing anyone wear one untucked

 

[Dan]

I wear hood with chin strap only, no bib, as shown below.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

If the water is not too cold, maybe 65 degrees or so, then you can not tuck it in and be fine. Not tucking in the hood has the significant benefit of improving neck mobility and comfort. Good wetsuits have a decent neck seal and the smooth rubber against your neck tends to seal reasonably well.

If the water is 50 -55 or below, you better be tucked in.

A freedive suit generally has an attached hood, so this issue is moot and these suits work well in really cold water.

If I am in cool water and wearing a one-piece back zip wetsuit, then I have found that it is preferable to wear a hooded vest OUTSIDE of the suit, because of the suit neck seal issues and general comfort, plus a hooded vest work different than a bibbed hood. The outer vest also tends to seal the back zip and offset leakage.

Another option for scuba suits in cold water is the following.. I would sometimes wear a 2 or 3 mm hooded vest under the wetsuit jacket and then ANOTHER 5 mm hood with no bibb at all over the outside. This allows the neck to be covered and sealed (with just 2-3 mm), allows good neck mobility and still provides 7 or 8 mm of neoprene over your actual head. You definitely want the outer hood to be large enough and not super tight.

 

[TMHeimer]

Cold water: I put it on before the farmer john wetsuit bottom and tuck it in (easier that way).
Warm water (55F+) -- don't bother tucking in. Put it on after wetsuit to prevent overheating
while gearing up.

 

[SeaHorse81]

What I take from what's been posted so far is what I've experienced myself: Whether you tuck the hood in or not just depends. You can wear it either way, depending on the circumstances at the time. No major harm done if you guess wrong on a given day.

 

[Chip Elliott]

Thank you all!

 

[Steyr]

Diving wet in cold water (10c/50f) I would wear my hood with the bib on the outside. It looked a bit silly, but with the hood tucked in anytime I turned my head it would form creases in the neck that would send a jet of cold water straight into my suit.

A friend had a semi-dry that had a rubber neck seal inner, and the the neoprene outer. She could tuck the bib of her hood between the neoprene and the rubber. Seemed like a great solution to me.

These days I dive dry, so the hood has to go on the outside anyway, but I've switched to a hood that doesn't have a long bib.

 

[yle]

I'm not sure how the "shedding water away from the neck seal" thing mentioned in the original post works, unless you're standing in the rain in your wetsuit.

I've always worn my hood bib tucked in, never been a problem.