K01 vs Waterproof H1

[rob.mwpropane]

I own both the Waterproof H1 5/10mm and K01 8mm. They're both great hoods; I have a lot of sub 40f (36-39f/2-4c) dives with both of them. I think you'd be happy with either.

I owned the Waterproof H1 hood first but I haven't really used it since switching to the K01. I have a brand new Waterproof hood sitting in my bin as backup hood if that tells you anything. I'm currently on my 2nd K01 hood. I just find them more comfortable than the Waterproof hood. The neoprene is more stretchy and form fitting. The Waterproof one does vent a little better but the K01 has a tiny pinhole in the top that does vent, albeit slowly.

One important thing to note that a lot of people seem to overlook is that you should replace your hood after couple diving seasons especially if you're doing a lot of deeper diving. I typically replace mine after 2 seasons and retire them to warm water hoods until they rip enough and then they get tossed. I see a lot of people on boats with 5 year old hoods.

The difference between my 2 year old K01 hood (lots of 100-200ft+ dives on it) is amazing. The batteries in my digital caliper is dead but you get the idea here. Left is a 2 year old K01 8mm hood (maybe ~250 dives) and the one on the right is brand new with maybe 5 dives on it. Be careful with sharp finger nails and pulling on the seams of the K01 hood. They can tear more easily than other hoods.


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That difference is pretty amazing, thanks for the pictures.

 

[macado]

Thought I'd update this thread. I traded my K01 8mm hood for an 11mm Neo. I needed another hood like I need a hole in my head nevertheless I thought I would jump on the latest fashion accessory hood bandwagon and purchase a Neo 11mm hood aka my new neoprene battle helmet. These things are really awesome. I dont really get excited about hoods.

I do like the K01 hoods but they get very compressed (like any hood) after a couple seasons of deep diving and they all seem to split at the seams for me no matter how careful I am. The seams on the Neo hood are stitched, glued and re-enforced at the edges.

First impressions of the Neo hood are that it's super form fitting and made with very stretchy neoprene. There are additional panels compared to the K01 hood. It's obviously quite a bit thicker (8mm vs 11mm) but some of that has to do with the amount of dives my current K01 hood has.

 

[Robert H. Diver]

Thought I'd update this thread. I traded my K01 8mm hood for an 11mm Neo. I needed another hood like I need a hole in my head nevertheless I thought I would jump on the latest fashion accessory hood bandwagon and purchase a Neo 11mm hood aka my new neoprene battle helmet. These things are really awesome. I dont really get excited about hoods.

I do like the K01 hoods but they get very compressed (like any hood) after a couple seasons of deep diving and they all seem to split at the seams for me no matter how careful I am. The seams on the Neo hood are stitched, glued and re-enforced at the edges.

First impressions of the Neo hood are that it's super form fitting and made with very stretchy neoprene. There are additional panels compared to the K01 hood. It's obviously quite a bit thicker (8mm vs 11mm) but some of that has to do with the amount of dives my current K01 hood has.

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That thing is thicccccc

 

[Manatee Diver]

That thing is thicccccc

That is dummy thicc, probably already has a modeling contract.