Mask strap under/over hood

[jeckyll]

Rjack: I've found that the pins don't like it when you put your doubles on them... What can I say, it was tight on the boat

DaleC: A guy I dive with (who is very much a non-DIR diver) used to put his mask strap under his hood and liked it. Same reason, that it wouldn't get kicked off his face. Since we've dove together, he doesn't feel the need to do it. I never tried it myself, I've generally seen when people do something silly around me and 'block the kick' so to speak.

Hope that helps.

Bjorn

 

[fisheater]

Inspired by this thread I tried diving my mask under my hood yesterday.

It just let a bunch of cold water (48 F) in my hood and I was getting quite chilled.

I pulled the hood and mask and reconfigured to mask over hood. Warmed back up.

 

[maged_mmh]

should've seen this one; to spare the trouble

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Inspired by this thread I tried diving my mask under my hood yesterday.

It just let a bunch of cold water (48 F) in my hood and I was getting quite chilled.

I pulled the hood and mask and reconfigured to mask over hood. Warmed back up.

You missed one of the previous qualifying statments. Running the strap under the hood does give the water a straight shot back to your ears, so it is less than a good idea in cold water where the hood need to operate efficiently to keep you warm. In warmer water (55-60 or more) that is not an issue.

 

[b1gcountry]

If I'm wearing a hood, I want to stay warm. The strap goes on the outside. I dive the Great Lakes, so most of the time if I'm in 55-60* water, that's because I haven't dropped below the thermocline yet.

Tom

 

[fisheater]

What's the point of wearing a hood if you're going to allow water to flow straight in? If the water's not cold, why would you wear a hood in the first place?

Did I miss something here?

 

[DA Aquamaster]

There is cold and then there is cold - which is why there are really heavy duty 12mm hoods, 7mm hoods, 7mm/5mm hoods, 5mm hoods, 3mm hoods, aviator style hoods, etc.

So controlling water flow in and out of the hood becomes just another method to adjust the amount of warmth you need.

 

[JohnnyH]

FWIW, I had been debating this issue for a while because somehow I managed to get older, and with that older-ness I found I could no longer read my computer as my arms were no longer long enough.

So I purchased a gauge-reader mask from SeaVision. Trying it at work (which involves warm water diving) I loved it. However, when I used it for the diving I bought it for - technical diving - I found that it flooded like crazy when worn with a hood. This was a serious problem as my tech diving is in NE and I deal with pretty chilly temps. Anyway - long story short I started thinking about wearing my mask under my hood. So after consulting many sources - human and electronic - and including sites such as ScubaBoard and The DecoStop - I did a series of deep dives, including a pair of dives on the Andrea Doria. Net result - the mask didn't flood - even under extremely difficult conditions - and my head was perfectly warm, even at depth (A complaint I'd read about was that by putting the mask under the hood it caused water ingress around the ears). I dove the YF-415 at 215' and 39 degrees F and the Doria at 247' and 46 degrees, just to name a few, with this config (a DUI warm neck hood).

So my takeaway is this - give the mask under the hood a shot. It's secure, you can replace the mask during the dive in a pinch, your ears _can_ be protected from the cold with the right hood / mask combo, and there is no issue of a mask skirt getting hung up on the hood as the mask is put on first before you pull the hood on back over the head. For me it's a win / win situation.

john

 

[Kevrumbo]

What's the point of wearing a hood if you're going to allow water to flow straight in? If the water's not cold, why would you wear a hood in the first place?

Did I miss something here?

. . .So you don't split your head wide open on an unseen barnacle or banging into an overhead pipe etc. while wreck diving. In warm tropical water --where I do most of my technical wreck penetrations anyway-- mask strap goes under the hood; in cold water it goes over the hood. . .

 

[ayeshacantrell]

I usually dive in quite warm water but wear a hooded vest and shorts. I tend to put the hood up when I find it a bit chilly...but not as cold as some of the temps noted in this string. So near freezing water around my neck is not too much of an issue.

If I am teaching - then I have to wear a snorkle and that means that the strap goes outside of the hood - otherwise its a total PITA. If no snorkle, then its underneath..... but thats just my personal preferance - not very likely to get knocked off and yes I always carry a spare mask. I guess its just what Im comfortable with...