Scuba diving hoods for diving April-October in the UK
Corley O'Neill: Hi mark, looking at purchasing a new diving hood for UK diving (April-October). With no experience with hoods and a sea of them out there which one would you recommend? P.S. will be used with drysuits.
Many thanks
Corley
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I love 11 mm. Tried 7mm but there’s just no comparison. Bigger is better
I am quite new to diving (so no drysuit and temp lower than 18° C so far), but found all hoods too tight around my neck and especially the pressure on the Adam’s apple. Invested in a lavacore hoodie instead comparable to the Mares vest but in a hoodie shape. It is tight, but not strangling tight as the hoods. The next wetsuit I buy might have a hood. As a bold guy I understimated the heat loss under water the first dives.
#AskMark Hi Mark! Great videos, they are always really helpful. I have usually rented my wetsuits as I have mostly dived when on holiday but I am thinking on buying my first wetsuit now that I live by the ocean. I would be diving in the French Atlantic coast and the conditions seem to be somewhat similar to diving in the UK or Portugal. Do you have any advice on what kind of equipment should I get. More specifically: what suit should go for, or should I go for a drysuit? I am a PhD student on a budget but I would rather get something that would last me a while.
Also, what advice do you have for diving in the Atlantic?
Thanks a lot for your help!
A drysuit will give you the best temperature range. I rarely use my wetsuits, even in the summer.
If you’re good with the cold then a 5mm wetsuit will be ok for most of the summer diving season. On a budget you can look at the *AquaLung Wave* or *Dive* suits, *Cressi Fast*, *Mares Pioneer*. They’re all great 5mm suits but, in the long-term it’s worth saving up for a drysuit.
@Scuba Diver Magazine Thanks a million!
I love K01 hoods. Without bib like Mark says Most flexible neoprene yet very warm. Had a thick Santi for years but went for a thinner 5mm K01, which has turned out to be just as warm but way more comfortable.
Hey Mark,
I’m happy that i found you here🙌
#askmark are the “scubapro seawing nova” fins good for drysuit diving? (sorry, i am german😂)
What is, except for the suit, the most relevant things to take care when switching from wet to dry?
Thank you🎉
And please do a Video about the best dive spots in the UK🤩
Yes, many divers love the SeaWing Nova Fins. They are more buoyant than other designs so, you might need to adjust where your weights are on your body. But, drysuit divers don’t find it a big problem.
Switching from wet to dry, you need to consider how changing your body position in the water can change your centre of buoyancy. Wearing a drysuit, the air inside can move and roll you over if you don’t control it.
I hugely prefer hoods in bright neon colours. When you’re at the surface, you want to be spotted as easily as possible. Strangely enough, you hardly find them other than black.
I have an OThree 7mm and Waterproof H1 5/7 and 10mm hoods. For UK inland diving the bottom temp is always around 7C but between them they keep me comfy right through the year. With a 10mm hood and dry gloves I can tell it’s cold, but not be cold. Bibs do occasionally fold up, but not often, and they do give me noticeable insulation around the neck.
Lol “dSMB stolen by a bird”, love it!
Most of hoods that comes with a bid are “ajustable” what i mean is that you can actually cut/trim the bib into whatever shape or form you desire even completely cut it out if you want like my aqualung 7/8 vented hood
With lots of new under-suits on the market what are best? #askmark
It depends on a few things but, the FE Halo AR is a strong choice. It follows the warm Halo 3D. Santi BZ400 is another popular choice and has the option for heating.
Baselayers are also important to use in combination with an undersuit. But, the whole combination of drysuit, where you’re diving and how much you feel the cold determines which undersuit would be best.
whats the best way to remove the bib from a new hood
It depends how neat you want it to be…
Have a look around the bib and look for any stitched seams that you may need to glue. Draw a neat line around where you want to cut and find a good cutting surface. The cleanest cut will be a razor blade with one long smooth forceful cut. Shears are OK but you’ll have a slightly jagged cut.
Once you’re done cutting a drop of neoprene glue on the end of the stitching will help to prevent it from unthreading
@Scuba Diver Magazine thanks so much!