Sharkskin Chillproof Hood

Dive Hoods are vital to ensure that you stay warm whether you dive in a wetsuit or a drysuit.

Granted, in warmer climates you may be able to get away without a hood, but even a thin one will increase your warmth drastically. So keep your head warm and protected with these quality scuba diving hoods from Scuba Warehouse.

Regardless of whether you dive in warm or cold water, you’ll probably want to wear a hood when you’re diving. It is estimated that 20% to 40% of a divers body heat escapes through his or her head. By insulating your heat-producing head, you entire body will remain warmer and less fatigued because it isn’t working to replace the heat that is lost out of your hoodless head.

Water robs your body of heat, and if you’re not taking steps to retain body heat, you might feel chilled, either at depth or during your surface interval. Divers sometimes forget that we lose heat from our bodies much quicker in the water than we do on land. Even though the air temperature might be very warm, the water can take the heat away from you 20 times quicker than in air.

Neoprene Dive Hoods

Most dive hoods are made out of neoprene, which is a very spongy material. The reason neoprene is such a popular dive attire material is because is it made of countless air bubbles, which trap the heat produced by the diver’s body. The trapped heat, in turn, heats the water that is trapped between the diver’s head and the neoprene. The neoprene traps the diver’s natural heat and keeps the heat from transferring to the open water.

Warm Water vs Cold Water Dive Hoods

If you dive in cold water, a thick neoprene hood that covers your head and neck will be the most practical. The thicker the neoprene, the warmer you head will be. For example, a 3 mm hood won’t keep you as warm as a 7 mm hood.

Cold water dive hoods typically have a sizeable bib, which can be tucked into the wetsuit at the neck opening. The bib reduces the transfer of water and keeps the diver that much warmer. Cold-water hoods cover some or all of the diver’s forehead and jaw/chin areas, as well as a considerable amount of the diver’s cheeks. Very little of the diver’s face is exposed to the cold water with this style of hood.

Warm water dive hoods are much thinner than cold-water hoods and typically do not offer the large bib that cold-water hoods provide. Warm-water hoods are made from thin neoprene (3mm, for example) or nylon. The nylon option does not insulate as well as the neoprene option, but it is much less cumbersome. Warm water hoods also tend to cover less of the diver’s face. Some warm-water hoods do not cover any of the chin and very little of the jaw.