Ok you guys form jersey wear hoods all winter long. I quit doing the sub 50 degree surfing a few years back due to it was only two months out of te year typically. The ice cream headaches got to be too much once into my 30's, but with this winter here in the VA/OBX the water got into the 30's and just into 40s after some warm weather so i broke down and bought a new suit. I got the Oneill Mutant 4/3 cause i need a hood in the middle of harsh winter months but i alos need a 4/3 non-hooded for 2 or 3 months out the year to go with my 3/2 Quik cell 6. Anyway my question is this how should a hood fit around your head and neck? I wear a medium suit but i have small head, I wear like a size 7 fitted hat if that helps at all. Anyway the suit fits me perfectly Oneill's and Quiksilvers always do but the neck on the hood portion of the suit suit is not form fitting i realize you dont want it tight but not sure loose is good either. THe regular wetsuit neck fits great just worried the hood is not the right size, sure dont want flushing down m suit with a hood on. Oneill will switch out the hood size for me just wondering if someone could desribe what the proper fit should be for a hood and neck area on the hood.
Sorry maybe my post was too long and you missed that i had bought the mutant already, i have a medium hood, was wondering how a hood and the neck area should fit. Basically an idea of how tight should the neck area be, i realize too tight and it will choke you but... The purpose for buying a mutant is becuase you get a hooded and non hooded suit all in one.
So you have a detachable hood? I wonder why they don’t let you configure a diff. size hood for those type of suits. For me, I have a 4/3 and a separate hood. But the neck area is tight enough that it’s somewhat of a struggle to pull my head through the hood’s neck opening, but once it’s on, it’s not a problem and comfort is not an issue in the neck or head.
Oneill will let you get a differnt sized hood, but i need to know what proper fit is so i know if i need another size. The face hole selas up well its just there is a bit of room in the back of the hood and neck. Before i use it this week i would like to know if i need to return the hood to Oneill for a smaller size. WRV had a medium and medium small Mutant i took the hood from the medium small but i dont think its any smaller than the mediums hood.
you choices are limited to small or medium. If medium is too big I would go with small. If small is too small, then, well, I would go with medium and tighten the draw string really tight to avoid flushing. Nothing worse than getting choked out while you're trying to ride some waves bro! Here is what I would do: Go to surf shop put on medium hood see if it's too big put on small hood see if it's too small paddle out.
there were no smalls to try on..... I will just try it if it doesnt seem to work well i will just call Oneill and tell them the hood is too big please send me another one, if thats ends up being the case then i will get to try out customer service at Oneill as well.
I use a patagonia R3 hood with my 4/3. Most comfortable hood ever. And super warm. oops. not a jersey guy...sorry.
I have a mutant as well and really like the detachable hood option. had a 543 fbomb before with a hood and that was great too. Cannot really tell a difference between the two, except that the mutant hood is a tad more thin then the fbomb. still both great suits and if you look on the back of the mutant there is a nice dime sized hole to drain water quickly it you do get a flush.
My hood fits real snug. Not to the point where I have any problem with moving my head, but tight enough that when I'm relaxing on my board there isn't any slack down the back of my neck / head. I'd think if it's to big you'd have some water sloshing around in there and it would get a bit annoying. Hope O'neill is able to help you out.
Im getting sick of ice cream headaches no matter what brand suit and hood i wear... where the hell is the god dam summer
