"apnea suit" w/o hood?

[The111]

I'm looking to buy a wetsuit... I've learned that "apnea suits" are generally open cell, have no zipper, and are very warm... correct me if I'm wrong. However, all of the apnea suits I've found have a hood integrated into the vest. I tried on a 5mm Cressi hood/vest last week and decided I don't want a hood.

Are there any apnea suits without hoods?

Or, a slightly different question: vests with detachable hoods... or hoods sold by themselves? I kind of like the option of having a hood but I don't like having it attached to the vest because that makes my head movement feel constricted.

 

[Erik]

There are a few out there, including the Picasso Equinoxe.
http://www.scubastore.com/shop.asp?id_familia=12&id_subfamilia=52
Cheers,
Erik Y.

 

[The111]

Yeh, I noticed that one but they only have it available in XXL... that was the only one I could find on scubastore.com...

 

[M-2]

just a suggestion, but if you're diving down here (florida) where warmth isn't as critical most of the year, you can always just get a 'non-freediving' westuit. i dive a 3/5 seaquest suit that is intended for scuba. the reason a lot of freediving suits are open cell with hoods is to maximize warmth and minimize heat loss without restricting movement. if you're diving where it gets really cold then the the difference between a 5 mill open cell and a 7 mill closed cell suit is huge in terms of movement..... and you'd want the hood integrated. for recreation down here, my suggestion is to grab a 3 or 5 at your local shop and a hood to add when needed. good luck!

m-2

 

[M-2]

uh, incidently that's a "non-freediving wetsuit".... not westuit. haven't got a clue as to what one of those is. ; )

 

[Erik]

OMER sells one called the Goblin too.
Cheers,
Erik Y.

 

[The111]

I'm still not convinced of the existence of any open-cell suits without hoods. The two mentioned here were the Picasso Equinoxe and the Omer Goblin.

I cannot find the Equinoxe anywhere for sale, except the DiveInn store and it is only available in two sizes, really small and really big. I find mention of it on other sites that look out of date but not on the Picasso page itself. This leads me to believe it's a discontinued product.

The Goblin doesn't even look to be "open-cell", it's only listed as a 1-piece zippered suit... and the other open-cell suits on the Omer page are described as such.