UKC

What are the benefits of having a hood big enough to take a helmet?

My current jacket will take a helmet but I put the helmet over the hood.

I'm looking at mountain jackets for hillwalking/easy winter mountaineering.

Thoughts?

In reply to Dave the Rave:

If you put the helmet over the hood, you then have to take the helmet off to lower the hood. If you can put the hood over the helmet, the helmet stays in place. Less risk of dropping it/anything falling onto your unprotected bonce in the moments when you're not wearing it.

In reply to Dave the Rave:

I find it a lot easier to regulate my temperature by putting up and down hoods.

It is also nice to loose that trapped in feeling you can get if your wearing a hood all day even if it's for 5 minutes between showers.

In reply to Dave the Rave:
I have come across a bargain jacket you might be interested in, but there's only one.

If you're thinking of a new jacket I think you might be very interested.

Send me an email so I can send yo the link for it (if you like)....

In reply to Dave the Rave:
A hood over a helmet can provide a little bit more protection from a very cold wind, on those days where it seems to be especially keen. The psychological boost can be nice.

In reply to Dave the Rave:

The above comments are spot on.
There are some ace helmet-compatible hoods out there. I have been very impressed by Rab, Paramo and Mountain Equipment hoods but it's always worth trying the hood on with and without your helmet to make sure it's a decent fit.
My waterproof (too old to be happy using the term hard shell) has a helmet-compatible hood but 90+% of the time it's worn without a lid on and fits beautifully.
I avoid under helmet hoods like the plague for anything that is a shell of any kind.

In reply to Dave the Rave:
One problem with over helmet hoods is that they are too big when not wearing a helmet. Using Buffalo tops can have 2 different size hoods of course.

In reply to oldie:

The good designs are adjustable enough. I have jackets from Patagonia and Rab that have hoods that are perfectly ok with or without a helmet - even a big snowboard helmet in the case of the Patagonia one.

In reply to angry pirate:

Thanks everyone.
It's a bit of a dilemma so I'm going to get a custom built double ventile, probably from Firemore.
In reality , I probably have a helmet on with a jacket 10 times a year, so a perfect fit over a helmet shouldn't be too important.
I'm more concerned with getting a good fixed ,volume adjustable hood that fits minus a helmet. If it accommodates one and fits then great.
The coat will be £400, but should last 20 odd years.
Thanks for the input.

In reply to Dave the Rave:

Yes I'd agree with the above. You can get decently adjustable hoods that fit well either with or without a helmet. Much more flexible if your hood is over your helmet...much faffing if you have to take your helmet off to put your hood up or down. Not to mention safer to not have to take off your helmet.
Hood over helmet also leaves more air to insulate between the hood and your head plus a little more room in your helmet for ther headwear.
Just being fussy too I sometimes find a hood under a helmet can just feel a bit irritating as you move...especially a hardshell....but then the same can be true of the wrong hood/helmet combination worn the other way also!
For what it's worth I've got/had ME, rab and haglofs hoods that were all brilliant with or without a helmet. Marmot hoods for me seem to work best with a helmet under them or maybe I've got the wrong shaped head!
Hope this was helpful.

In reply to Dave the Rave:

If they know what they're doing this shouldn't be anything to be concerned about. It's never a problem with my Mountain Equipment Goretex, or the Berghaus one I've acquired from my brother.

I seem to end up using them to go over my cycling helmet when out in the winter more than over a climbing helmet, but they're fine in either case.

If you go along to the place I'm sure they'd let you experiment with the hoods?

In reply to oldie:


That's not true if it's a well designed hood like on Mountain Equipment jacket (and others), there's ways of shrinking down the volume using toggles and cord/elastic.

In reply to oldie:

I was a big buffalo fan in my twenties but the lack of helmet-compatible hood was at best limiting or at worst downright dangerous. It took a while for bigger hoods to appear by which time I'd moved onto hardshells (shudder) and waterproof companies had massively improved hoods: my first excellent hood was on a North Face all weather jacket which fitted like a cap.
Now all hoods seem to fit in a similar way and my Rab belay jacket and my Mountain Equipment Goretex have excellent hoods which fit my unhelmetted head brilliantly 90% of the time and also fit a lid perfectly.

In reply to Dave the Rave:
What's wrong with a buffalo and 2 hoods? Or even, for £400, 2 Buffalo's and 2 hoods!

In reply to bouldery bits:


Nowt. I've got a 23yr old buffalo with one crap hood, which is coping well except when it's windy. Love me buff, but I always like a shell back up with a storm hood.
Me 16yr old Changabang is nearing its end, and I was after a coat that would last me until I cant go anymore.
A ventile £400 is probably better than one of these new flimsy things with no storm flap?

In reply to Dave the Rave:

Pssst, I have a link to something with storm flap, nearly new and going cheap.

If you look for a related brand to a jacket you have mentioned and goretex on a certain auction site...

In reply to Dave the Rave:

I'm sure that'll be a good investment.
Do let us know if it's up to scratch

Cheers,


BB

In reply to Timmd:
Cheers bud!