# who wears a hood over their helmet?



## my poor knees (Jan 19, 2012)

I'm looking for a new ski jacket and I see lots of them have hoods that go over the helmet. Personally I'm not a hood fan, I like them to be removable. I wonder if having a hood over your helmet restricts your side to side head movement ? After doing some research it seems the arcteryx brand with gore-tex is highly rated and very warm so I'm leaning in that direction but again would prefer a removable hood and most seem permanent.


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## gmcunni (Jan 19, 2012)

my poor knees said:


> I'm looking for a new ski jacket and I see lots of them have hoods that go over the helmet. Personally I'm not a hood fan, I like them to be removable. I wonder if having a hood over your helmet restricts your side to side head movement ? After doing some research it seems the arcteryx brand with gore-tex is highly rated and very warm so I'm leaning in that direction but again would prefer a removable hood and most seem permanent.



only time my hood goes over my helmet is on a cold/snowy/windy chair ride.


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## o3jeff (Jan 19, 2012)

gmcunni said:


> only time my hood goes over my helmet is on a cold/snowy/windy chair ride.



That or if it is raining out I'll wear it.


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## drjeff (Jan 19, 2012)

o3jeff said:


> That or if it is raining out I'll wear it.



Mainly just on rainy days for me too

As someone who wears an XXL helmet and has a fairly long neck,  I will say that if you think that you might want to wear your hood over your helmet on a fairly regular basis while on the hill,  bring your helmet with you as your picking out a jacket to try it on and see how the hood does, or doesn't, fit over your helmet.  Not all hoods have the same volume and not all heights/lengths of hoods comfortably accomodate ones neck height


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## marcski (Jan 19, 2012)

Wind or rain.  Works great.  After I put the hood on and zip up all the way, I feel like I'm in a tent on the chairlift.


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## rocojerry (Jan 19, 2012)

gmcunni said:


> only time my hood goes over my helmet is on a cold/snowy/windy chair ride.



Yep.  I only like it for the chair -- too restrictive and impairs vision/mobility when heading downhill....


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## bvibert (Jan 19, 2012)

On some of my jackets I can get the hood over the helmet, but it's so tight that I can't move my head.  It's adequate for a rainy chair lift ride, but there's no way I could ski like that.  Like drjeff said; not all hoods are created equal.


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## Vortex (Jan 19, 2012)

Most of the time I use my hood.  Buy a coat with a big hood. Not all are big and don't fit over helmets.  I struggle with the movement thing, but it you take time to get it all right its not a problem for me once I get going.


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## gmcunni (Jan 19, 2012)

o3jeff said:


> That or if it is raining out I'll wear it.



i don't ski in the rain, i'm a wuss.


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## billski (Jan 19, 2012)

I ski in light rain, not downpours.  Or until my gloves get drenched.  
I purposely bought my current jacket with a hood.  For years I wanted one.  I finally got my once in a lifetime "dream" jacket.  That was an important criteria, along with a high neck collar.  Wonderful

Like others, rain and very high winds.  
One downside: when  you wipe out, you often have a hoodfull of snow to deal with 

You also can't use it for an ordinary hood (no helmet), it falls over your eyes, no matter how much I cinch it.  

Mine is removable via a zipper.  It does not roll up.


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## crank (Jan 19, 2012)

I just got a new shell and am psyched to be able to use a hood again.  Old one will not fit over my helmet.  I only use it on very cold  and windy or blizzard conditions, the rest of the time it just follows me around.  Skiing in the rain sucks.


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## snowmonster (Jan 19, 2012)

The only time I've worn a hood over a helmet was while I was riding the Green Mountain _Freezer _at Jay. I considered wearing a hood last Sunday at Stowe (-18) but decided to tough it out. That was a bad call.


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## Puck it (Jan 19, 2012)

Mammut makes a softshell windstop that I just got this year love it.  Sunnysports in NYC has them online for cheap money.   Bought two.


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## UVSHTSTRM (Jan 19, 2012)

Although I rarely wear one, it is nice to have one especially for those windy cold days on the lift.  Once I get off the lift, it comes off 99% of the time.  My biggest thing with hoods is the sound.  Also when getting your jacket check for specs that specify helmet compatibable.


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## ski stef (Jan 19, 2012)

I dont wear a helmet but i definitely look for a bigger hood preferably removable..if its chilly I def like to pull it over my hat ( has a pretty big pom) so I can zip it up all the way for extra protection for my face


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## Smellytele (Jan 19, 2012)

Ski Stef said:


> I dont wear a helmet but i definitely look for a bigger hood preferably removable..if its chilly I def like to pull it over my hat ( has a pretty big pom) so I can zip it up all the way for extra protection for my face



Do you have long skinny pointy skis as well?


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## Smellytele (Jan 19, 2012)

I have multiple jacket for different weather. I do not think I have ever worn the hood over my helmet while skiing. Maybe once on a lift. I have come to the conclusion that any jacket I buy going forward will not have a hood or if it does it needs to be removable. Once I retire a ski jacket it becomes a jacket for either playing around in the snow with the kids or snowblowing where a hood does come in handy so a removable hood can be justified in the end.


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## abc (Jan 19, 2012)

billski said:


> You also can't use it for an ordinary hood (no helmet), it falls over your eyes, no matter how much I cinch it.


Ah, thanks for that. I won't waste too much time to find one that works both. 

I had two jackets. One would pull over the helmet easily. It even had a bill to stop the snow/rain from dripping over my face. But it's useless as a street jacket. The hood is so big I can't see out of it! It being one size too big didn't help. So I decided to find another one at the right size. 

The new one fits great and even looks nice as a street jacket! But the hood barely pull over the helmet, need careful tugging with two hands. So it's a hassle when I need to pull it over while riding the chair ride on a cold day. 

I've been trying to figure out what might work as both ski jacket and street jacket. But I'm not going to put too much effort into that though. 



> I ski in light rain, not downpours.  Or until my gloves get drenched.


Get waterproof gloves.


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## HowieT2 (Jan 19, 2012)

I rarely wear the hood so I detach it and keep it in my ski bag.  hate having the thing on there if im not using it.  It is surprisingly difficult to find a shell with a detachable hood.


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## Puck it (Jan 19, 2012)

http://www.sunnysports.com/Catalog.aspx?op=ItemDisplay&ProductID=MMTUHM&Page=1&Term=mammut ultimate&Hit=1


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## ERJ-145CA (Jan 19, 2012)

The first thing I did after I got my last jacket was remove the hood.  My helmet keeps my head plenty warm.  On those few days a season that it is in the single digits or colder I wear a thin hat under my helmet.


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## SIKSKIER (Jan 20, 2012)

my poor knees said:


> After doing some research it seems the arcteryx brand with gore-tex is highly rated and very warm so I'm leaning in that direction but again would prefer a removable hood and most seem permanent.



I just bought my 3rd Arcteryx jacket.Love these uninsulated shells.I have 2 theta AR and a new softshell version that is almost identical.The hoods fit over my fat oversized head/helmet(XXL) but I only use it when standing around or riding the chair when stormy.


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## legalskier (Jan 20, 2012)

I put mine up last week due to snow making (i.e. "precip") and extreme cold/wind. Other than that  it stays down. Doesn't interfere with vision.


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## arik (Jan 20, 2012)

*wear hood over helmet*

I do, love it!

Feels nice and warm and quiet.


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