By: Blonde Two
Hooded tops are great, they keep your head warm, can stop that annoying back-of-the-neck draught and can be an effective way of hiding from the camera (not that we Blondes do that very often!) So many of my outdoor gear tops have hoods that I sometimes have to be careful to avoid hood overload or, even worse, hood entanglement. Add a hooded baselayer, a hooded fleece, a hooded down jacket and a hat to the super-hood on your sleeping bag and you certainly run the risk of losing yourself after a few nighttime sleeping bag shuffles. It is just as well they haven’t invented hooded bras or undies yet!
Blonde One and I were recently the recipients of two very lovely mid-layer Craghoppers synthetic and down blend jackets. They came branded for our Get Outside Champion role (thanks Craghoppers) and we are very pleased with them and their lovely bright orange colour. For reasons of size, my jacket came without a hood and, to begin with, I was a bit disappointed about my lack of head covering. However, I have since discovered that it is far easier to slip a waterproof over a hoodless jacket than it is to stuff a hooded one away out of the rain.
Have any of you got a preference towards hoods or no hoods? I have several DofE expeditions coming up this month and am wondering which to pack… great to have a choice but I predict I will be packing for both options… just in case!
I reckon if you’ve got a hood on your main waterproof that is enough. In summer I have an excellent lightweight shell, very good value from Mountain Warrhouse, and as waterproof as anything I’ve previously had. In winter I have a heavy and bulky Paramao jacket which is brilliant – both have hoods. When backpacking I carry a Berghaus Extrem Hollowfill hoodless lightweight jacket similar to the ones you describe here – it usually only gets used in the evening when things can get a bit colder in summer.
I love my Paramo coat but it is too big for me now and takes up too much room in my rucksack when I am not wearing it. I would like to trade it up for a smock version… and definitely should have worn it for DofE earlier this week!
I had the smock version a long time ago and fell out with it – too awkward to get on and off and not versatile without a full zip; it was replaced during a blur moment in Braemar exiting the shop with no knowledge of the pervious quarter hour and my credit card with s much increased debit balance.
I feel an expensive purchase coming on… One has to try these things once!
I definitely wouldn’t buy a waterproof top jacket without a hood – and preferably a hood that doesn’t completely extinguish me. I’ve a Berghaus winter jacket with a splendid hood. I quite like an inner jacket with a hood too – my head gets just as cold as my arms so if they need a warm layer, so does my noddle. They also help to pad out field glasses’ straps, etc. Not sure that I would want a third or fourth layer with a hood as well. My pet hate is hoods that fold into the collar – nasty bulky things.- but there, I don’t have to fold them back in.
We are just back from a wet DofE camp and it is amazing how much water can make ingress around the edges of a waterproof jacket… hood or no hood!