Why do sailing jackets have such awful hoods?

Sandy said:
That will get the Tilley hat wearing fraternity into a frenzy.
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As a Tilley hat owner I am prepared to commit heresy and accept that they have their limitations, the average rainfall during the British Summer being one of them. Very tempted to buy a Sowester and try it.
 
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I hate peaks on hats for sailing, you get a (very) sore neck trying to see the top of the mainsail. Berets are much better.

Mind you it does not rain often (though when it does it can bucket).

Jonathan
 
dunedin said:
Surely your life jacket comes with a spray hood for that purpose. And it is very different, as it needs a clear section which covers the front of your face to stop drowning
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Different function.

A hood should keep your head warm, you lose a huge amount of heat via your head, the lifejacket hood is designed to stop you from being swamped by water. Ideally both should be used - in reality that is unlikely.
 
fredrussell said:
Here’s one for you. You know outdoor jackets, the ones designed for keeping you dry when it’s raining and your out on the hills. Ever noticed that they have really well designed hoods that DON’T roll up and pack away and thus are there instantly when you need them? That have a wired peak to keep the damn thing from flapping across your face in a breeze and to help keeping rain off your bonce.
Which genius decided that sailing jackets should have tucked away flimsy hoods? I have an expensive Helly Hansen offshore jacket. They’ve put a lot of effort into every feature except the hood, which is crap.

So, why do sailing jackets have such awful hoods?
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The hood on my musto is ok for me and seems to have a fair amount of adjustments and packs away. My jack wolfskin walking jacket doesn't have a wire peak and the hood packs away. It also has a few adjustments to give a decent fit. I always have a waterproof jacket in the car and at present it is a northface or similar. Hood doesn't pack away and few adjustments on it so it doesn't give a decent fit. I won't buy another where the hood doesn't pack away.
I used to wear a souwester when working outside, but not on the boat as wind driven rain gets under the back to easily I found.
Each make of sailing jacket is a different size and fit of hood so a few need to be tried on to find one that fits you.
 
Mountain Warehouse skiing jacket. Excellent and cheap. And it has a thingy that helps them find you in avalanches.
 
wombat88 said:
Mountain Warehouse skiing jacket. Excellent and cheap. And it has a thingy that helps them find you in avalanches.
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Ski kit is not waterproof, not waterproofable. Ski jackets are snow proof, and if treated become shower proof

Which is why I own 4 different sets of foul weather outdoor wear- plus my firms kit. The Gill sailing jacket is the most expensive and high tech and needs to be. If it blows and rains at sea there may be little opportunity to adjust or add clothing while gripping the tiller. (Hood is rubbish mind you, unlike my Mountain Equipment Jacket) Even in worst weather on mountain one can usual pause to sort things.

PS the thingy on ski kit is indeed of great value to the gendarmerie - it helps them find your corpse after an avalanche.
 
oldmanofthehills said:
Ski kit is not waterproof, not waterproofable.
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All of mine is GoreTex and rated the same as my sailing kit for waterproofness. The knees and bum of snowboard kit especially need this due to the pressure on them.
Unless you meant water-skiing? In which case no, wetsuits aren't usually waterproof.
 
The main issue with ski stuff is the lack of a very tall collar for wind avoidance at sea. Sometimes they don't have a low back for sitting positions either, but many do, especially the snowboard ones.
 
lustyd said:
All of mine is GoreTex and rated the same as my sailing kit for waterproofness. The knees and bum of snowboard kit especially need this due to the pressure on them.
Unless you meant water-skiing? In which case no, wetsuits aren't usually waterproof.
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Mountain Warehouse kit was mentioned, and not boarding stuff at that (sorry I am too old school to automatically regard boarding as skiing. Yes one can get Goretex salops, and I have some, but not good ones cheaply

If you wander england and scotland mountains as I do in winter you get hard lessons on equipment quality. Unless its good for 15,000mm head of water its not waterproof and even that can be bettered by quite a few.
 
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I was addressing your post which clearly stated that ski kit neither waterproof nor waterproof able. I wasn’t addressing the mountain warehouse post earlier, just correcting your misinformation which may well have been due to omission, but your statement was unambiguous and incorrect, hence my post.
 
The only thing annoying about the pack away hoods is their predisposition to catching water. I've seen it happen to a few people where they've pulled back their hood to do some detail work because the hood was getting in the way... finish, put their hood back up and...?
 
IMHO hoods are only good in heavy rain. Other than that a wide range of hats are really useful in the various conditions. As a bald bloke I find wearing headgear is almost always a good idea. My wardrobe includes
- Tilley for summer
- baseball hat for use under hood to stop specs getting rain drops (and as a starting gun for man overboard drills when it blows off)
- Lowe Alpine cap for 80% of UK conditions ( top performer and only one with a wired peak )
- Imitation russian shapka for extreme winter sailing in N Sea
 
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