Originally Posted by
kbarch
Maybe this question can be best answered if we understand WHY you want the hoodie to go over the helmet. What are you trying to accomplish? Why over rather than under? Why a hoodie? Why is the cap you use less satisfactory? Is it because you wear a hoodie as street clothes, and you want it to be useful and not bother with the separate cap?
Some people will say I'm all wrong here, but if you're going slow enough that the hood billowing out like a parachute isn't an issue, maybe you aren't going fast enough to need a helmet. Seriously - plenty of people can run 15 mph and no one says they need to wear a helmet. The restriction a raised hoodie places on peripheral vision is a much greater safety hazard than the lack of a helmet at casual speeds.
I'm not sure that speed and is the critical component in determining whether one should wear a helmet-- construction workers move quite slowly-- and it's probably more instructive to look at likelihood of brain damage in the event of a fall.
In any event, hoodies needn't restrict peripheral vision. Some are shaped to avoid restricting in that way, and even ones that aren't, when sitting outside the helmet and away from the face, can allow a wide enough field of view that I would not characterize the small restriction as a "safety hazard."
While I agree that wearing an OTH hoodie is not the best solution to most needs, having an under the helmet (UTH) hoodie can be worse in terms of vision restrictions, because it's closer to your eyes, creating a much steeper cutoff angle.
But it all depends on the design, and I can imagine a hoodie that's little more than a helmet cover with a neck cover being a nice bit of kit for rain, as I hate rain hitting and tracing down my neck.