Gath Helmet - With or without hood?

[Gdawg]

To all of you guys/gals out there sailing with Gath (or any other) helmets. I'm needing to buy one but I'm not sure whether to buy a medium which fits my bare head, or a large which fits if I've got my hood up on my suit. Primarily intended for windy winter days which would suggest the latter setup, but I'm not sure if that actually works. What's the consensus with respect to over the hood vs no hood under the helmet?

[winddoctor]

Go with the large.

You can always grow big hair for the summer ripper-days.

-C

Edit:

D-guy makes a good point. I like his answer better than mine now.

[dunkinguy]

I would go with the one that fits. They keep your head surprisingly warm. I just found a thin MEC kayaking beenie in my wife's whitewater bin that I added to my kit. I will try this when it is cold this winter. Mind you, I have never landed a back loop, so you might want to go with Winddoc's advice.

[duckbill]

I went with the large gath, I like having something over my ears to minimize the wash in and around them. I wear a thin toque under my helmut all year long.

[duckbill]

buy 2

[Gdawg]

Large it is for me. My suit has the integrated hood - a thin cap/beanie is not really an option. Thanks for the input all.

[bwd]

I'm the same, the large Gath works great with a hood but is too loose without it. So I have a medium for summer sailing. Try to find a used one in the Gorge, they sometimes go for <$20 for a medium at Second Wind.

Another option is to cram your head into a small and wear the hood over top of the helmet. That would look cool.

[more force 4]

And one up on the kitesurfers that wear their skivvies outside their suit!!

[Johnnyman]

Love my Gath. I have a skull cap from pro limit that fits under just fine. Large is good for summer and winter. Soooo much better than my old pro tec ace helmet.