For most of my life my sweatshirts did not have Hoods and I got along just fine, but in retrospect I wish I had had a Hood during several seasons of my life. I say that because a couple of years ago I got one with a Hood. I wore it a lot, even more than some of my older ones. I really came to depend on it a lot. It was comfortable, smooth feeling, and always seemed to be in the right place when I was looking for it. It was versatile too. I could wear it in any kind of atmosphere and it always did the job. Then as that winter ended, I inexplicably gave the shirt with the Hood to one of my best friends. He wore it around the house some last year, even packed it to take it on some trips, but he never wore it out in public. Now this year, he's started wearing it all around, and lots of people compliment him on the sweatshirt with the Hood. For some reason the shirt with the Hood looks like it's a better shirt now than when I had it. I guess he just knows how to wear it better. As for me, I went to the local Goodwill store and got about 10 new shirts to replace the one with the Hood and some other ones I got rid of, including one XXXL shirt that was a real piece of crap. The goodwill shirts try hard, but there's just not as good as my old shirt with the Hood. I still like talking about how great that shirt with the Hood was that one year I had it.