Hood, sometimes called a boot, is the protective enclosure at the ends of cabling that houses the pins.

What is Hood (cabling)?

Sometimes called a boot, the protective enclosure at the ends of cabling that houses the pins. The hood protects the contacts between the cable’s wires and the pins in the enclosed connector. The term “hood” is usually applied to serial cables for serial transmission interfaces such as RS-232 and V.35. The RJ-45 termination of unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) cabling and the SC termination of fiber-optic cabling are simply called connectors or jacks.

Hoods are generally made of metal or plastic. Metal hoods are used on shielded cabling to provide shielding against electromagnetic interference (EMI) at the cable ends. Removable metal hoods are also used for running cable through tight spaces, such as conduits, or for repinning connections. Plastic hoods, which are less expensive, are used primarily on unshielded cabling. Molded plastic hoods are also used to provide durable, tamper-proof housings for pins.