Stainless under cabinet hood. Wood hoods are a LOT more expensive. In 10 years, they'll be very dated and grungy gross to boot.

Thanks hollysprings, I especially appreciate your feedback since it's coming from a pro in the business. Dated and grungy makes sense. As for the cost, I have enough left over wood from my kitchen project, as well as the doors on the cabinet currently above the cooktop, to significantly reduce the cost. Does anyone have a 6" high undercabinet QUIET hood they have personal experience using and would like to recommend?

I'm a slide-out convert. They are visually pretty minimal and work well. I used a GE Monogram in my last kitchen and was pleased with performance.

Fori, was the GE very noisy and how bad were the mesh filters to clean? I do love the look but was afraid it might be noisy. Thanks for the suggestion. I've noticed that the people who have used them tend to gravitate back to the pull-outs when they remodel.

It's true! I had had a Kenmore pullout before I remodeled and loved it!

The GE Mono wasn't very noisy--we usually used it on lower speeds though. When we needed it on high it was of course loudish but not bad. We had a straight shot up to the single story roof so that probably helped. I chose that model because it had the highest CFM in a brand I had heard of at the time, but that was a few years ago.

I've never had anything other than mesh and it wasn't bad. I'd wait until it got horribly gunky and soak them in something strong. I don't know what normal people do. I think some people clean them regularly? :P

One nice feature is that it's easier to reach into the cabinets over the hood when it's slid in. Of course there's less cabinet space but as a short person, I ended up with more usable cabinet space than with a different type that I couldn't reach over.

Fori, thanks for all the feedback. I really appreciate your taking the time to respond. There's no doublt that the slide out is the best look. One complication in my kitchen is that I have an open vaulted ceiling, which is lit for ambiance, for the cabinets above the cooktop and would like to try to vent thru the back wall into a closet in my master bath and then up a short ways to the roof to keep that nice look I currently have going. To do that, cfm would be reduced and I think a stronger cfm is required for effectiveness than what I see for your range hood. That makes my options more complicated unless going straight up thru the roof with the vent. The range hood insert seems my best option for trying to meet ducting requirements when trying to meet all these parameters. There's not much that's simple when doing a kitchen remodel, is there?

OK, I've finally decided on an Imperial under cabinet SS range hood that is 6" high and will be mounted 30" above the induction cooktop. This hood can be ordered in either an 18" or 22" depth. As stated previously, I plan to do my boiling and frying on the large middle hob. The front of this hob measures 15.25" from the back splash. I'm just concerned the 22" hood might look out of proportion in my small kitchen. Comments from those those have addressed this issue would be greatly appreciated so the range hood can finally be ordered. Please forgive me for being so OCD about this.

Texasgal--I posted to your thread over in Home Dec. I think 22" is best.

I don't think you've gotten replies here because your question changed along thread such that the title doesn't reflect what you're asking. You might try posting your new question in a separate thread, or post it over in Appliances. There are many venting experts over there.

Texasgal, I am looking for Imperial ss hood insert for my new custom home built. How do you like it? Could you please share what model? Where did you purchase?

Thanks!