I've done both, and as with various aspects of backpacking I find that there are trips (or portions of trips) where I prefer one approach, and other trips where I prefer the other.

The only time I find it good to go no-cook is when I'm either hiking alone, or with another (typically long distance hiking) partner who is also going no-cook. With my wife and/or other friends, I just assume I'll be cooking. But as others have said, the dinner meal only, "just heat water" approach.

No-cook takes a certain mental shift, and expectations are important. If you sort of approach the whole food thing with an open mind and don't compare on-trail eating to at-home type of eating, I think you might do better with it.

There's been a lot of discussion of this topic; if not on this backpacking forum then on others. Issues include *what* foods work best for going stoveless, analysis of whether such an approach tends to save weight, is weight neutral, or is a heavier approach to backpacking, some discussion on how much a person "needs" hot food and/or beverages when hiking in cold conditions. Long distance hikers talk also about how easy it is to resupply (food) when sticking to things that can be eaten cold. Then there are various sort of "tips and tricks" --- for example, rehydrate refried bean powder by putting the water+powder in a reliably watertight container and carry it under your clothing for a while while you hike, both to rehydrate better but also so it's not totally cold when you eat it.

So --- lots of stuff "out there". My experience in talking about this is that often people *who have never tried it* are confident that they would never want to do it, I guess a sort of "yuck" factor. This can be exacerbated when fans of the approach sort of make things worse by picking out some of the meals to talk about that they're okay with but that don't sound good; for example, I find that dried mashed potato powder mixed with cold water is surprising good, or at least "not bad", and easy + filling. Someone who hasn't eaten that will often seem to just "know" that they would never be satisfied with such a meal. I expect I was pretty confident that I wouldn't like it either --- until I gave it a fair try, with the proper mental state. Again, mental shift, and expectations.