Buff headgear

...holiday. If it's hot a Buff stops me burning my head, if it's cold it keeps me warm. But that's just putting things too simply - there's a lot more to a Buff than that.

Stylish or What?
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When I wear my Buffs people tend to think I am either bald, very grey, of Romany blood or recovering from chemotherapy. Only in my wildest fantasies do I suppose they are thinking 'wow, what a funky hat that very cool woman ...
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How I found Buff and changed my life
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A Dutch colleague introduced me to Buff's. She's a very 'hearty' lady who compensates for living somewhere very flat and sub-sea level by climbing everything that sticks up all over the world. Therefore, when she told me I needed a Buff, I listened and I put my hand in my pocket without a further thought (she's bigger and tougher than me) and bought one. And ... more

Since joining ciao and posting my 'about me' photo I've had a number of comments - most of them fairly rude - about the hat I am wearing in the picture. I've now been warned by another ciaoster that if I don't write about my hat, he will and it seems likely to be safer if I do it myself. So I'm using this as a piece of self-indulgence involving two of my favourite things - hats and bears.

The hat in question is what's known as a 'Buff'. I have absolutely no idea why it's called that but I don't go anywhere without one and sometimes with two. I'm currently having a bit of a crisis because I can't find the black one but it will probably turn up before my holiday. If it's hot a Buff stops me burning my head, if it's cold it keeps me warm. But that's just putting things too simply - there's a lot more to a Buff than that.

Stylish or What?
*************
When I wear my Buffs people tend to think I am either bald, very grey, of Romany blood or recovering from chemotherapy. Only in my wildest fantasies do I suppose they are thinking 'wow, what a funky hat that very cool woman is wearing'. If you track down one of the Buff websites you'll find lots of gorgeous surfer-dudes, snowboarders, mountain bikers and other cool folk who wear their trousers hung unfeasibly low all wearing Buffs and looking like they are the bees roller-skates. Me, I just look like I'm wearing it for a bet.

Before I get into the main review indulge me with a small aside. In order to get this listed I had to put it under 'sailing'. It would be better under hiking, climbing, skateboarding, cycling or many other sports but the ciao structure didn't allow those. I did see a chap in a boat on one of the websites but if you see a real genuine sailor wearing one of these - well, I'll eat my Buff.

How I found Buff and changed my life
********************************
A Dutch colleague introduced me to Buff's. She's a very 'hearty' lady who compensates for living somewhere very flat and sub-sea level by climbing everything that sticks up all over the world. Therefore, when she told me I needed a Buff, I listened and I put my hand in my pocket without a further thought (she's bigger and tougher than me) and bought one. And I've not looked back.

The Hat Challenge
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I have a very white scalp that burns really easily. And as large flakes of lumpy red dandruff aren't in anyone's definition of 'a good look' I go to extremes to avoid getting burned. I've tried just about every type of hat known to man and womankind. Here are the issues:

 I have a big head - well the brains have to have some space - so most hats sit like a pimple on a haystack
 I have very shiny hair - so things tend to slide off
 I am pathologically inelegant - so I look pretty stupid in anything 'pretty' like big fancy straw hats
 I have an IQ higher than 50 - so I can't possibly wear a baseball hat
 I go on a lot of 'outdoorsy' holidays - so I need something that won't crush, fall off in a high wind, take up too much space
 I have almost no sense of style - so I often look like I'm wearing a flowerpot on my head and I don't give a hoot.

So, what's a Buff?
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If you ever hang out in outdoor stores, you may well have seen these and not known what they were or why you might need one. Simply put, a Buff is just a length of tubular stretch jersey fabric- usually in a funky design. The measurements of mine are approx 19 inches long and 8.5 inches wide. It's the sort of thing that probably costs about 20p to make yet sells for upwards of a tenner.

Let's get technical
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 The Buff is made from high performance micro fibre - so there!
 It's windproof - so it keeps you warm when it's cold out
 It's breathable - so you won't get a sweaty head
 If your head sweats, the fabric 'wicks' the moisture away from the head - just like magic
 The fabric dries really fast - whether it's sweat or rain, it doesn't stick around for long
 It's stretch and it fits really snuggly - so it won't blow off or fall off when you are half way up a mountain or hanging upside down off your skateboard - God forbid!
 It weighs about 60g and takes up about as much space as a small bar of Kendall Mint Cake - a nice little outdoor reference there.

Versatility, thy name is Buff
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The secret to the value of a Buff is its versatility - it's a sort of 'hat meets Swiss Army Knife'. The packaging suggests about a dozen different ways to wear your tube and I'll be illustrating a few of them with the help of two friends of mine. They are Pooh Bear's big brothers Alfie and Ralfie. Alfie's the one with the red ribbon and Ralfie is the fluffier of the two.

(Note to self - That's the trouble with giving a bear the oxygen of publicity. Next thing you know he's told his friends and they all want in on the deal and you are overwhelmed with wanna-bears).

If you check out the websites - just google the term "buff headgear" you can get instructions of the many and varied ways to tie your Buff. My favourite of the many sites is the Spanish one www.buff.es which has some great video lessons in how to wear your Buff. I'd love to claim to be a black-belt at Buff configuration but most of the time I just stick mine on my head and let the tail hang down the back. The main variation is whether my hair goes through the hole or sticks out the bottom. But then maybe that's just proof that I'm not trying hard enough. Apparently the technical term for this look is a 'foulard' - must be foreign for 'flower pot'.

Here then are a few of the variations
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** Rolled into a band about 2 inches wide your buff can be:
 A sweatband - to keep the sweat from dripping in your eyes - great for cyclists, canoeists or people whose hands are otherwise occupied
 A hairband - to keep your hair off your face and make you look a tad sloany or (for the ladies) to keep the hair out of the way when you are putting on or taking off your make up
 A neckerchief - easy peasy, stick it round your neck, it couldn't be simpler
 A hair tie - like a scrunchy without as much elastication.
 An ear-warmer - like the skiers wear
 A blindfold - not sure why you'd want to but you could

** Folded in half with both ends open
 A face mask - handy for riding a camel and keeping the sand out of your nose or for robbing banks - stick 'em up Ralfie
 An open ended hat - or a wide head band - this is one of the ways I typically wear it usually with a pony tail sticking through the hole. It's cooler when the weather is hot

** Over the head and neck
 The balaclava - I usually put it round my neck and then pull it up from behind. This style keeps your ears and neck warm when it's cold - or you can wear it like this under a motorcycle helmet and it will wick away any sweat from your head
 The snood - same as the balaclava but a bit more girlie - If you have short hair or can tie back your long hair under the Buff, this would be a useful alternative if you are going to a country where headscarves are mandatory.

** The 'Beanie'
To make a beanie, pull the Buff inside out and put one end over your head. Twist the fabric at its midpoint and fold the remainder of the fabric right-side-out over your head. Easier said than done

** The 'Pirate'
I had to check the videos again to get this one sorted - this is a pretty cool way of wearing the Buff, much loved by the 'dudes'. Turn your buff inside out and put your hands inside. With each hand, grab the opposite end of the buff and pull. This ties a knot in the middle. Open up the end and pull it over your head.

** The Wristband
I have absolutely no idea why you'd want to - but you could wear it as a wrist- band. Might be handy if you've got some sort of altimeter or fancy gear strapped to your wrist and don't want it to get scratched or knocked. I guess I could use it over my dive computer but I'm really not so sad as to go strutting around wearing it out of the water.

Other 'cool' things
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I met a couple on a trip to South America who had bought expensive gel-filled neckerchiefs. You dip them in cold water, the gel soaks up the water and then you tie it round your neck. As the water evaporates it cools you down. So on a hot day I now dip my Buff in any passing stream and stick it round my neck.

I also have been known to dip it in water and wear it as a hat - that's how you can recognise me, I'm the one with the steam coming off her head. As you've already gathered, I'm not too proud to look STOOPID.

Buff Variants
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The astonishing success of the Buff has led the manufacturers to introduce new variants. You can get kiddy Buffs for the little ones, and Polar Buffs (with fleece fabric) for the winter. I've seen photos of 'Buff'Caps - with a visor on one end - on the Spanish website but I don't think they are available in the UK yet. The visor is an excellent idea because it addresses the one big shortcoming of the Buff - no eye shade on a bright day. Undoubtedly this must variant must have been developed on the basis of consumer feedback.

Where can I get one?
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Excellent - I haven't put you off completely. Most outdoors shops will stock these - Milletts, Blacks, Mountain Warehouse et al. You can buy on line - just google them and you'll be spoilt for choice. I noticed that Rohan have their own branded version in their catalogue and on the website - see getscenic's recent excellent review on Rohan. You should pay around £11 - I've got both of mine for less but I got them in the sales.

So in summary:
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The good things:
 Lightweight
 Versatile
 Keeps you cool when it's hot and warm when it's cold
 Loads of jazzy designs
 Easy to wash
 Nothing to go wrong with them

The bad things:
 No shade for your eyes
 Quite expensive - typically £10 or more
 Addictive
 Only suitable for people who are extraordinarily cool or completely unfazed by looking daft

That's it! Don't forget to check out the photos and for anyone wondering about Pooh, he's in there too in his favourite Peruvian Llama wool hat with the traditional ear-flaps.
 

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