Review of Buff Headwear – The Most Versatile Piece of Travel Gear

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The most versatile piece of travel gear you’ll ever own

I was first introduced to Buff wear in 2000 with the premiere of a show called Survivor in the little-known genre of reality television.  However, I honestly didn’t really pay attention to these buffs for a long time until my friend Jia got more serious into the show and looked into buying some of these Survivor Buffs.

Jia gave me my first Buff for a birthday a few years ago.  I then bought another one – Heroes vs. Villians from Survivor for the Australia/NZ/Cook Islands trip I did with Jia.  Earlier this year Jia bought me another Buff, but this time one of their newer ones called a Polar Buff.  So you see a pattern here right?  Jia is the Buff Master.

My Review

Although I was pretty skeptical when I got my first Buff, this little thing has been pretty useful over my past few years of travelling.  I’ll break my review into a few sections so I don’t end up rambling.  You’ll see pretty quickly why I never travel without a Buff now.  This review is for the Original Buff.

Construction & Quality

• Not made in China but actually made in Spain
• Uses something called “Poliester Micro” has quick dry properties and heat retention in the cold
• The most important thing about these Buffs is that if you look carefully, there is no stitching to close the loop of the fabric.  This means that construction takes place on a specially developed tubular loom which achieves an unique seamless construction
• I’ve brought it with me on 3-4 big trips and I haven’t encountered any issues with the construction of the Buff, durability due to multiple uses and washes or any issues with the patterns fading or color transferring.  Very solid.

Reasons Why I Like the Buff

• Top notch quality
• Small and easy to roll/fold/pack
• Versatile as hell in all conditions
  • Summer
    • In the crazy humidity and heat from this summer’s trip to Asia, I used the Buff around my wrist to wipe off sweat like one of those tennis bands when I wanted
    • Wearing a hat in the summer was just not possible with all the sweating I was doing.  So to protect myself from the rays bouncing off my head and to simultaneously look a little more badass, I wore the Buff “Shahariane” style or “Pirate” style
    • To protect my neck from the beating sun I wore it around my neck – “Neckerchief”
    • Sometimes I like to change it up and wear it “Headband” style
  • Winter
    • On my last trip to Germany the low temperatures caught us by surprise.  Luckily I had the Buff which allowed me to wear it in “Scarf” mode to protect my neck and winds blowing at my face
• The thing is so easy to clean and quick to dry so it lends really well to hand-washing it yourself.

Uses

• Just look at the diagram below to see all the things you can do with it.

Other Variations from Buff

• As the company has grown it has come out with a plethora of types of Buffs these days.  I don’t have too much experience with the others but check them out as they may suit your needs better.
• The Polar Buff that I have is pretty neat in that it comes with a fleece extension at one end of the Buff which is great for winter activities like snowboarding as the fleece part will keep your neck, head or wherever else you plan on putting it around.

Where Do I Get One?

• These days a lot of sport retail stores carry these along with variations from other companies so check local first
• Amazon is always a good source for Buff Original Headwear.  They often times have more complete list of designs than the official store which only carry current year lines.
• Otherwise you can always get these at the official Buff store
• Prices vary from around $20-$30

Conclusion

A must-have in my mind for any traveller really.  It’s light, compact, versatile – mandatory requirements for travel gear right?