In the Buff

When you need a barrier against rain, wind, the freezing cold and angry pecking birds, what do you wish you had?

If you’re like us and spend a lot of time out of doors, you’ll know that sometimes a scarf doesn’t quite cut the mustard.  If you’re climbing a mountain in high winds and need to get to an inside pocket of your jacket or need to adjust the layers you’re wearing, the last thing you want is a scarf flapping about in your face.

Learning Lessons

Before my purchase of light-weight, speciality walking clothes I wore heavy and impractical clothing that not only made hiking harder, but actually made walking more dangerous.

Years ago, a walk up Ben Nevis that went wrong became a major lesson for us in how to properly equip ourselves.  It’s easy to scoff at British mountains as they are very small in comparison to mountains elsewhere in the world, but they’re still not to be taken lightly.

Back then we wore heavy clothes, I was carrying a bag of camera equipment and didn’t have a proper OS map.  When we changed course to follow a couple of walkers who suggested an alternative route up, we quickly found our clothes and equipment were so heavy that after a near vertical climb up to the arête, we were exhausted.

After heading up the north face and over the CMD arête we made it to a set of boulders that we didn’t have the capacity to clamber up.  At this point the sun was setting and it began to snow.  There was no one else around to help us out with the route and as we were tired and hungry we started to make poor decisions.  We ended up seeking advice from mountain rescue who were then obliged to come and meet us to make sure we got back safely.

Over the years we analysed our mistakes and started improving our equipment.  We learnt to travel lighter and only carry necessary items.  The Buff was one of the first items that I purchased, which promoted this lighter way of walking.

Outings With Our Buffs

Much of our walking is done in Winter so having layers and lots of them is essential!  The Buff protects against the cold and can act as a scarf, it can help you breathe when walking against high winds and can be used as a hat when you want something over your head and ears.

Buffs are promoted as being multi-functional and therefore can be worn in lots of different ways.  This makes them suitable for hot and cold weather as can protect you against low temperatures and from the sun.

The Buff fits nicely into my jacket pocket and takes up very little space, which makes it handy as it’s right there when you need it but isn’t a burden in any way.

Years later, after purchasing my Buff, I sought a new hat.  Well, who are you going to call?  That’s right, a trip to my favourite walking shop got me a Buff hat.  Again, it’s light-weight, takes up hardly any room, is comfortable and lined with soft material that caresses my head in the chilliest of weather and (I think) it looks pretty good too!

My Buff and Buff hat have become two items I wouldn’t dare venture out for a walk without.  You never know what weather to expect in the UK when out walking but a Buff has been created with hot and cold weather in mind.  I believe that all outdoor-lovers could benefit from having a Buff as it makes outdoor activities more comfortable and that bit safer by keeping the warmth in when it’s cold and keeping the sun off when it’s too hot.