Buff Wear

Buff Wear

CW EVALUATION

Cure for the common cold

WE’VE ALL BEEN THERE, HURRYING to get somewhere in the predawn darkness, f-f-freezing. Speeding up to get out of the cold sooner, realizing that the faster we go, the colder we get. Not helping one bit is that nasty blast of icy air that finds its way down the neck, no matter how tightly jackets are cinched.

What’s needed is a collar gasket, which is where Buff Wear comes in. Made in Spain, a Buff is a 12 x 9-inch tubular-shaped necksock that alternately functions as a bandana, neckerchief, headband, hairband, scarf, balaclava or pirate’s cap, to name a few. It’s available in a dizzying array of patterns, plus custom designs.

The extremely lightweight, 100 percent polyester micro-fiber is wind-resistant, yet doesn’t impede breathing and wicks away unwanted moisture. It’s washable, dries in minutes, is colorfast and retains its elasticity. And it’s seamless, so there are no stitches to rub against your skin. So small you can fit it in a jacket pocket, a Buff is hardly noticeable until you need it.

On a dreadfully cold morning, we set off on a 5 a.m. test ride with a Buff worn as a balaclava under our helmet, and the customary ice-cream headache was held at bay. The second leg of our journey saw slightly warmer temperatures, and with the Buff now worn as a scarf, it did a fine job of keeping the chap off our lips and the stinging cold off our necks. We’ve now used ours while bicycling and riding off-road, all

DETAILS

Buff 282 Adams St. #5B Oakland, CA 94610 51 0/835-5404 www.buffusa.com Price $18.50

UPS Performs better than expected One size fits all

Downs May be mistaken for a voted-off Survivor Everybody in the family will want one

with the same great results.

Skeptics one and all, we wouldn’t have believed that a Buff could be so useful if we hadn’t tried one first. How can something so simple work so well?