Who uses a Buff?

[wsp_scott]

LOL the options don't describe me.

All that said, I would never wear one over my head personally. I already wear hats to cut down on sunburn and don't need another layer up on the noggin. I have my BCP beanie with me all the time for if the wind is a bit much for a hat and just hope the sun doesn't hate me too much on those days.

I always have a hat as well, usually a floppy "boonie" type hat. The light weight buff is great for the first hour or so in the morning before I get warmed up. It put it around my neck and then pull the top part up over my ears and then put the floppy hat on my head. Ears are warm, no sun or rain or snow on my head and it is easy to remove the buff when no longer needed. A beanie doesn't work as well for sun/rain/snow as a floppy hat and the floppy hat doesn't keep my ears warm when it is 30 degrees, the buff fixes the ear issue.

With all that said, I don't think the thicker buffs would work as well for this purpose. Check out the cheap knockoffs on amazon, you might find a lot of uses for the thin style.

 

[Deleted User]

I use one for touring under my trucker hat. Keeps the sun off my face and neck and adds some warmth. Not a buff brand one. Other companies have put out or made similar gear.

 

[Vegan.Hiker]

I see a lot of people wearing these even when it's hot. Sounds strangling to me.

I wore one in Canyonlands for 2 weeks and it prevented the back of my neck from frying in the sun. When it’s really hot and humid I sometimes wear it as a wristband to wipe sweat from my face.

Also shoutout to the dog buff. Not sure how multi-use it is but it looks cute and says woof on it.

 

[slc_dan]

I wore one in Canyonlands for 2 weeks and it prevented the back of my neck from frying in the sun.

That's what the floppy desert hat is for!

 

[Wyatt Carson]

Like Dr Nebz I don’t like slathering chemicals on my skin and like Vegan hiker, they keep my neck from sun damage. I ordered 5 from the UK many years ago before I could find them here,at least in the muted colors that are acceptable. Now they sell them everywhere.

Two at a time work best for me in all weathers, one worn neckerchief style a la Vegan Hiker and the other worn Saharaine style under a Tilley LMT2, the widest brim they offer. That hat has 1/8” foam in the crown and brim. Hats that do not have that feel like ovens to me. The buffs absorb sweat and with the ventilation of the hat, turn it into an evaporative cooler. We hike year round and in some quite hot temps in summer. The buffs keep off sun even with early or late afternoon oblique sun angles.

In cold temps they add needed insulation. The top buff can be pulled down over the ears in colder temps and in very high sand blowing Pleateau winds the lower neck buff can be pulled up over the mouth and nose and even the eyes if the sand Ibad enough. You can see well enough through the cool ax fabric to walk okay in some terrain bit I rarely have to do that. I sleep in them in cold weather. They are very versatile.

I did get one Merino buff and they are super long compared to the Coolmax but something ate a bunch of holes in it. I bet the coolmax are over 15years old, been used thousands of time and still working very good.