Going to arrange getting a Buff as a birthday present – but which one?

Standard, merino or one of the fleece/windstopper ones.

Are the standard oens warm / windproof enough for winter?
Are the fleece/winstopper ones too warm for most conditions??

decisions, decisions. or do I just get one of each!

If you don't have any yet, either a standard one or a merino one. Polar buff is good but not so versatile.

Agree with rockthreegozy Polar buff is good in winter but too hot for the rest of year. Standard buff is good to keep warm when it's cold and also keep the sun off of your head/neck when it's hot (mine was invaluable when I marshalled at the weekender last year!)

I have standard, it is ok for winter, I think a merino one would rock – warmer, not as much washing maybe?
The polar ones are great, but for proper cold days rather than wet/windy/nippy/50% of the time days.

I have one or two! But I thought the Windstopper would be great as I really suffer from windchill. Now I don't know whether they have changed (got mine a couple of years ago) but I found it so tight that it gave me a headache! I do however have a large amount of hair so maybe that was the problem 🙄

i got given a merino one for christmas. It is ace. much better than the standard one – i use them as a hat to cover my ears in the cold, and normal ones get damp and cold fairly quickly. the merino one gets damp too, but stays a bit warmer and my ears thank me for it.

seems like the merino one is fave so far.

If it helps I'm in Scotland so it never gets too hot. And it will mainly be used for night rides and early morning winter commutes.

i've got a standard one and it does an amazing job of keeping wind chill at bay on the ears/head, and is far thinner than the thin fleece balaclava I use if it's really REALLY cold (like below feezing with a wind).

Definitely Merino. Keeps you warmer even when it's damp. Nice'n' soft. Doesn't need washing as much. Really versatile piece of kit.

We seem to be selling quite a few Merino ones over the normals these days.

Just popped mine in the wash after 2 months of everyday use… it didnt smell but the GF doesnt seem to think that's a good enough reason to have kept it on so long. She mutters stuff about me being minging, i wash, the muttering stops and kisses resume normal frequency.

Anyway, merino one, aye, they are good.

standard

tk-maxx are doing buff-a-likes £12 for 3

Awesome bits of kit. I bought my first 1 just the other day grey camo. best tenner I ever spent!!!

Oxford comfy is nearly as good as a buff but a 3 pack costs about the same as a buff – great if you tend to lose things 🙂

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?PartnerID=79&ModelID=11914
but search and you'll find cheaper

Ive been using the free one that came with MBR a few months ago, does the trick.

Consider getting one from a website rather than a shop, as generally the colours/patterns available in shops are dire.

I have used this site in the past.
http://www.buffwear.co.uk/

wiksey – those are the ones in TK maxx.

Definitey less need to wash the marino ones but the newer standard buffs have silver bedded in them I think to reduce bacteria, so they are better than they used to be. Make sure the synthetic ones have a dangly tag mentioning the anti bacteria thing though, so you dont get old stock from a slow turnover shop.

We sell lots of the standard buff-a-likes (Morf) – £5 including delivery.
Easily warm enough for snow rides in the past couple of weeks.
And they have some 'silver protection' ballcocks that's meant to stop them turning green when you leave them in the boot of the car for a week after a ride.

There's a free one with January's edition of Cycling Plus.

I've got the winter one and swear by it. I usually use it as a beanie but have used it as a balaclava. If I start overheating it's a hint to break out the summer hats. Love mine

I used a standard one Sunday for the first time cycling – great! Wore it under my bike helmet and it kept the chill of the ears and bonce (baldy).
By teh way, sealskinz socks are fantastic – hikeabike in 18" snow in mesh sided spd's and no wet toes – brilliant.

My Polar came with almost a whole standard buff attached… So I cut it in half, and still had too much fleecy buff, so I cut that in half again, and made earwarmers and a sort of abbreviated skullcap. And then I cut about 1/4 off the standard buff part to make a light face cover. All from one buff, very pleased!

mrmichaelwright – Member

standard

tk-maxx are doing buff-a-likes £12 for 3

😯

they were £6 for 3 back in january! they're a little tighter than a buff-buff but not extremely so. they're good value for money and as such bought three packs of three when i was over and distributed them amongst friends and family. my mum wears one when walking the dogs….

Bought my first one for work last week – a normal one and it's more than adequate to keep my neck warm – and easy to breathe through if I pull it up over my gob.

And there's me thinking they were just naff bits of overpriced lycra 😉

Do the merino ones get all damp and unpleasant if you wear them over your mouth Dick Turpin-style in the cold?

There's also this one in Merino: Chocolate Fish Merino

Don't know how it differs from a Merino Buff. Would be interesting to compare the different types of Buffs (any magazine editors reading here :-).

Camo ones.

Or make your own 🙂

The ChocFish one is reviewed here (they call it a Tuara. The guy says the Tuara was better specially in winter.
I'm biassed – got 2 of them. Much better than the polar buff that just smells after a couple of hours.

And there's me thinking they were just naff bits of overpriced lycra

I've got several home here lying around (free from various events), but it wouldn't cross my mind to waste ten quid or so on one, just another example of overpriced tat for gullible mountain bikers 🙄

>just another example of overpriced tat for gullible mountain bikers

One of the few bits of "overpriced tat" I use on every ride + they last years.