Polar BUFF® Guide

  • Last Modified: 28 February 2023

The Polar Buff® in a Nutshell

The Polar Buff® is designed for leisure fun in the snow.
It can be really warm.

The Polar Buff® is a 74 cm (29 inch) long tube. It's a Original Buff® (yellow) with added Polartec 100™ fleece (blue). It stretches to fit adults with a head circumference of 53-62 cm.
  • A 74 cm long combination of Original Buff® tube & Polartec 100™ fleece
  • Designed to maintain body temperature in the cold
  • Popular in leisure skiing, snowboarding,…
  • Replaces 10 different types of head wear
  • Warmth – The fleece provides lots of warmth
  • Sweat – The microfibre keeps your skin dry
  • Kills Germs and Odour (Original Buff® part)
  • Free of Harmful Substances – Certified
  • Fits Adults with a head circumference 53-62 cm
  • Weighs 56 gr (1.98 oz)
Browse Collection

The most popular ways of using a Polar Buff®

The most popular way to wear a Polar Buff® is as scarf / chin-warmer / face-mask combination. Of course there are other ways you can wear it so here they are.

The idea is to put the fleece where you want the warmth. Use the Original Buff® part for wicking away sweat, breathability,…. Got a good image to share? Please get in touch.

A landscape shot of a couple kissing. It is obvious that they are on ski holidays. She is wearing a Polar Buff® as scarf and a Neckwarmer Buff® as hat. He is wearing a Original Buff® as ear warmer. Source: buff.eu. Distributed for the promotion of Buff® products

Cosy warm winter holidays

Polar Buff® & Neck Warmer Buff® keep you cosy warm. The Original Buff® he is wearing is more for chill protection. Don’t we all dream of this? Ski holidays with lots of love & snow. She definitely wants to be

Read More »
A landscape side shot of a man wearing a Polar Buff® as hat / beanie. It looks like it's apres ski time in a ski resort. There are a lot of country flags displayed so I assume it is an international event. The man looks happy with slightly glassy eyes. He seems to be in his comfort zone.

A hat / beanie for Après-ski

Your off the piste, a bit exhausted and maybe even a little bit drunk already. The temperatures are going down. Nice to have a warm beanie on hand. The Polar Buff® can give you up to 6 layers of warmth

Read More »

Product Details of a Polar Buff®

Want more details? Just post a comment and I will answer.

It's not for you if...

You expect to get hot & cold weather. The Original Buff® will suit you better.

Collage of an Original Buff® used in Motorcycling, Jogging, Marathon des Sables, the desert, in the snow, snowboarding

You prefer a loose fit. You don’t like fleece. The Wool Buff® will suit you better.

Collage showing people wearing the Wool Buff® in cold weather

You need additional wind protection?
Better have a look at the Windproof Buff®.

Design Collection

The Polar Buff® comes in solid colours and prints.

Below are the 6 most popular designs since 2004. For all designs click here

Browse entire Polar Buff® Collection

About the Author

Picture of Edward

Edward

I'm an engineer and IT professional that loves the outdoors. It started with hiking, mountain biking and snowboarding. 30 years later, I've added motorbiking, camping, boating, surfing, diving, sailing, freediving and 4WD offroad adventures. It makes a good balance to sitting in front of my laptop 🙂

2 comments

  1. Toby

    Which buff is 100% polartec fleece from top to bottom and fits tightly without a drawstring? I don’t want the one that has a top half the elastic stuff and a bottom half of fleece. It doesn’t keep me warm enough. I need the one that has fleece all the way through and the elastic material on the outside…reversible I guess. Need it to fit tight so cold air doesn’t get in while hunting. I lost my old one. It rocked!!!

    Reply
    1. Edward

      Hi Toby,

      You are looking for the BUFF® Reversible Polar. We loved it too. Yet it wasn’t popular in sales so it dropped out of the Australian Range.
      What I would recommend is to take 2 BUFF® Lightweight Merino instead. That’s our goto solution for very cold conditions. Or have a look at the BUFF® Windproof. Not as flexible as 2 Merino yet super warm.

      Hope this helps.

      Kind regards,
      Edward

      Reply
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Only Non-Toxic and Non-Itchy Ingredients – Oekotex Certified

8 December 2018 No Comments

The most dangerous way for a toxin to enter the body is not through the digestive system, but through the skin

Andreas Schimkus, former senior industry adviser to the Council of Textile and Fashion Industries of Australia's (TFIA)
A toddler wearing a Baby Buff® as a face mask. The toddler looks happy. Source: buff.eu
A Buff® passes the most stringent test for fabrics. Free of anything irritating or harmful for babies.

Did you know that fabric ingredients are grouped into toxic or safe and non-itchy?

The difference in costs is huge.

This article shows you how to spot the safe products and why Buff® headwear ticks the right boxes

What makes you itch?

There are 2 main reasons for fabrics itching.

The first is bacteria. Call it bad hygiene or simply fabrics that make you sweat and breed bacteria (cheap polyester beanie hat for example).

The second is toxic and irritating ingredients in making the fabric.

There are ingredients available that can not only make you itch but also severely impact your health.
These ingredients are on a list and banned in most 1st world countries.

How safe are we in Australia?

Not at all, unfortunately.

Australia has no tests or regulations regarding safe textile ingredients. You can import into Australia whatever you like.

This leads to Australia being the only 1st world country supplied with 3rd world quality clothing.
Whenever we mentioned in China that we are from Australia and want headwear that passes the Oekotex test, we heard something like, “Why do you want to waste money on Oekotex. You are from Australia. You do not need this …”.
We were quite shocked at first but got used to hearing it all the time.

Here is a nice article from Choice that goes into more detail
https://www.choice.com.au/shopping/everyday-shopping/clothing/articles/chemicals-in-clothing
My favourite quote is

Products that are made in China for the Australian market could not even be sent back to China, as many of them would not meet the Chinese product safety standards but are acceptable here.

Andreas Schimkus, former senior industry adviser to the Council of Textile and Fashion Industries of Australia's (TFIA)

How do you find safe and non-itchy clothing in Australia?

You look for the Oekotex® certificate.

Oekotex® is a worldwide testing standard for classifying the safety of clothing.

Just look out for something like the logo below. If you spend more money to make your product safe, you will have it tested. If you can’t find it, assume the worst.
Especially if it’s our beloved “The same, just cheaper…” products.

The logo of the Oekotex® 100 certification for babies (class1). Source: buff.eu
The logo of the Oekotex® 100 certification for babies (class1)

You can always go to the AITEX website and enter the test number. That will give you all the details of the test.

So what are Buff® tested to?

The more intensive the skin contact of a product and the more sensitive the skin, the stricter the human-ecological requirements that need to be complied with.

Oekotex® 100 website

All adult products are rated to class 2. This is the class for adults close to the skin clothing (underwear, socks, headwear,…)

All baby products are rated to class 1. The most stringent class.

You can find the logo of the Oekotex® 100 certification on the back of the Original Buff® packaging. Source: buff.eu
The logo of the Oekotex® Certification on the Original Buff®

Sources

Choice – Chemicals in Clothing

Oekotex® 100 webpage

Wikipedia – Oekotex® 100

UV/Sun Protection

6 December 2018 No Comments
Photomontage: Left image Cutout of a man with a severely sunburned face. © Jonny Hunter, Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0), https://www.flickr.com/photos/jonnyhunter/3565036940/in/photostream/ Right image A flyfisher proudly displaying his catch. He is standing waist deep in salt water and he is wearing a High Uv Buff® as face mask. © Pat Ford
Ouch. That must hurt. The Buff® fabrics protect. (Jonny Butler / Pat Ford)

Sunburns hurt. Skin cancer can kill.

The Original EcoStretch and the Coolnet UV fabric give you UPF50 excellent protection (98% UV/Sun protection).

Scan of a UPF report issued by ARPANSA
Skin Cancer aware? If it’s not rated it will not protect you.

This is an example of a UPF report. It was performed by the founders of the UPF rating ARPANSA. Nowadays both Original EcoStretch and CoolnetUV fabrics are constantly monitored for their UPF rating at the factory. The testing company is Aitext Textile Research Institute.

BUFF® Original EcoStretch and CoolnetUV multifunctional headwear comes with a label stating the standard (AS/NZS 4399:1996), the UPF Rating and the testing laboratory.

Beware of UPF Claims without reference to the test!

We see a lot of tubular headwear that advertises sun protection claims but has no labels or mention of the test standard. Those claims are bogus. Why?

A thin fabric without a UPF rating cannot protect you from skin cancer.

For example, a T-shirt is only around UPF 6. That’s because it just filters out enough UVB to stop a sunburn. It will not stop you from getting skin cancer because it doesn’t filter out UVA enough.

UVA is harder to filter, and it goes deep into your skin, so the damage is not visible.

That’s where special dyes and other ingredients that absorb UVA and UVB satisfactorily enter the game. This function can only be tested and proven in a laboratory.

That’s why sun-protective clothing is more expensive than non-protective clothing.

So, if you see a tube with a UV protection claim that doesn’t clearly state the UPF rating with the testing standard and the testing laboratory, do yourself a favour and walk away.

Most Popular Use

 
Fly fisher holding a catch in the flats. He is wearing a High Uv Buff® as face mask. The cooling effect makes the face mask comfortable. © Pat Ford http://www.patfordphotos.com/. Licenced by Original Buff S.A for the promotion of the High Uv Buff®
Intense sun and heat. The BUFF® CoolnetUv fabric cools to make your sun protection comfortable (Pat Ford)

Fishing

The most popular application so far for sun protection. A face mask that you can wear in the heat.
All fishing professionals now wear the BUFF® CoolnetUV for this one reason: Replace sunscreen and still be skin cancer protected.

 

In the Snow

A man wearing a High Uv Buff® as face mask in the snow. He is in a ski resort. © unknown
Forgot your sunscreen? A BUFF® Original EcoStretch helps you out.

How often did you forget your sunscreen? I have tons of times.

  • Wear it as a face mask and you’re protected
  • Not sweating – It eases the biting wind

 

Travel

Halong Bay in Vietnam as seen from a kayak. The kayaker in front is wearing a High Uv Buff® as legionnaire style cap. Submitted to us as part of a testimonial. Copyright unknown
Long sun exposure during a great adventure. Good to have a protective and cooling BUFF® CoolnetUV as legionnaire cap with you.

You’re travelling and you have this opportunity to go on a tour. No cloud in the sky, and of course, you didn’t bring some specialized headgear with you. The BUFF® CoolnetUV tube as a legionnaire-style cap will give you protection.

 

Endurance Sports

A participant of the Marathon Des Sables running through the desert. He is wearing a custom made High Uv Buff® as face mask. Copyright is unknown. Distributed by Original Buff® S.A. for the promotion of Buff® products
Sunscreen sweating out, and there is no time to replace it. The BUFF® CoolnetUV protects. The fabric cools enough to wear in a desert.

Running events in the sun are a prime example. You’re sweating throughout the day, and no sunscreen will work for long. You also don’t have any time to apply sunscreen constantly.

Events like the Marathon des Sables have their custom-made BUFF® CoolnetUV for their participants. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than burning to crisps.

 

Limitations

They are thin fabrics so stretching them too much or wearing them thin over several years reduces the protection.

Sources

ARPANSA Resource Guide for UV Protective Products

Wikipedia – Ultraviolet

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