#snow

Adventurer Alyssa Azar spotted with a Australian Flag Buff®

I came across an ABC news article about Alyssa Azar. A photo put a smile on my face. We created the Australian Flag Buff® for Australian Olympians to wear during Olympic Games. It is now one of the best selling designs in Australia. Happy to see Alyssa wearing one of them. Alyssa is trying to […]

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 cosy warm. A Polar Buff® as scarf is super warm. It also keeps the chill […]

Collage of the global snow sports community using Buff®

Snow Guide

Popular Buff® Products in Snow activities The most popular Buff® products in the snow are the Original Buff®, the Polar Buff® and the Neck Warmer Buff®. The Original Buff® is for the active. If you sweat a lot choose this one. Recommended for XC-skiing, Snowshoeing,… Not so active? More in chill & apres ski mode. Take the Polar […]

A landscape shot of a freestyle snowboarder. The conditions are rough. Strong winds are blowing snow around. He is wearing two Polar Buff®. One as scarf & face mask combination. The other one as hat / beanie. Source: buff.eu. Distributed for the promotion of the Polar Buff®

Unfreeze your face with a scarf / face mask combination

You’re high up on the slopes & the weather goes south. Good if you’ve got a BUFF® Polar with you. This guy’s got two with him. Use the fleece part to keep your neck warm. Pull the BUFF® Original Ecostretch part up as a face mask. Here, you’ve got a great balance of chill protection […]

A front landscape shot of a man standing on an ice field in front of a large military supply air craft. The back loading=

Seals Off the Weak Link of Extreme Cold Overalls

Michael arriving at Scott Base, Antarctica. He send us this image because we couldn’t believe that the Original Buff® does something good in extreme cold. Turns out it’s great to seal off the jacket collar. The same reason motor bikers love it. Cold wind gets through every nook & cranny. Especially if you have a […]

This landscape selfie shows Roger Chao holding up the Australia Geographic Society Flag in the middle of the Greenland ice sheet. He is wearing specialist expedition gear. He later told me that he was wearing a Original Buff® as liner and he loved it. Soure: Roger Chao www.steppebysteppe.com.au © Permission to use on our websites

Rash Free Expeditions

You’re heading into extreme cold.Your gear is specialised survival gear. As it turns out it’s not perfect. Welded, tough seems can cause rashes among other things. That’s when you use the Original Buff® as a balaclava / liner around your neck / head. Here it resolves a few issues like:-Wet, sweaty skin. Wicks moisture away […]

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 around the ears and 2 layers on the head. You decide how warm you want […]

A landscape frontal shot of a joung XC skiing athlete before a race. It's Ben Sim smiling into the camera during the 2009 World Championships. He is wearing a Australian Flag Original Buff® as warming scarf. This way sweat doesn't cause any chill around the neck. Source: Finn Marsland © permission to use on our websites for the promotion of the Original Buff® in cross country skiing

Sweaty, Cold Necks gone in XC Skiing

It’s cold & you are sweating. Pretty standard situation in XC ski races. The Original Buff® can fix this. Here we have Ben Sim wearing the Original Buff® as neck warmer. Ben is a member of the 2008/09 Australian National Team. He is somewhere in Europe (Looks like 2009 Davos World Cup). The photo was […]

A side shot landscape photo of two men in the snow. They are sitting in their sleeping bags with their legs stretched out . It looks as if they sleeped outside and it started snowing. They are both holding a cup of tea in their hands and look happy. The man in front is wearing a Original Buff® as ear warmer. The man in the back is wearing a Original Buff® as beanie. Source: buff.eu © distributed for the promotion of the Original Buff® in outdoor / adventure

Warm Head While Sleeping in the Cold

So you’re spending the night out and about & it’s cold enough to snow. Even in a tent a comfortable sleep can be a challenge. If you don’t have your head covered you loose quite some heat there. It takes a bigger sleeping bag with hood to keep you in the comfort zone. A Original […]

A side shot landscape photo of a man knealing in the snow. It looks like he is on a photo safari or researching wildlife. He is wearing a yellow cold weather ourtdoor jacket. He is also wearing a Original Buff® as beanie. The design is clearly recognisable as a National Geographing Collection design. Source: buff.eu © Distributed for the promotion of the Original Buff® in outdoor / adventure

Comfort on a Snowy Photography Trip

A bite in the air and you are active in the cold. You know that if you put a normal beanie or your hood on you’re going to sweat. This is where the Original Buff® as beanie excels. It doesn’t make you sweat. It just keeps the chill away. It’s my favourite application as soon […]

A side front landscape photo of two people snowshooing up a snowfield. In front is a man in full cold weather hiking gear. You can see him sweating in his face. On his head he is wearing a Original Buff® as beanie. The design is a custom design for the Patagonia Adventure Race. The other person is tracking about 50 metre behind. Source: buff.eu © Distributed for the promotion of the Original Buff® in outdoor / adventure

Chill Free Sweating on Mountain Climbs

Sweating in the cold? On top of this you have a cold wind blowing. The sweat and wind together produces a icy chill. Who hasn’t experienced this when climbing up a mountain and there’s snow lying around. The Original Buff® as beanie manages to keep the chill away with a minimum of warmth. A normal […]

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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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