Reviews > Clothing > Hats > Buff Headgear Natural Merino Wool > Test Report by Kathryn Doiron

Buff Natural Merino Wool Headwear

Product Information:

The Buff Natural Merino Wool Headwear (called Wool Buff from now on) is a multi-purpose head covering made from Merino wool. Merino wool has many great properties such as odor resistance, thermal regulation, UV protection, moisture management and water repellency to name a few. The Wool Buff is a long tube that stretches more in the width direction then the length direction. The tube has no side seam but does have flat-lock seams at the ends of the tube that have some stretch to it. The bottom seams seem to stretch about as much as the wool tube itself will stretch. The Wool Buff is about 28 in. (70 cm) long and 9.6 in. (24 cm) wide. There is a Buff logo on the Wool Buff near one bottom seam that feels like its painted on, not sewn on.

The Wool Buff came wrapped on a cardboard packaging with a water-color ram on the front. The back has a wealth of information in an easy to digest format. The information is presented in four different languages including French, and English. There are pictograms showing the features naturally present with wool, there are care instructions including the standard care logos present in most clothing, and there is a small how to wear section showing how to use the Wool Buff. The care instructions state that the Wool Buff is machine washable, but should not be bleached, dried, ironed or dry cleaned. The wear instructions show how to use the Wool Buff as a neckerchief, Saharah covering, scarf, and balaclava. The website shows many more ways to use a Buff. My favorite is as a head band.

I was initially impressed by how soft the Wool Buff was. The website mentioned it would be silky smooth but descriptions can't replace actually touching something. I was also expecting the Wool Buff to be about the same length as other Buffs I have owned in the past. Although the website does state the Wool Buff is longer then a regular Buff I wasn't prepared for it to be quite a bit longer. I am really looking forward to getting out and using it as I really love wool and how it feels. I am curious about how useful the extra length will be or if I might find it too long. I think from one point of view, the extra length will make it easier to wear the Wool Buff as a beanie, something I have never been very successful at with my other Buff's.


Detail of the flat-lock seams both front and back

I wasn't really expecting any seams on the Wool Buff, but I was wondering how the ends would be worked to keep them from unravelling. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the ends were flat-lock seamed to prevent unravelling. Plus the flat-lock seaming doesn't create too much of a ridge at the bottom. I also found that the material was a bit thinner then I expected. I suspect part of that is due to the color of the Wool Buff. With such a light color, I can really see through the Wool Buff giving it an impression of being very thin. I find that the feel of the material is quite nice and soft and I can't wait to see how well it holds up once in the field.

My test plan over the next couple of months will be to use the Wool Buff on all my outdoor activities including hiking and backpacking trips. My trips will include backpacking in the George Washington National Forest and the Shenandoah National Park, plus dayhikes as well as an occasional kayak trip.

This concludes my initial report on the Buff Natural Merino Wool Headwear. The field report will be appended onto this report in two months time (around December) and will include field testing. Please check back then for further information on the Wool Buff.


Read more reviews of Buff Headgear gear
Read more gear reviews by Kathryn Doiron

Reviews > Clothing > Hats > Buff Headgear Natural Merino Wool > Test Report by Kathryn Doiron