Gear up for cold weather with BUFF gloves and headwear
I was hunting ducks in Montana’s Madison Valley one year, part of a promotion for two brands, Filson and Sage. Got a bunch of free loot and those companies sent in photographers and film crews to document our demolition of trout and ducks in Big Sky Country. Only problem? The temperature dropped like a rock and we ended up trying to catch trout and shoot birds with the thermometer reading, if I remember correctly, minus-twenty.
On one of those days I went duck hunting with a local guide/outfitter named J.T. France. As we walked across a broad, open field in the wind he turned around to check on my progress and nearly yelled, “We have to cover your face!” Now, I’m not exactly the best looking dude on the planet, but that took me by surprise until he said, “You’re getting frostbite.” Apparently my nose and lips were turning white and that is a sign of frostbite. So I covered up with whatever I had that day. A few years later I discovered BUFF, some unique, seemless headwear that can also cover the neck and face, and I thought, immediately, wish I’d had this during that Montana duck hunt.
I wear BUFF a lot these days, especially during fall and winter, because that frostbite tries to reappear when the temperature is cold and the wind blows. Because it’s mid-November in the Rockies, any day could bring a super-cold Arctic front. For that reason, it would be a good idea for all of you who like winter fishing to pack a BUFF in your pack or vest. Could save your nose from what I endured.
Ok, it’s a little difficult to explain exactly what a BUFF is but think about a tube covered in a think layer of material. Think about that material fitting over your head and pulling it down to your neck. From that point, you can adjust a BUFF to fit over your face, or your face and head, or just about any other configuration you want.
For fishing, BUFF also just introduced gloves to their product line and I’ve been wearing these gloves on the water and in the field this fall. They are not meant for super cold weather, but you can’t fish in hocky gloves so you have to take what you can get. Fortunately, these Buff gloves do what I need: they cover the back of the hand and I’ve found that if I can cover those veins on the back of my hands and on my wrists, my hands stay warm. In addition, these fingerless gloves have tiny pulltabs at the end of the fingers. That way you can hold the glove and pull it off the hand in the correct fashion rather than turning the thing inside out and using your teeth to tear it off your hand.
The gloves and headwear come in a variety of styles and colors and they aren’t going to hurt your budget. If you are true hardcore, you might want to get the Polar BUFF, which offers additional fleece protection around the face. I used it while deer hunting this fall (it comes in cammo) and it worked great. For winter fishing I use the lighter weight classic BUFF so that I don’t fog up my glasses. In addition, I wore a BUFF while riding quads this summer to keep the dust off my face and the bugs from flying down my neck. Get one of these, pack it around with you and you’ll be amazed how often you’ll put the thing on. Check out more at www.buff.es/en/index.php?p=USA