Review: Hoodie Thermal BUFF

Disclaimer: I received a Hoodie Thermal BUFF to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

If you saw my post yesterday about winter running, then you know I’m not a huge fan of it, and a big task for me is trying to keep my ears/face/head warm without having to wear a full on balaclava. When I heard of the opportunity to review a BUFF Hoodie as part of the BibRave Pro program, I jumped at the chance.

What I received to review

• 1 Hoodie Thermal BUFF in Graphite/Black

From the website

Hoodie BUFF is a stylish and superbly comfortable hooded garment made for cold weather protection with a double layer of fabric at the neck for extra insulation. Long enough to cover the nose and mouth but a little less technical than its stable mate Hood BUFF Hoodie BUFF is brighter, funkier and very wearable.

The Good

It’s definitely super warm. There is the actual hood part, the buff neck piece, and then another piece of buff fabric that you can pull up over your mouth. The hood is a thick, knitted Polartec Thermal Pro that is soft and warm. The neck and mouth pieces are made from naturally anti-microbial Merino wool, so not as thick, but still soft and warm. The materials wicked sweat without getting wet and kept me warm and dry during my runs.

I really like that there are two Buff pieces in addition to the hood – the one was easy to tuck down into my jacket to keep my neck warm, and the other piece was easy to pull up around my mouth. It was thin enough that I could easily breathe through it, but was enough to keep my breath (and my lungs) warm.

The Hoodie has two drawstring pieces so you can cinch down the hood and make it tighter on your head, which is helpful if you have a smaller head like I do. Making it tight also pulled it around my face to keep my ears warm.

Even though it’s not specifically designed to be windproof, I wore it on a run with the wind was gusting up to 22 mph, and another day when it was a steady 6 mph, and it still kept me warm.

The Not-So-Good

The Hoodie is a one size fits all, which is great because it will fit anyone, and you can wear it looser if you just need a little protection, but not-so-good if you have a small head like me. Even cinching the hood super tight leaves some space in the back that makes it a little cooler than it would be if it was totally tight against my head. That being said, it wasn’t a huge difference, and I just pulled up my jacket hood to seal everything in.

The Bottom Line

I love this thing and I wear the Hoodie Thermal BUFF pretty much any chance I get. I have worn it just around my neck, as a loose hood, as a tight hood, with the mouth piece up, with the mouth piece down, in windy conditions, and in pretty cold conditions (a 30-degree run). The Hoodie has not let me down. It has kept me warm and wicked sweat without becoming too wet, sweaty, or stinky.

I highly recommend the Hoodie Thermal BUFF for runner, hikers, snowboarder, bikers, or pretty much anyone who wants to stay warm in the winter. The retail price of $45.99 feels very reasonable to me, considering I will wear it every winter for a variety of activities. There is also another version that isn’t quite as insulated, the AW Hoodie BUFF, for $37.50.