The Story of the Buff

Posted: Friday, February 20, 2015

In our February newsletter, we talked about buffs- what they are, their many uses, and that we are starting to offer them as an option for women who go on a trip. But we had no idea where they came from until we received this email from our local partner in Spain. 

Hi Marian,

"Got a real chuckle at the February newsletter highlighting Buff.  DId you know it's a Spanish (well, Catalonian) company?  I have at least four buffs, and have been eyeing this year's models.

Short Buff story: the man who invented the thing was apparently using his neck gaiter from the military service (obligatory until not too long ago).  They're an ugly olive green and he decided that other colors just might sell to sports people.  In Spanish the name is the same as underwear for women: braga.

All that is cute but.... not too long after they set up the company sometime in the 1990s, Buff funded a Spanish all-women team on a mega raid-adventure.   I don't remember the name of the raid, but it's something done every few years, funded by a millionaire who wanted to do some unusual giving-back.  The deal is (or was, maybe no longer happening) that teams of four people had a weeklong route, including hiking, probably some scrambling (not technical climbing), some water sport and maybe biking or horseback riding.  I think the team got 2 or 3 people for managing their supplies - but what was really unusual about this raid was that you signed up not knowing were it would be, and 2-3 weeks before it started you got a trip pack and had to plan everything in a short time:  when to cross the control points (that had a specific schedule), what to eat, what gear to take, and all that.   And they went to really isolated or underdeveloped areas.  No prizes, just a certificate for teams that completed the route in the stipulated time, with ALL the team members. 

The deal was of the team of four, one had to be a woman.  Thinking how to communicate and work together and all that, take the pace of the weakest member of the team (ummm).  The Spanish women team was the first all-woman team, and they needed to get funding. Government declined, but Buff said yes.  Buff got a lot of fabulous PR, used that in their adds for next few years  (rightly so!). And yes, all the photos of the women's team had Buffs somewhere in the shot. 

So what happened to the team?  They completed the route successfully and apparently even had fun. One of the blurbs was about them trying to get the rafts going in the right direction, amid gales and gales of laughter.  This route was so challenging that (so the story says) US Marines were seen sitting in tears next to the trail.  The women's team was praised for understanding that the spirit of the adventure was to test oneself, but also to have fun.

Just thought I'd share that with you, in case you didn't know. Makes the Buffs even better!"

Anne

 

Now that we know the history of the buff, we like them even more!!

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