As Winter kicks in for real across the UK, I have today entrusted my original Buff to my good lady wife for a bit of a wash, as, frankly, after a Summer’s use as a headband and wristband, mine smells pretty bad.
I first bought it a couple of years ago while we were skiing, just to keep the chill off my neck. But I soon fell in love with its versatility as a neckband, headband, skull cap, face mask and balaclava.
Just for once, here’s a product that is even better than the good-natured and fairly silly in-store video says it is. And I’m a copywriter for goodness sake. But I still spent the whole week of that holiday thinking (and probably speaking aloud) such old hat American ad-clichés as ‘I don’t know how I ever managed without one!’ and ‘It’s the best 20 dollars I’ve ever spent…’
So how much more excited was I when I realised that it was also great as a headband, sweatband and weirdo hat thing that protects your neck from the sun too? Well, very, is how.
But where the Buff really comes into its own is when Winter kicks in and I have to go out running in sub-zero temperatures along the sea wall. That’s when even if I’ve got hail and sand blowing into my face, the Buff takes care of it, by being just see-through enough to let me roll it completely over my face, while still seeing where I’m going.
OK, so one of these nights I’m probably going to be arrested for running in a full face mask and scaring the local hoodies. But more importantly, when the local fuzz run me in, I’m going to be as warm as toast.
And did I mention that a Buff also makes a handy sling for when you’ve ‘fallen down some stairs’ and even a makeshift tie for when you have a pressing appointment with the magistrates and need to look your best?
Trust me, if you’re a runner, you need a Buff. And no, I haven’t been paid to say that. Yet. But if the good folks at Buff want to reward my pathetic sucking up with a new Buff, I’d like the record to show that I’m certainly not too proud to say yes.
The Asics Gel Cumulus is the piece of kit that made me a one shoe runner, in road running terms anyway. I had them recommended to me several years ago, when I think we were on the Cumulus 6, and since then I have largely avoided injury, however many junk miles I manage to rack up every year.
Well, at first sight, the 11 looks pretty much like the last five or so incarnations of the Cumulus – and as one of the guys from Asics once admitted to me, 
Which is no bad thing, as the insoles coming loose when you take them off has been a problem for me with most of my Asics shoes once they’ve got a couple of hundred miles on the clock.
The fact is though, that in my opinion, the Cumulus 11 represents a very welcome return to form for Asics, and one that will be pretty popular with all those of us who have been wearing Cumuluses (Cumulii?) for a number of years. In fact, a quick count up in my shoe diary suggests that I’ve now personally racked up around 10,000 miles in various incarnations of the Cumulus over the years.
