Buffalo Systems makes clothing for standing still in weather that would beat most kit — a fibre pile lining bonded to a windproof Pertex shell, worn straight against the skin. It is what Mountain Rescue teams, police units and the military have used for forty years, for the simple reason that it keeps working when you are wet. Mountain Shirts, Belay and O3 jackets, made in Sheffield.
Most outdoor clothing is designed around a walker: layers you add and remove as you warm up and cool down. That is no use if you are stood on a peg for two hours in horizontal rain, or waiting on a hill for something to move. Buffalo was built for the other problem. A fibre pile lining sits directly against the skin and pulls moisture off it, and a windproof Pertex outer lets that moisture out while keeping the wind from stripping heat away. You end up warm and dry from the inside rather than sealed in and clammy. Hamish Hamilton got the idea in the late 1970s from Inuit clothing, where hides are worn with the fur turned inward, and set out to do the same thing with fabric.
Buffalo Mountain Shirts and Belay jackets
The Mountain Shirt is the piece the brand is known for and the one that won the Outdoor Writers Guild Golden Boot in 1986. It is windproof to 50 mph, cut with a scooped back ten centimetres longer than the front so it stays down when you bend, and has a map pocket across the chest that will take a phone, a licence or a flask lid. The waist adjuster and the hand warmer pocket are both cut so a rucksack hip belt can pass through them. The Belay jacket is the layer that goes over the top when you stop altogether — insulation for standing about rather than for moving. The O3 jacket is the newer piece in the range.
Buffalo, membranes and what fails first
The case Buffalo makes against a conventional waterproof is worth understanding before you spend the money. A membrane shell keeps water out until it wets out, clogs or delaminates, and then it keeps water in. Buffalo has no membrane. It moves moisture mechanically through the pile and out through the Pertex, which means there is nothing to fail and nothing to reproof. The trade-off is that it is not a waterproof — in prolonged rain you will get damp. What you will not get is cold, and for a long day outdoors in a British winter that is usually the distinction that matters.
No, and it is not trying to be. Pertex sheds rain and blocks wind, but the system is designed to keep you warm while damp rather than to keep water out entirely. In sustained British weather you will get wet whatever you wear — Buffalo is built to carry on working when you do.
Yes. It is designed to be worn with nothing underneath. A base layer or a t-shirt sits between you and the pile and stops the system moving moisture, which is the most common mistake people make with it.
Mountain Rescue teams, fire and rescue services, police forces and military units, alongside fell runners, climbers and people who spend long days outdoors in poor weather. The brand built its reputation on word of mouth rather than on advertising.
The Mountain Shirt is worn against the skin as your whole system while you are moving. The Belay jacket goes over the top when you stop — insulation for standing still, which is when you feel the cold most.
Sign up to our newsletter for latest offers
Stay in the loop with the latest style news and exclusive offers when you subscribe to our emails. Plus, get a free gift on your birthday*.
