Sauce and we aint talking Pizza!

Should be obvious that I never tire of looking at me ;-)  Really I need a better set of models or some friends because this is getting embarrassingly old.   I'm trying to get these three locals to model for me but haven't heard back yet.  May be it was the low pay or the obviously stolen photo?    I'll have to ask again.

                                                                Fred,  Saucy?


I am still trying to get organized and stuff put away and seeing what is missing from either being lost, stolen or just not delivered yet from this trip.

Couple of Buffs are gone, a bunch of climbing gear, some clothing and one favorite hat.  But thankfully not my Sauce!  Bought this thing in Bozeman @ Northern Lights  during the '11 Ice fest.  $30...not cheap but I liked the colors and the detailing.  No clue who the company was or where they were until a hour or so ago.

By the numbers:
Chill Toque,  $30.00
The Chill Toque is a fleece lined hat. Designed for warmth in cold weather, this is the warmest piece in the Sauce collection.

•Perfect for casual winter wear and low intensity winter activity
•The swirl closure, unique to Sauce Headwear, provides an escape for excess heat.
•The fleece lined headband, and double layer Meryl® upper will wick moisture and provide resistance to wind.

The Chill Toque is available in two sizes.
•Small/Medium for women with average or small heads and youth.
•Medium/Large for men or women who prefer a looser fit.

http://www.sauceheadwear.com/main.php 

I have climbed some in it and skied a bunch in it. 

Awesome colors, nice size, thickness and warmth.  Only down side is the black took a beating in the sun's UV over the last few months, Dec thru March.  But I liked the hat enough (and more than one person wanted it)  that I went looking for another.  Hard to find in the right color and size this time of year so I went to the source of Sauce, Shayla.  Got what I needed.  Another loud and  brightly colored print that won't fade in the sun is on the way.

Shayla is one of the poor Canadian immigrants trying to make her way in the cold commercial American outdoor industry.  She is one of us...a skier.    Cool hats.  Worth the coin and if you can keep your light fingered friends away from them should last a long time.  Couple of models available and they make freak'in head bands as well!      Everyone needs a new hat!

Hard to believe but I am just writing about gear I really liked and used a lot this winter.  The Sauce "Chill Toque" (Canadian for hat, knucklehead) was one of the few.

And yes, the new Ergos are sweet!

The Buff?

30 years ago half of the gear available off the rack in Snells couldn't be had in the US.  Half the climbing gear available in the US no one wanted. 

Things have changed.  Maybe 5% of the gear available in the US is hard to find in Europe and nothing in Snell's can't be had in the US these days.  And when you do find it, it is generally cheaper.  Although some of it might take a bit of searching.

So what does all this have to do with a Buff?  They are big, mean and generally like to be left alone.  Mess with them at your own peril.  The burnt and salted earth approach.

First I had heard of THE "Buff" was after a little apre ski at the apartment in Cham.  We meet a couple of the local live in  Brits just after lunch at the Requin hut on the VB as they skied by from simu soloing Laratoune.  They in turn cheerfully helped us through our stock of wine and beer back at the flat.  Couple days later someone wanted to know if they had left their "buff" behind.  I guessed, correctly it seems,  it was one of those retro '70s, lycra head band thangs that were so fashionable in Chamonix.

Figured it was "only" a Chamonix thing so I bought my buddies one each for grins before we left town.

I earned my retro '70s style.   Cotton bandanas, wool scarfs of assorted colors, leather head bands.  Used them all to good effect with a full head of hair.  Often times they required attire bitd. So not uncommon for me to turn up looking. as my wife describes it, like a "muffin head".  Which almost, but not quite, squishes my ego.   But not my now white, muffin head!  Admittedly only half cool with a buzz cut but workable.   Yes they work well under a helmet to keep your ears warm.  Yes there really are 12 ways to wear one.  Pirates, banditos and real men will use only 4.

The "Buff" is made in Barcelona, Spain, of 100% mirco fiber polyester (or Merino wool) and available in every color the rainbow and most patterns you cna imagine at your local REI of all places (or Technique Extreme) for 15 Euro or $20 US for the polyester versions.  The cheap knock offs will squish a grown man's head.  They do how ever make most of us look a bit like a urban camo'ed Buff and may be even a bit of a colorful muffin head. 

Get a little style!  And add a little color to you shady life style and your buddy's photos.  Get a Buff!  Hell, get two and mix it up!

http://www.planetbuff.com/Original-Buff?page=all

Fook'um I earned my muffin head and liked lycra 30 years ago!   The colors may fade but a truly classic style, doesn't   ;-)

Now who is making a good knicker again and bell bottoms...ya, we need some Shoeller bell bottoms!