Over the past few years, we’ve seen a number of established outdoor brands branch into new corners of the running world. Companies like Rossignol stepping into trail footwear, or brands like Ciele Athletics expanding beyond headwear into full running apparel systems.
Now, BUFF is making its move into the performance sock category — and if you’ve spent any time outdoors over the last decade, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve owned at least one Buff product along the way.
Launched on June 1, the new collection includes three models built for both runners and hikers:
- CoolNet – Run
- DryFlx – Run/Hike
- Merino Lightweight – Hiking
There’s a nice spread here depending on what kind of outdoor adventures you lean toward, whether that’s logging road miles, heading onto the trails, or mixing the two together. Just as importantly, Buff continues leaning into one of the things they’ve consistently done well: color. These don’t feel like overly safe or forgettable additions to the sock drawer, and that’s something we can appreciate.
We admittedly don’t spend a ton of time talking socks here at Run Oregon — mostly because few runners are sitting down searching for deep dives into sock engineering — but there does appear to be a thoughtful amount of performance detail built into this lineup.
Across the collection, Buff incorporates features like moisture management, ventilated mesh zones, arch compression, and temperature-regulating materials depending on the intended use case. Cushioning also varies by model, with lighter and more minimal options for running-specific use, while the crossover Run/Hike model adds a bit more underfoot protection for longer days and mixed terrain.
At the end of the day, most runners know there’s really no such thing as “too many socks,” especially once summer training and race season ramps up. This feels like a measured but promising first step into the category for Buff, and we’re interested to see where they take the lineup from here.