A good ruff is a northern adventures true friend. It protects your face from cold winds, blowing snow and harsh sunlight that reflects blindingly off of the snow. There's no substitute for a good ruff. Once you've used one you'll know it's true importance. Faux fur or skimpy bulk made ruffs don't hold a candle to the real deal.

A good ruff is more than just a strip of fur. It's a bunch of little pieces of fur carefully and skillfully sewn together. The longer outer guard hairs combined with the shorter inner layer work together to effectively break up the wind and create that warm pocket of air around your face also know as the boundary layer. Having multiple lengths of fur in one ruff has been proven both in the field and in the lab to be most effective at stopping the wind and providing that sought after protection. That's why I always use a minimum of two different fur types of varying lengths when building my ruffs.

The outer layer of the ruff is the showy layer. This is the one that immediately catches ones eye as it drapes across the shoulders or as you watch the fur tips dance in the wind from inside its tunneled protection. This layer is also extremely important as it's the one stopping most of the wind.

The shorter inner layer has a few jobs to do. One is to protect the raw edge of the longer fur where the soft undercoat is exposed where the fur was cut. This inner layer, needs to be a durable fur. One that will take the abuse of frost being brushed from it after hours on the trail, one with guard hairs that will not break or rub. My favorite two furs for this job are wolverine and beaver. Wolverine is the better of the two as it's more durable and sheds frost more easily than any other type of fur. In addition it helps add texture to the ruff which more effectively stops the wind than a ruff of uniform length.

If you're looking for an eye catching dazzling ruff you've found it. The long guard hairs of the fox flow beautifully together as they bounce and dance as you move. The long guard hairs of the fox while not quite as durable as the wolf or wolverine still have a very long (long as in years!) life and provides you with all the protective qualities of the other ruffs.

Usually I pair the fox with beaver trim, for those who prefer the durability and frost shedding ability of wolverine trim it is also available.