Product Review: Bluffworks Blazer

LOOKING GOOD AND TRAVELING COMFORTABLY… not always an easy thing to accomplish.  It’s one thing to travel in a suit for two-hour flight… it’s quite another to be dressed in business attire for a 9+ hours as you cross the pond in a jumbo jet.

Most savvy frequent travelers will tell you to always dress for comfort when traveling on a long haul plane ride.  The problem for me… I can’t travel too casual.  Too often I have business meetings right after I arrive (I often travel from the USA to Europe on flights that typically arrive between 8am – 10am – just in time for the work day).

Also (quite honestly) I like to look professional when I’m on a plane. Sweat shirts, wind breakers, and hoodies are just not my style. After all – you never know when you’ll be upgraded to business class and seated next to somebody important. Sorry – I just don’t want to be dressed like a slacker when traveling for work.

WHAT WORKS BEST? My trademark article of clothing has always been a blue blazer.  A good blazer will go well with slacks or blue jeans… it’s a versatile wardrobe piece that is ideal for the business traveler. No, a blazer isn’t as professional as a suit, but for the international business travel that I do,  a blazer can instantly have me looking snazzy enough for about 90% of the situations I encounter.  I always like to have a blazer on hand… preferably in my carry-on luggage, or (even better) in my computer bag.

THE PROBLEM:  Comfortable blazers rarely look very professional.  Likewise, high quality professional looking blazers are rarely comfortable (at least comfortable enough to wear on a long haul flight). Further complicating matters – neither comfortable nor professional looking blazers are wrinkle-free.

ENTER BLUFFWORKS:  In need of a new blazer, I conducted an exhaustive online search for the best travel blazer available. I needed something that looked professional, was moderately comfortable, and was (ideally) wrinkle resistant.

After doing hours of research, I ultimately decided upon a Bluffworks blazer which you see here:  Navy Blue Blazer  Bluffworks is a startup company based in NYC that specializes in wrinkle free travel clothing. I contacted Bluffworks and they sent me a Blazer to try.

The blazer arrived and fit perfect, except for the sleeves which were slightly long. It took a few days for my local tailor to make some minor alterations, but fortunately it arrived back just in time for an international trip to the Netherlands and Belgium.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Trying on the blazer for the first time I had three initial impressions. First: The blazer felt durable, even a little bit thicker than I anticipated.  Second: I was impressed by the comfort – the polyester material is soft to the touch yet still fits my body well and doesn’t look sloppy. Third: The color is nice deep blue with some rich texture. It’s the ideal color for blazer if you wear dark denim jeans (as I often do).

COMFORT TEST:  The day after my blazer returned from the tailor I was off to Amsterdam on a 9+ hour flight.  I decided to give my new blazer a comfort test by wearing it on during the entire flight.   I’ve traveled on long hauls wearing suit coats and blazers before… often times the arm openings are too small or the material isn’t comfortable.

I’m happy to report that I had no such problems with the Bluffworks blazer – it was very comfortable the entire flight and kept me plenty warm during (what is often) a chilly flight over the Atlantic. The blazer is cut well – the sleeves and body fit nicely. The material is really what sets this blazer apart – it’s remarkably soft and comfortable.  I was also happy with the additional pockets – plenty of room to store a passport, coins, pens, a boarding pass, and still have room to spare. There’s even a pocket in the very back which I haven’t yet used. Surely enough pocket storage for any reasonable traveler.

After stepping off the plane I hurried over the the airport lounge to freshen up. I noticed my new blazer seemed remarkably free of wrinkles.  Good thing, because I had a meeting with potential clients… and I rushed off without any worries.  But… the true wrinkle test was yet to come.

WRINKLE TEST: A day after arriving in Amsterdam I found myself in Antwerp, Belgium. In my experience, Northern Europe is almost always a bit chilly (even during the summer months), however this particular day was remarkably warm.  I arranged to meet some potential clients at my hotel and walk with them about 1 kilometer to the Grote Markt in Antwerp where we would review documents and enjoy a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant. On this evening, it was just too warm outside to wear the blazer…  but I knew I would likely need it later in the evening. This was the ideal opportunity to give the Bluffworks Blazer a full-on wrinkle test.  I quickly rolled it up into a tight ball and stuffed it into my computer bag… and off to dinner I went.

Fast forward three-hours to late in the evening. The business dinner was a success, the day was coming to an end, and I found myself walking alone back to my hotel on the edge of the downtown. The temperature had dropped significantly, so I dug into my backpack and unfurled the blazer. After shaking it out and trying it on, I was honestly surprised at how well it looked after having been wadded up for a few hours.  After just a couple of minutes wearing the blazer, almost all of the wrinkles decipherable to the human eye had disappeared. I took a selfie (below) to document the moment (it looks like this was taken in the middle of the day, but it was actually about 10pm as Europe doesn’t get dark until late in June).  This blazer truly lived up to its billing as “wrinkle free.”  Impressive!


CONCLUSION:  Now three weeks in, this is far and away my favorite blazer (I currently own about six).  It’s highly versatile and the best wrinkle free blazer I’ve ever owned. The blazer is breathable and can be worn 4 seasons (though it’s not especially light weight). I really like fit and finish of this blazer.  I would say it’s certainly worth the retail price and is an exceptional value.

I really have to dive deep to find any complaint about this piece. One slight (very slight) annoyance is that the material is such that when taking off the blazer I find the sleeves pull through inside-out sometimes. Hardly a real issue.

In the end, I give this blazer a 10/10. I highly recommend it to any business traveler looking for a versatile and good looking travel blazer that’s also remarkably comfortable.

For years I’ve been traveling the world and occasionally I’ll pose for a picture wearing my trademark blue blazer. Sometime these pics will end up on my Instagram @blazertravels  From now on, you can bet I’m wearing my Bluffworks blazer… looking good and traveling comfortably!