Practical Vim, Second Edition: Use the Buffer List(pg 85)

In the spirit of editing text at the speed of thought.

The mappings presented are shortcuts to traverse the buffer list (first, last, previous, next). This works well for a few files, but when the list grows larger, one has to either issue the next command repeatedly (similar to jjjjjjjjjjjjjj/kkkkkkkk for scrolling lines) or revert back to (slowly) typing :ls<CR> and :b N / :b {bufname}.

A single mapping that is often suggested is nnoremap <leader>b :ls<CR>:b<space> which quickly prints the buffer list and prompts for a buffer number or name. In combination with the already presented <C-^> toggle, one can really fly through the buffers.