diff --git a/src/index.js b/src/index.js
index 7f9683d..b855374 100644
--- a/src/index.js
+++ b/src/index.js
@@ -12,8 +12,7 @@ const path = require('path')
 const isNode = !global.window
 
 // protobuf read from file
-const messages = isNode ? protobuf(fs.readFileSync(path.resolve(__dirname, 'pb/crypto.proto')))
-                      : protobuf(require('buffer!./pb/crypto.proto'))
+const messages = isNode ? protobuf(fs.readFileSync(path.resolve(__dirname, 'pb/crypto.proto'))) : protobuf(require('buffer!./pb/crypto.proto'))
 
 exports = module.exports = Id
 
@@ -31,7 +30,6 @@ function Id (id, privKey, pubKey) {
   self.id = id // multihash - sha256 - buffer
 
   // pretty print
-
   self.toPrint = function () {
     return {
       id: self.toB58String(),
@@ -41,7 +39,6 @@ function Id (id, privKey, pubKey) {
   }
 
   // encode/decode functions
-
   self.toHexString = function () {
     return self.id.toString('hex')
   }
@@ -112,9 +109,13 @@ exports.create = function () {
   const protoPublic64 = formatKey(asnPub, 'Public')
   const protoPrivate64 = formatKey(asnPriv, 'Private')
 
+  // store the keys as a buffer
+  const bufProtoPub64 = new Buffer(protoPublic64, 'base64')
+  const bufProtoPriv64 = new Buffer(protoPrivate64, 'base64')
+  
   const mhId = multihashing(new Buffer(protoPublic64, 'base64'), 'sha2-256')
 
-  return new Id(mhId, protoPrivate64, protoPublic64)
+  return new Id(mhId, bufProtoPriv64, bufProtoPub64)
 }
 
 exports.createFromHexString = function (str) {
@@ -129,12 +130,14 @@ exports.createFromB58String = function (str) {
   return new Id(new Buffer(base58.decode(str)))
 }
 
+// Public Key input will be a buffer
 exports.createFromPubKey = function (pubKey) {
   const buf = new Buffer(pubKey, 'base64')
   const mhId = multihashing(buf, 'sha2-256')
   return new Id(mhId, null, pubKey)
 }
 
+// Private key input will be a string
 exports.createFromPrivKey = function (privKey) {
   // create a buffer from the base64 encoded string
   const buf = new Buffer(privKey, 'base64')
@@ -159,6 +162,9 @@ exports.createFromPrivKey = function (privKey) {
 
   // format the public key
   const protoPublic64 = formatKey(asnPub, 'Public')
+
+  // buffer the public key for consistency before storing
+  const bufProtoPub64 = new Buffer(protoPublic64, 'base64')
   const mhId = multihashing(new Buffer(protoPublic64, 'base64'), 'sha2-256')
-  return new Id(mhId, privKey, protoPublic64)
+  return new Id(mhId, privKey, bufProtoPub64)
 }
diff --git a/tests/test.js b/tests/test.js
index 72922b7..73f4147 100644
--- a/tests/test.js
+++ b/tests/test.js
@@ -55,5 +55,12 @@ describe('id', function (done) {
     expect(testIdB58String).to.equal(id.toB58String())
     done()
   })
+
+  it('Compare generated ID with one created from PubKey', (done) => {
+    const id1 = PeerId.create()
+    const id2 = PeerId.createFromPubKey(id1.pubKey)
+    expect(id2.id).to.deep.equal(id1.id)
+    done()
+  })
 })