diff --git a/lib/rb/lib/thrift/transport/memory_buffer_transport.rb b/lib/rb/lib/thrift/transport/memory_buffer_transport.rb
index 862c61e8d11..014dbe1f38b 100644
--- a/lib/rb/lib/thrift/transport/memory_buffer_transport.rb
+++ b/lib/rb/lib/thrift/transport/memory_buffer_transport.rb
@@ -22,6 +22,8 @@
 module Thrift
   class MemoryBufferTransport < BaseTransport
     GARBAGE_BUFFER_SIZE = 4 * (2**10) # 4kB
+    HEX_BYTES = Array.new(256) { |byte| byte.to_s(16).freeze }.freeze
+    private_constant :HEX_BYTES
 
     # The transport copies the input buffer and keeps its own mutable storage.
     def initialize(buffer = nil)
@@ -112,19 +114,18 @@ def flush
     end
 
     def inspect_buffer
-      out = []
-      for idx in 0...(@buf.size)
-        # if idx != 0
-        #   out << " "
-        # end
-
-        if idx == @index
-          out << ">"
-        end
-
-        out << @buf[idx].ord.to_s(16)
+      out = +""
+      idx = 0
+      size = @buf.size
+      while idx < size
+        out << " " unless idx.zero?
+        out << "> " if idx == @index
+        out << HEX_BYTES[@buf.getbyte(idx)]
+        idx += 1
       end
-      out.join(" ")
+      # Array#join used the first token's encoding: binary only for a leading cursor.
+      out.force_encoding(Encoding::US_ASCII) unless @index == 0 && !out.empty?
+      out
     end
 
     def to_s
diff --git a/lib/rb/spec/base_transport_spec.rb b/lib/rb/spec/base_transport_spec.rb
index 80bdf787392..0c58b8136f6 100644
--- a/lib/rb/spec/base_transport_spec.rb
+++ b/lib/rb/spec/base_transport_spec.rb
@@ -436,6 +436,70 @@
       expect(@buffer.to_s).to eq("memory")
     end
 
+    describe "inspect_buffer" do
+      it "preserves every unpadded lowercase byte spelling at every cursor position" do
+        bytes = (0..255).to_a
+        input = bytes.pack("C*")
+        spellings = bytes.map { |byte| byte.to_s(16) }
+
+        (0..bytes.length).each do |position|
+          @buffer.reset_buffer(input)
+          @buffer.read(position)
+          expected = spellings.dup
+          expected.insert(position, ">") if position < bytes.length
+
+          output = @buffer.inspect_buffer
+          expect(output).to eq(expected.join(" "))
+          expect(output.encoding).to eq(position.zero? ? Encoding::BINARY : Encoding::US_ASCII)
+          expect(output).not_to be_frozen
+          expect(@buffer.available).to eq(bytes.length - position)
+          expect(@buffer.read(@buffer.available)).to eq(input.byteslice(position..-1))
+        end
+      end
+
+      it "returns a mutable empty ASCII string for empty and reset buffers" do
+        2.times do
+          output = @buffer.inspect_buffer
+          expect(output).to eq("")
+          expect(output.encoding).to eq(Encoding::US_ASCII)
+          expect(output).not_to be_frozen
+          @buffer.write("abc")
+          @buffer.reset_buffer
+        end
+      end
+
+      it "preserves the cursor after partial reads, exhaustion, writes and resets" do
+        @buffer.write([0, 15, 16, 255].pack("C*"))
+        expect(@buffer.inspect_buffer).to eq("> 0 f 10 ff")
+        @buffer.read_byte
+        expect(@buffer.inspect_buffer).to eq("0 > f 10 ff")
+        @buffer.read(3)
+        expect(@buffer.inspect_buffer).to eq("0 f 10 ff")
+        @buffer.write([128].pack("C"))
+        expect(@buffer.inspect_buffer).to eq("0 f 10 ff > 80")
+        @buffer.reset_buffer([1].pack("C"))
+        expect(@buffer.inspect_buffer).to eq("> 1")
+      end
+
+      it "inspects the entire remaining storage after read compaction" do
+        @buffer.write(("x" * Thrift::MemoryBufferTransport::GARBAGE_BUFFER_SIZE) + [0, 255].pack("C*"))
+        @buffer.read(Thrift::MemoryBufferTransport::GARBAGE_BUFFER_SIZE)
+
+        expect(@buffer.inspect_buffer).to eq("> 0 ff")
+        expect(@buffer.read(2)).to eq([0, 255].pack("C*"))
+        expect(@buffer.inspect_buffer).to eq("0 ff")
+      end
+
+      it "keeps dumps independent across calls and subclasses without consuming input" do
+        transport = Class.new(Thrift::MemoryBufferTransport).new("a" * 256)
+        first = transport.inspect_buffer
+        first.replace("changed")
+
+        expect(transport.inspect_buffer).to eq("> " + (["61"] * 256).join(" "))
+        expect(transport.available).to eq(256)
+      end
+    end
+
     it "should privately own a buffer passed on input" do
       source = +"this is a test"
       @buffer = Thrift::MemoryBufferTransport.new(source)