Shemagh Scarf

I used to use a big old lady scarf back when I used to go backpacking. Not kidding, it actually belonged to my grandmother. Summer time gets really hot in the different trails you have down in Patagonia, in the seven lakes area. I remember that I threw it into my backpack without putting much thought into it as I came across it while looking for something else, and it proved to be much more useful than I ever thought it would.  I used to cover my head with the wet scarf, and that would keep my head fresh. By the time it dried up in the afternoon, I could use it to cover my neck when the temperatures dropped at night. It was a well worn scarf, red and blue with flower designs, not at all tacticool looking, and I was glad that you couldn’t tell much of its design when it was wrapped around your neck or head since it wasn’t anything to brag about. :-)

 

8537 SHEMAGH TACTICAl SCARF (DESERT SAND) 

The shemagh (also known as keffiyeh) is basically a square piece of cloth worn by Arab men in different styles around the head. Knowing a couple styles, you can basically use it for everything from protecting your head from hot or cold weather, cover your neck from cold or sunburns, protecting your mouth and nose from the wind and sand and shading your eyes from sunlight. Pretty handy piece of cloth and it has several other uses.

I first noticed this particular type of scarf being used in shooting classes. When you’re in a class where other people are shooting at your sides, its just a matter of time until a hot brass hits your face and neck or worse, gets stuck there between your shirt and skin, burning you, sometimes worse than others. You could say that its part of the training to keep focused in spite of that bit of pain, but at least I saw the point of it, just one more of the many uses the shemagh (or just big scarf as I’d prefer to refer to it :-)  ) has.

About a month ago I bought a olive drab/black Shemagh scarf. Its 100% cotton and I’ve been using it since I got it because of the cold weather. The shemagh has become something of a fashion item lately and you can find it in all sorts of colors, some more ridiculous than other . It even has some sort of hype/trendy/political statement to it for some people, and you sometimes see the one with the Palestine design being used around here in protests, often along with a Che Guevara shirt of some sort. I couldn’t care less for all that so I just got one that has dull, indifferent colors that doesn’t attract much attention.

This video shows how to use it,

I found this style to be pretty practical. Granted you DO look like a nutcase with both face and head covered, all you’re missing is the AK47 and Chinese bra full of mags, but if kept half way up, at least around here during winter, you’re just one of the millions of persons covering yourself from the chilly wind.

A few other uses a big scarf has are:

Emergency bandage

Tourniquet

Tinder

To grab hot pots form the camp fire

sling

head wrap, keeping sun or snow, wind, sand and dust out of eyes, face and neck.

face veil, concealing the face
 scarf worn around the neck, retains heat in the cold and absorbs
 small sunshade cover whilst resting
 an arm sling, giving a wounded arm support
 a foot wrap, replacing a lost sock
 a carrying pouch for equipment
 towel
pre filtering water
A pillow, filled with clothes, grass, dried leaves.

It’s therefore no wonder that a lot of people keep one in their survival/emergency kits, and that you often find mention of how useful these are in camping and backpacking manuals.

FerFAL