Anyone else use a shemagh or other headwrap?

I've all ways been a fan of boonie hats, some times I wear a bandana, but not much.
 
2dogs said:
I think I was born wearing a cowboy hat but every now and then I pick something else. A cowboy hat doesn't work with a frame pack, darn it.
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Put the pack on the horse and the hat works perfect! :rolleyes:
 
Check these out team. These things are the bees knees. I wore one in my central desert walk last year in Oz - the lightest, coolest, most versatile headware I've used.

http://www.frillneck.com.au/

As used by the Aussie SAS...........
 
I'm with fonley, I like the Boonie hats. once they have been washed a few times they are easy to roll up for storage, but offer a brim and shade.

When playing paintball I wear the regular doo-rag style, like these:
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In the summer soak em down with water, and as the water evaporates, it keeps your head cool, even in the humid east coast.
john.jpg


We also use the Cooldana style neckwraps with the water absorbing crystals, these babies will really keep you cool! Soak in water, and wrap around the neck. They also make headwraps containing the crystals too, keeps your noggin cool.

For basic, cheap no nonsense headwrap, the old German style works well, and doubles as a towel, washcloth, etc.
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/KEY128-1960-607.html
 
I've been wearing a regular 22" bandanna lately, cooler than my usual Vietnam-era boonie. Might try to make me a shemagh, though, as the bandanna is a mite bit small for my hard head.
 
I wear the Zan Headgear wraps like Skunk posted. I mainly wear them doing knifework to keep flying steel debris off my head but I also wear the camo ones hunting.
Scott
 
I suppose it does work better here in my country (tropical, island weather). The cloth's feel to the skin seems to get better with use.

1. Blanket (torso only)
2. Earth pad/picnic cloth
3. Triangular bandage/trauma splint
4. Gear hammock (securing by elevating stuff from the ground)
5. Improvised rope
6. "Manly" fashion item

The only downside I could think about is the politics/cultural smear associated with it.
 
I've looked at them and considered getting one, but I keep procrastinating, as is usual with me. I do wear headbands (bandana) that I wear wide, so they protect my forehead and ears from the hot sun. I picked up a large silk bandana recently and like the way it covers my neck, when worn as a scull cap and works excellent as a cowboy scarf/dust mask. Gonna get a few more of them..........eventually.:D
 
I got my shemagh from an Ebay auction today. I got a green and black one, seeing how I live in one of the cloudiest parts of North America. I tried the wrap technique shown on http://www.actiongear.com/agcatalog/shemagh.html but it was too hot and confining. It would be great protection from a cold wind and might work good under a hood-- like a balaclava. I could see the ultility in a desert climate where the sun is baking the skin off one side of your face while the wind is sandblasting the other side.

Since we're kicking the idea of looks out of the ring with a bit of costume gear like this, I investigated the Arab style of wearing a head scarf-- like Lawrence of Arabia. It's the same basic cloth and size, but is worn with a headband called an agal in some cultures. It's a figure 8 of soft cord that goes on with a friction fit to hold the scarf in place. I thought of paracord right away and tied up a headband using the same weave used for survival bracelets. Not only do I get the headband, but there's 20+ feet of paracord to use. I found that style of wearing the shemagh much more comfortable. I definately want to get a white one for sunny weather.

I drive a Suburban-- I can't wait to wear it to the gas station, although I don't think I'll get any discount :D
 
for a couple of years I was Powdercoating in an extremly hot booth
and would make my own ( I just called them head scarves) every couple of days. The best style for me was the Yassir Arafat special where you basically drape a big square over your head and shoulders and secure it with a thin strip of fabric or cord. ( I eventually made a paracord loop with a slipknot that fit my fat head, so I could just find a big enough rag, slip the loop around my nogin and be off to the races)
I'd tried making them do-rag style (mainly to avoid looks as it was a pretty red-neck factory) but found them terribly hot and didn't offer the coverage I was looking for.
 
I just got 2 of the pro-force shemaghs and 1 pro-force Sniper Face Veil Scarf
All three went into my BOB and are ready incase Mt. St. Helens does her thing and spreads ash all over the place.

Ciao
Ron
:eek:
 
Mine should be here any day now, I'm looking forward to trying it out. I will most likely end up using it as a scarf and camp towel. I'll use the full head wrap at night when it's chilly and I won't scare anybody. :)
 
I got a bunch of the real thing on a trip to Jerusalem many years back. My thinking was, it'd be great outdoor/hiking gear here in the desert. Even made great scarves for when it was cold.

Then, September 11 happened, and, well, it became something you didn't want to be seen in, except maybe on Hallowe'en. Right after the September 11 attack, at least one local nutcase decided to exact revenge, and went out and shot dead a (very non-Muslim) Sikh who was, as required by his religion, wearing a turban--just because he was wearing a turban. (Said shooter is now justifiably residing on death row.) Mental note: if you're going to wear one of those things nowadays in the U.S., maybe you'd better make sure it's got an American Flag print . . . .
 
Mental note: if you're going to wear one of those things nowadays in the U.S., maybe you'd better make sure it's got an American Flag print . . . .[/QUOTE]
Great idea. Remove the negative impression it gives and you have a great piece of equipment that has been in use for thousands of years.:)
 
spec-ops brand makes the most versitile head wrap i have seen yet.i have one and love it.it is called the recon-wrap and can be worn as a neck gaitor,a helmet liner,a sweatband,a balaclava or in a few different ways similar to a bandana.the damn thing is so damn versitile it cant be explained you have to chech it out yourself.i use it in the summer and the winter and consider it one of my favorite pieces of gear and for 19.95 says alot cause i got some expensive ass gear.they make it in black,od,woodland,hi-viz orange,white,coyote brown,foliage green,acu,usa flag,blue and red.spec-ops brand is in my opinion the most inovative brand in the tactical nylon industry and un-like blackhawk their products arent made in vietnam thier made in th US.i just realized i am rambling. will shut up now.:thumbup:
 
I sat down th other night and tied up a full figure 8 agal in 550 black paracord and got 48 feet of cord worked into it. An agal is the headband used to hold the Arab style headdress in place, like Lawrence of Arabia. You just fold the cloth in a triangle, drop it on your head with the point in the back and put the agal over the top. Of course a simple loop of cord would do the job. The more complex weave is just a way to bundle up a lot of cord in a small and non-tangling form with multiple uses.

As far as being mis-identified or the target of a hate crime, you can do these head wraps in any kind of soft cloth--- all you need is a 44"-46" square. You fold it in a triangle, so it really doesn't need to be patterned on both sides and the tassels are mostly decorative-- they were used in the traditional cloth to keep it from unravveling. I find the traditional shemagh cloth to be too warm for hot weather, but great for cold weather and wind. I think a light color and bandana-weight cloth would suit me best for hot weather. IMHO, the advantage is the multi-function properties of this item-- head wrap, towel, first aid, etc. I'm only wearing this in the woods, so I could care what sheeple think. :rolleyes:
 
Don Rearic said:
http://www.donrearic.com/bandana1.html

If you follow the link at the bottom of the article, there are a few more installments. A couple more coming within a month or so as well which should finish up the series.
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That article covers a lot of ground-- amazing how political a simple square of cloth can be, even one that is not an obvious hot button like a flag. It is a thing to remember when travelling-- what seems like a small thing can get out of hand quickly. I have a friend who did graduate work in Indai and she saw a small town erupt into a deadly riot because one group threw a shoe into the religous shrine of another group-- the feet being seen as a symbol of filth and desecration. What might get you a dirty look at home can get you dead in another part of the world. When in Rome, do as the Romans do!
 
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