I read this and thought to share it

http://www.alpharubicon.com/prepinfo/shemaghgvi.htm

Being Arab and Muslim , I wanted to comment on the "white shemagh" point he mentioned. Actually the white headgear is usually not called shemagh to begin with . And it has nothing to do with pilgrimage to Mecca. It seems he has consfused the shemagh with "Ihram" which made of two white pieces of cloth a Muslim pilgrim wraps himself in during pilgrimage ( reminds the Muslim of simpler life and distancing onself from life luxuries).

Here is a photo of "Ihram" which is not a shemagh.

http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/zurije...dy-for-hajj.jpg

Anyone who knows the author or the Rubicon website owner can please convey the comment. Thanks.

i sometimes carry my shemagh in my edc. kind of bulky plopped or stuffed in a bag rather than time taken to fold up. I have never worn mine as a ninja wrap but laugh at the 'ninja' reference b/c its true, military catalogs market the item with those description/photos but hardly anyone wears it that way IRL.

I carry a Buff as a part of my EDC and it shares at least some of the flexibility attributed to the shemagh in that article.

Being more compact, its easy to carry in a back pocket and I've used it as a neck gaiter for the colder days of the motorcycle season, as a sleep mask when camping in the summer, as a face mask during cold winter days and as a bandana on days when I didn't have any other head gear. I find it to be a very flexible and useful piece of gear.

I do like the Buff, but I also like the Arab Khafiyya (spelling?). The large and square cloth is very useful and versatile. It is larger that most cloths used fur such things and most are fairly durable. I have a red and white one and a white one, I would like to get one that is tan or brown, though I have never seen one in those colors. Any ideas Chisel?

I like the Buff as well, especially the merino wool one.

Well, Montanero, the most popular shemagh is usually in white and red. This is what we wear locally , especially in winter months. I have seen other colors ( like blue, green, even pink for some girl fashion !!) but tan color seems to be rare.

Older Palestinians (like Yasser Arafat) traditionally wear black shemagh and they call it (kofeyyeh).

I have a black / green one. Getting a bit rough now as it has been used as a scarf / head cover, towel and lifting hot pots of a fire for nearly 15 years. Best 5 quid I spent.

ha. i have several Buffs i carry. 1 EDC. love them

Done.

Thanks Vidar and all

Being Arab, and western-freindly , I have seen lots and lots of things misunderstood on both sides.