LOL! Thanks haertig!

Great question!

I've been pondering the bandana question myself. About two years ago I discovered "Buff". They're those bandana-like things they use on the TV show Survivor. It's one piece of fabric that's cut in a tube instead of a square. I've added one to my kits, but not removed any bandanas.

You can use them for many of the same uses as a bandana, but I've noticed these key differences:

-buffs work better as clothing (I.e. a head wrap) than a bandana because you don't need a knot. You just slip it on.
-buffs don't work as well as a sling because the material is thinner and stretchier than a regular cotton bandana. To get the support you need for a sling, you need to pull it taught, which makes it more constricting. Of course, that might be a good thing too sometimes.
--also, because some applications need a bigger piece of fabric, (i.e. a signal flag) you might need to cut it to make it work. Then again, in an emergency situation, who cares.
-buffs are more expensive than bandanas, at least brand name retail. I'm thinking of making my own out of one of my daughter's onsies.