Scrim net scarf...or good old Shemagh??

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Silverclaws2

Nomad
Dec 30, 2019
287
155
56
Devon
Having had both, I'd plumb for the shemagh, as it's more versatile

Don't know where my scrim went, last I saw it I was using it to clean windows about twenty years ago.
 
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TeeDee

Full Member
Nov 6, 2008
10,447
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Exeter
You mean like embroidered their name on it or sewn on scout badges.? :p


Not quite but I do like the personal touch.

No , I meant I've a couple of ideas to implement that I think will only add an extra layer of usefulness to this ubiquitous item. A couple of small physical alterations.
 
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eraaij

Settler
Feb 18, 2004
557
61
Arnhem
Shemag or whatever you call it when it is in green - I have the cheap (Chinese?) one. The basic example of a multiple use item.
 
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Billy-o

Native
Apr 19, 2018
1,981
975
Canada
A little while ago I found that cowboys used to wear very large silk squares ... sometimes called wild rags ... up to 42" square and highly decorated. Don't see them much in westerns, like, but they are big with re-enactors and I think people still just, you know, wear them as day-to-day in some places.

You see lots of them in saddlers. They are worn in a variety of ways, with complex knots or highly wrought, silver clasps/woggles. Guess they shared some of the purposes of a shemagh.
 
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Erbswurst

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Mar 5, 2018
4,079
1,766
Berlin
@Minotaur
In Germany we have a lot of different boy scout associations, but nobody got the idiotic idea, to make the neckerchief too small to use it as a first aid item.

The German army issues the same in Flecktarn and older plain OD ones are still available too.
 

Minotaur

Native
Apr 27, 2005
1,600
232
Birmingham
In Germany we have a lot of different boy scout associations, but nobody got the idiotic idea, to make the neckerchief too small to use it as a first aid item.
The Scout Association and idiotic ideas go hand in hand, My personal favorite was when they changed the year of the start of the scouts and no one noticed!
 
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MikeLA

Full Member
May 17, 2011
1,955
319
Northumberland
The Scout Association and idiotic ideas go hand in hand, My personal favorite was when they changed the year of the start of the scouts and no one noticed!

But my question is why do people do that, where’s the sense in it. Both changing the date and the idea of a clothing item with more than one use.
 
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dean4442

Full Member
Nov 11, 2004
599
59
Wokingham UK
I ditched the scrim net scarf as soon as I discovered shemaghs, the scrim net was not very versatile but it did keep you warm. The shemagh on the other hand kept you warm and also can be used for a variety of other uses, I've used mine as a blanket on a Cyprus beach while waiting for the boat, to carry extra ammo, a mat for cleaning my weapon and a whole host of other things I've forgotten.
 
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Erbswurst

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Mar 5, 2018
4,079
1,766
Berlin
Youth organisations are easily taken over by idiots. For this reason we have for sure more than 100 boy scout associations in Germany. Instead of investing time in some kind of revolution people just leave the old club and found a new and better one. It's obviously time to do it in Britain.
 

Billy-o

Native
Apr 19, 2018
1,981
975
Canada
I have noticed a merino travel scarf popping up in searches recently (I am in an extended process of replacing much of my worn out merino and ringing the changes). Sometimes 2' square; sometimes 2' by as much as 4'.

Trying to work out how they work and who they are aimed at. They seem large and bulky for what I am used to ... but they might have a bunch of purposes that I cant yet figure out. Handy for burying your head or keeping warm on a long flight, for sure.

200 gsm, though sometimes 150.

I see merino neck gaiters a lot now too ... the ones I have are synthetic, though I can't think how I accrued three. I can see a new wool one in my future. Those things I understand. More appropriately compact and less rumply than a Buff. I feel Buffs are bit overrated, or just overmarketed perhaps. Lost mine (or one of the kids did and isn't saying :)). I wasn't heartbroken beyond the usual sensation of annoyance at losing things.

I like linen clothes and find a linen scarf is difficult to beat in Summer - breathable, absorbent, can towel, doesn't smell, dries quick, good to wet and put on your head to cool you down. Pretty useless at keeping you warm though.
 
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TeeDee

Full Member
Nov 6, 2008
10,447
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Exeter
Ok my ideas , not saying they are good ideas - just ideas and still willing to listen to others if anyone can throw some in.

1) I like wearing my Shemagh so that it forms a sort of Snood ( I believe that is the modern term ) but when I try to form it after a bit of random movement I find the end comes away and its just hanging around my neck.

I did contemplate a woggle of sorts to keep it in place and but realised that may attract some cracks from the narrow minded.

So a better alternative I think is a small soft Leather fob sewn into one edge with a moderately tight keyhole type opening so one can take one end , insert it through the keyhole which then because its a friction tight fit allows one to cinch it up or loosen it off and it stays at whatever position you want without constant readjustment.

2) Pull Cord bag. - A thin piece of cord sewn under the perimeter of the bag ( probably required another piece of fabric sewn on top ) but left with a small 'pull fob' connected to the Cord will create a large version of one of those make up type bags I see all the beautiful women own. This would allow one if they found a natural resource ( Fruits , moss, leaf litter... erm... Gold coins ) to pile a large amount in then cinch the whole thing up quickly and efficiently to transport.

I may have seen something sold on the old SASS webpage called a ' Go Bag ' if the make up bag metaphor puts you off.

3) Bag for life. - This maybe a good or bad idea due to the amount fabric bulk - I'm not very good at remembering to travel to shops with bags but always tend to need them. Not that this is purely intended for shopping.

Take TWO Shemaghs , sew Three of the edges ( creates the bag ) and then sewn a piece of webbing to the inside of the Shemagh pocket to create a very chic shoulder strap thingy. And then bish-bash-bosh you have an impromptu Tier 1 operator handbag.

Again , just ideas.
 
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