Shemagh Tactical Desert Keffiyeh Scarf

Good quality shemagh, like the ones you find overseas. Mine was made in India, and was woven material, not a dyed pattern. I think people who never had a “shmog” think that they are thick woolen scarves and comment that they are “poor quality and thin”. They are realatively thin linen material with a lumpy weave that will keep your neck and head surprisingly warm or cool depending on how you wrap it. It stunk a little when I got it, but they all do until you wash them with cold water and hang them out. Wear them a week in a hot climate and they’ll really stink! Mine appears to be a genuine Rothco, which I would say is very good quality. These have a zillion uses other than a headwrap. One suggestion if you are going to wear it “bandit” or “commando” style, don’t listen to the airsoft warriors who tell you to double-knot it; just single-knot it or just leave it unknotted and tucked in front to avoid getting easily choked. Good item overall! Update on the Coyote color that I also ordered : Same good quality as the grey one. Keep in mind these are made in India, probably on 150 year old looms that Britain left behind, and won’t compare to the exacting tight weave of your Burberry scarf and may have a few pulls or loose threads. Its a schemagh, not a fashion accessory. There’s also a lot of chatter in the comments about the actual shade of Coyote - yes, its not an exact match to the surplus USMC deuce gear that you just bought for your airsoft adventures, but it is an acceptable Coyote brown. Very good product overall.

I have some rothco shemaghs and a few from Explore land which is okay but compared to the rothco, rothco is superb. It is more thicker than the explore land and more tightly sown. No product is perfect I saw one loose thread but removing it never made damage so most likely a spare from factory. I am very pleased with how it's slightly more thicker and very big. These are slightly bigger than the explore land brands. When it comes to shemaghs with standard colors, I am sticking with the rothcos unless I want specific colors to add to my wardrobe. I have a black and a foliage one still going strong to this day for 4 years and there's no sign of rips, discoloration and deformities. If you want a quality shemagh that will hold up with reasonable use, you can't go wrong with these. My only wish is I wish all the shemaghs are prime so I can get them faster and to a secure Amazon pick up location as my neighborhood is bad. Even so I'm willing to send to my sister's place and retrieve them later. Everytime I want a shemagh of standard colors, I stick with rothco. Lol I know I sound like I'm sponsored to them but I ain't lying, these feel so much solid and bigger than others on Amazon.

Rothco is a big name is Mil equipment. And the quality shows.

Really solid, well made piece of material. Not some stringy, easily ripped cheap Chinese knockoff. This feels like it was authentically woven with quality materials. It's quite large, has some weight to it and has a good coloring. I definitely suggest two things before you throw it in your pack or use it in any way. Go through and tighten all the knots, some are very loose and if they come undone it will begin to unravel. Not a big deal, takes 3 minutes to go through and just tug each one until it's tight. And wash it. It comes with the fresh scent of stank on it from wherever it was made. Who knows how gnarly dirty the factories are in some random 3rd world garment factory. So before you wrap it around your face give it a good hand washing in the sink with a little laundry detergent and a capful of bleach. That should take care of the funk in it. Just be careful because there's a lot of excess dye in the material and I don't know what'll happen if it gets on other material. You need to rinse it for a solid 5 mins before the water runs clear. I definitely would NOT machine wash this the first time unless you do it with rags or dark unimportant clothes.

I see that others have reviews based on color, so to keep with that system I purchased the tan version. I own several shemaghs and this is the most comfortable so far. It is well made and the tassels are extensions of the actual treads, not added or stitched on later. The material is softer than other 100% cotton versions I own. And now the elephant in the room: the smell. There is a chemical smell to the material and after reading several other reviews I almost didn't purchase it. But then I remembered that most people like to complain about anything, so I figured I'd give it a chance. Upon opening the plastic wrap I was immediately able to smell the chemical wash or whatever it is that they use to treat it. I have been in the habit of hand washing all new clothing articles in white vinegar and water to disinfect and set colors ever since I was a kid ( I'm not here to debate whether this works or not, I've never had a problem), which is immediately what I did to this. After soaking for a about 15 minutes, I rinsed it well and hung up to dry. The next morning the smell was so significantly reduced that it is barely noticeable. Important note: I am NOT sensitive to most smells. Strong cleaners, bleach, chlorine all will mess me up, just like anyone else, but if there is a faint smell I will go nose-blind to it. If you are sensitive to smells, ESPECIALLY since this will be covering your nose and mouth, do not get it! I found others that are comparable to this product with no smell and no reviews indicating a smell on any of the models. Otherwise, try vinegar.

EDIT: I have used this extensively in the hot summer in my garden and on a few hikes. It is wonderful but very pink. It's been wet, dried, stressed, and holds up well though there is some minor tearing where it was really pulled hard. It makes a wonderful shawl and helps keep the mosquitoes from getting through my clothes! ORIGINAL: This has just now arrived and not been tested in the field. After reading a lot of reviews I was afraid I'd get something flimsy, dirty, or smaller than described. I was wrong. This came precisely as described. Not including the tassles, it measures 42x42 (actually a hair short of 42 on one side and a hair long on the other, less than 1/4" difference each way.) It is clean and doesn't smell, except for the dye. It reminds me of when I used to buy t-shirts with decals on them, not a strong smell. The weave is better/tighter than I expected. The holes in the weave are too small to measure - much less than 1mm each. The color (pink) is really pink. It feels strong. Pulling one edge from the other, I feel like I could rip it if I wanted to, but it would take effort. I'm sure I could hold one end down with a foot and rip the other with my hand. But for a lightweight item, it feels sturdy. I won't feel like I have to be dainty with it. I've just looked at some YouTube videos on how to tie this thing and it's long enough to do all of them, though 2" more wouldn't be bad. I'll probably buy another in another color someday. Looking forward to using this one.

I sort of bought this on a whim and I was pleasantly suprised!! I live in a very rainy area and i realised after i bought it, tat it would provide excellent warmth in a rainy windy enviroment. It has so many uses i recommend everyone have a faw on hand. I didnt realize all the uses untill I did research and stared at the awesomeness of it for a few hours. (joking). The list of things you can do with these would go on forever but Ill list a few ive thought of so far. You can use it as tactical camouflage, filter water of particles with it, use it as a back up gun sling, keep yourself warm with it, keep yourself cool with it. Shemaghs could be used as a pillow or small blanket. They are all around amazing. At first glance the fabric seems a bit flimsy but its actually quitw stretchy and tough. Anotehr bonus is the ends are already tied, i have heard that some you have to tie them yourself. I recommend hand washing it in cold water, it will release A LOT of dye off it. The one down side I would say is the stiching of the black pattern is slightly lose and might get caught on something but I honestly dont see this becoming a problem, just a possibility. One more con i would say Is the way it smells. I personally like the smell but some may find it annoying. And since you dont want it to shrink you cant wash it in warm soapy water and dry it in a dryer with a nice smelling dryer sheet so you sort of have to deal with the smell. Like i said though i think it smells good.

This is my 8th Rothco shemagh. They have all been great I got the grey with black weave this time. Very sturdy, good for when you want something that can be roughed around a bit and not worry about ruining, it will hold up for a while and the price is right. The weave looks great on both sides. One has more black showing, the other has more grey showing. The web page says it's made in China, the label says made in India, just like every Rothco I've bought. Label also says 100% cotton, as advertised. Feels like it too. The fabric is a little rough to the touch, but not as bad as the Explore Land shemaghs that I bought. It began softening up very nicely after hand washing once and wearing for a couple days.