A shemagh is a large square of cloth made from loosely woven cotton. It originated in the middle east, but has gained worldwide popularity, both among the fashionable and the practical. I tend towards the latter, and treasure my shemagh as one of my most useful woodland multi-tools. I often also pack a small bottle of Dr. Bronner’s or similar liquid soap, to wash the shemagh as needed. Following is an illustrated list of some of the many uses for this simple and inexpensive piece of gear.

Firewood carrier

Wrapped around the neck and stuffed inside the collar, a shemagh acts as a gasket and helps trap warm air in your anorak

Tie the shemagh around spare clothing or gear for a pillow

A source of thread for quick repairs

A brightly colored shemagh makes a great trail marker to find your way back to camp when briefly stepping off-trail. Just keep it in eyesight!

On cold nights, boil your water in your stainless steel bottle, then return the lid, wrap in your shemagh, and snuggle it in your sleeping bag. Or, use it to keep drinks and soups cold or hot longer.

Head cover

Source of cotton cloth for char material

Foraging sack

Pressure dressing for hemorrhage control. (NOTE: NOT A TOURNIQUET! Don’t cut off blood flow; use this to apply pressure to the site of bleeding. A sterile or clean dressing goes against the wound, and the shemagh applies pressure. The cord anchoring the windlass should be loose. If you don’t have a commercial tourniquet, don’t improvise one and just apply pressure, unless you’re familiar with palpating a distal pulse.)

A similar concept for emergency lashing.



A ground cloth for keeping gear or food free of dirt

Water pre-filter to remove debris before boiling. Several passes may be needed; clean sand, gravel, grasses, etc can be used to increase performance.

Tumpline

Insect/bait/fish/foraging net

Face mask

Rifle sling

Apron

Flail. Wrap a fist-sized stone in the middle of the shemagh, grasp both ends, and swing as an effective blunt weapon to dispatch game.

Kneeling pad

Earmuffs

Towel

Tool roll

Lamp wick

Pet leash. (That’s Java. She’s the best dog.)

Thread for fish lures. This fly was tied without tools, using shemagh thread, a few barbs from a pheasant tail, a bit of gum wrapper, and a No. 14 nymph hook.

Curtain/insect screen

Eye patch

Splint

Mitten

Pot holder

Sock

Ice pack

Sling for an injured extremity

Gear attachment

Dust mask

Warm/cold compress for sprains/strains, contusions with unbroken skin, tired eyes, etc.

Wrap for protecting delicate or silencing noisy gear

Diaper

Water pre-filter by capillary action. Fill a container with turbid water, immerse shemagh, leave a corner hanging out into another container, lower than the first.

Tinder

Bindle

Flag/Windsock

Strainer/colander/sieve

Sweat band

Winnowing tray

Evaporative cooling

Neckerchief

Fitness

Dish rag/towel

Seat cushion

Head carry padding

Infant carrier. Please be sure to double check your knots after loading and re-check often.

A sleep mask for midday naps

Rain collector

Sarong

Food cover

Dew collector

Shade

Blanket

Camouflage for gear or hunting

Belt pouch

Fanny pack/belt

Pest prevention

Sling

Heavy cordage

Extracting & refining clay

Leaching acorns/cooling food

Starch extraction from cattail roots

Furoshiki is a Japanese art of wrapping various objects in cloth for carry, using a wide range in cloth sizes. Google yields lots of different methods. Below are nine.

Long object

One bottle

Brass ring

Pumpkin

Scope

Two books

Two bottles

Two loop box

Delicate package

Phew. That’s more uses than my Leatherman. You can pick up decent ones on Amazon for less than $20, which is cheap enough that I don’t feel terrible if I happen to ruin one. Though, one thing I don’t use my shemagh for that I see folks mention a lot, is as toilet paper. I use it for so many other things, that…no. No thanks. I’ve never had that much trouble finding something else, and Dr. Bronner’s only fixes so much.

Special thanks to Megan and Theo Normansell for her contributions to this article.