Military Shemagh Tactical 100% Cotton Scarf Head Wrap

I like this Mato & Hash Military Shemagh. It is 100% cotton, which is necessary if you want to use this as a hot-weather accessory. You want something that is sweat-absorbent, like cotton. I was looking for a spring/summer scarf (for guys) and this one fits the bill perfectly. When it is slightly windy, this scarf works perfectly. I live in the Northeast US and although I have not worn it in the winter, I would prefer wearing a warmer woolen scarf during snowy weather. And winter weather is not the purpose of this scarf, I feel. The design is "woven" into the fabric: what I mean by that is that the black strands are woven into the base color shemagh. The design is not "block-printed" onto the shemagh. The first thing you have to do with this is to hand wash it in cold water and then hanging it to air dry. The dye/color will bleed. It did not leave stains on the shemagh after bleeding, which is good. It was just extra color that had to be washed off. If you don't do this and wear it and you sweat/shemagh gets wet with rain, it won't be a pretty sight... I would recommend hand washing it. I have not tried it in the washer/dryer. I do not think it will shrink, but it feels ok to just hand wash. I don't get it too dirty that i feel like it needs to go through a full machine wash cycle. I wear it as a scarf. It is large enough to wear as a headdress, which I sometimes do at home. Considering that I live in a major US city, I do not think it is a smart idea to cover my head and face, as some other reviewers have mentioned. The shemagh is perfect in size. I have attached a photo where the shemagh is folded in half (it is almost exactly square) and I have placed a 13" Macbook Pro next to it for reference.

Great scarf, versatile, perfect size for winter warmth.

I really like the way these scarfs make me stand out in a crowd. I wrap one of these bad boys around my head and walk in to the airport just to see what kind of beat down I recieve. I also like the reaction I get when I wear this scarf with a backpack, it gets really good when I drop the backpack and take off running yelling Ali Babba, Mohammad aka bar and Islamic sounding words. It's so funny because once the mob of people chase me down and corner me I then unwrap my face and say "gotcha!" That usually ends painfully but well worth it. I almost gave it 4 stars but I dont like how it makes my head sweat on hot days, I still don't understand how the people of the Middle East can wear these things on 115 degree days but hey maybe the sweat cools them down? Regardless you can't argue with the way these scarves can radically transform any outfit in your closet. Nothing yells "get down" or "everybody run" like one of these bad boys wrapped around your head. I think Obama would look really good in one of these in fact I bet he has several of them in and around the White House. So if you want to scare the hell out of a crowd of people or just have a really ugly face I highly suggest you add a couple of these to your cart, they are well made and worth the low cost.

If you see my other reviews, I really spare "I love it" to inanimate objects. Four stars is great. Mato & Hash for less money is truer for military wear. The Rothco is made in India; the Mato in Pakistan. I was hoping Rothco was correct when they called it coyote. NOT. It's a golden brown. That's how it looks on my calibrated screen, so I am betting the green they call OD is too green also. OTOH the Mato & Hash OD looks that way on my screen and when it arrived. Even after a warm/cold initial wash on wool/gentle with a small amount of Tide powder to remove any sizing. Neither had much smell, but the Mato & Hash had none after washing. Both were air dried. Rothco is not much heavier, if any, than the Mato version. Looking through each they have an equal gauze weave. So the Rothco is more a fashion statement gold, rather than a military color. It will get dyed. I would suggest save a buck and get the correct colors you want by ordering the Mato & Hash. It's even made in the home of the Taliban LOL.

This is my first opportunity to do a "touch and feel" evaluation on a Shemagh: 1) The base-layer cotton material is very lightweight with a thread count/inch of around 10. I am speculating that this is by design to allow the material to be highly breathable (note that one usage is to prevent dust/sand from entering the noes/mouth). An artifact of the low thread count/inch is that the material snags somewhat easily. 2) Initial inspection showed that the material had an odor that I am attributing to the dye. The odor was annoying enough that I opted to hand wash the Shemagh. 3) Hand washing was the correct technique. There was a great deal of dye that washed off and it would have certainly stained any other item had I washed it together with something else. I actually had to hand wash several times to remove most (but not all) of the dye. While there is still an odor, it is slight and easily tolerable. 4) Keep in mind that I am a Shemagh "newbie": I originally thought that the primary purpose of the Shemagh was simple protection from the sun (keep the sun off the head and back of the neck). It actually does much more: acts as a mini visor to keep the sun out of your eyes and also acts as eye black to further reduce glare. b) is a multi-purpose head wear where you can optionally use the face mask, use it as a scarf only (retain heat in cold weather and wet it for evaporation in hot weather. I'm compelled to confess that I have little knowledge of Middle East culture, so I was hesitant to try a Shemagh; however, I have a couple of military friends who swear by a Shemagh so I opted to give it a try and see what all the fuss was about. I am very happy that I overcame my initial bias and gave it a try. I am so impressed with it that I plan to purchase another in the future, although I am going to look for one made of thicker material (if it even exists).

Light and warm on summer's cold. So easy to put on and off, ideal for travel...

Attention, produit de mauvaise qualité, il s'est déchiré dès le premier lavage ! Absence d'étiquette indiquant le mode et la température de lavage à respecter. Très déçu.

Great scarf. Good quality, nice and warm too.

This Shemag is amazing. Very nice quality beautiful color similar to Ranger green good quality of the cotton perfect size. I'm so happy with this purchase. I have an other an other one and that one did not match my expectation in terms of the green color (more shiny), so thanks!

NON E' COTONE,SINTETICO 100%