15 Uses For A Wilderness Survival Bandana

Bandanas, shemaghs, keffiyeh, whatever you want to call a strong, light strip of cloth, have plenty of practical uses when trying to survive. Unlike many tools with a few specific uses, the flexibility of a bandana makes it very valuable in a wide variety of situations.

Additionally, unlike other survival gear with a decidedly military look, a bandana can pass as perfectly normal almost anywhere. Let’s look at some common survival uses for a bandana so you can get the best possible utility out of it.

Survival Uses For Bandana

Head covering. The most common and obvious use for a bandana using it as a head covering, which is a convenient way to carry it without taking up room in a pack or your hands. Plus, it protects your face from sunburn!

Portable “Air Conditioning.” Dip a bandana into the water, wring it out, and then wrap it loosely around your head or neck. The evaporation will keep you cooler without wasting a lot of water.

Handkerchief. Although you might think of “handkerchiefs” as being for fancy dinners or the like, in reality, a bandana can also be helpful when you need to get some gunk off your hands or blot away sweat from your forehead. Remember that it could get pretty grubby quickly if you frequently use it for cleanup, so have spares available.

Makeshift Pouch. Whether you’re trying to carry some berries or hide some small value, a bandana can be quickly folded into a pouch that can carry quite a bit if you have high-quality fabric.

Temporary “Disguise.” Granted, you aren’t going to fool anyone by covering your face with a bandana, but it could help keep far-off bystanders from getting good detail on your features. Better than some local gang boss hearing that one of their underlings died to “some dude in a bandana” he tried to rob instead of getting a perfect description.

Emergency Tourniquet. Besides using extreme caution when applying any tourniquet, ensure you have a good-quality bandana before tightening. If the cloth tears and loosens, it could cause greater harm! Combine a durable bandana with a pen or stick, and have the perfect homemade tourniquet.

Flag/ Signaling Device. The cloth is a definite sign of human presence regardless of where you are, so having one on hand could help wave at rescuers or group members in an emergency to get their attention. It could also be tied to a tall pole/tree to be more visible to aircraft.

Bandage. So long as it is somewhat clean, a bandana can serve as a decent bandage. This use is usually temporary, though, since the thinner cloth tends to become saturated with blood quickly.

Eye Covering. Whether owing to wounds or to preserve night vision, covering one or both eyes is always useful.

Padding/Pillow. Although it would probably be pretty thin, a soft cloth is better than laying your head on a rock. You could also pad temporary supports like canes/crutches to minimize chafing.

Cut Into Strips For a Variety of Purposes. Disposable toilet paper, gun cleaning cloths, stuffed in your mouth if you had a sore tooth…the list goes on.

Reusable Toilet Paper (If Washed!). It might seem gross to use the bandana you wrap around your head for toilet paper, but when you need it, you need it! Just clean it thoroughly afterward, and you should be alright.

Ear Coverings/Earplugs. Not only can you keep your ears warmer by wrapping them, but the excess cloth could also be (gently!) stuffed into your ears to minimize noise damage.

You are holding An Ice/Hot Pack In Place. Not only can a pack be tied securely so that it doesn’t move, but many of those packs strongly recommend keeping a barrier between your skin and the plastic, so having that cloth there can protect you as well.

Large Item Water Filter. A bandana isn’t going to catch viruses for you, but it will help filter out some of the sand/dirt, sticks, leaves, and other larger particles. This can sometimes extend the life of true water filters, so having a clean bandana on hand could be doubly useful.

As you can see, the utility of the humble bandana is limited only by your imagination. Let us know if you have any other uses to list in the comments below!

Sources:

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Camping_Wilderness_Survival/deRKF5kv5wwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=wilderness+survival+bandana&pg=PA188&printsec=frontcover

Macallister Anderson

I am by no means an expert in every aspect of this stuff. I plan to learn, and when possible, enlist the help of experts in various fields to come together and offer their knowledge. In a few years, I dream that this site will be a virtual survival encyclopedia and allow a total novice to come on here and be supplied with everything they need to prepare for anything.

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