Now I am sure you all know at least 10 different ways to use a bandana but here are some uses that I have seen:
A) Knee Injuries: A bandana can be used to support the knee on some sort of usable knee injury or to help add length to a bandage wrapped around the leg. (Not always the most practical due to a bandana being fairly small in size)
B) Ankle Injuries: A popular method used to support ankle injuries in which your going to keep the ankle in a boat or when there is some movement possible without the patient being in too much pain. (Again just like a knee injury the bandana may not always be big enough to work without having additional splinting materials)
C) Water Filter: While using a bandana for filtering water may not remove the microbes aka the bacteria or the viruses in the water, it can be used as a good starting point if the water has lots of solids in it. After removing the solids this water will need further treatment to be considered safe. There is only one exception to having only a bandana used in filtering is if you use it to collected rain water.
D) Eye Injuries: A bandana if it is still decently clean can be used to patch the non-injured eye to prevent movement of the injured eye because of the fact that both eyes are required to have a full field of vision.
E) Cuts/Scrapes: It can be used to help in the clean of a dirty cut or scrape. Also can be used to apply direct pressure. Finally it can be used to cover a wound that is exposed to the outside of the body.
F) Climbing Use #1: Can be used to control rope when belaying around waist to help lower someone or to prevent them from falling further down the cliff/ledge/steep terrain/whatever.
G) Climbing Use #2: Padding the rope that is scraping along the surface or is suffering from abrasions.
H) Climbing Use #3: Can be used to assist climber in gripping surfaces that aren't easy to grab and cling to.
I) Climbing Use #4: Again it has to helping the climber in have a better grip because of minor cuts, blisters, or hot-spots forming on your hands
J) Climbing Use #5: When climbing a rope a bandana can protect your hands and provide more gripping power to make climbing east or finally can help in preventing rope burn from occurring.
K) Tourniquet: While this First Aid practice is frowned upon and not usually suggested sometimes though it may be the only option to prevent a person from bleeding out or to help slow the spread of a poison due to contact with chemicals or an animal bite.
L) Clothing Use #1: Tucked into hat to prevent sunburn or to help the body cool down in extreme heat.
M) Clothing Use #2: Folding diagonally and the rolling partially or all the way up to serve as a neck protecter.
N) Clothing Use #3: Making yourself look cool by tying and wearing it on my head.
O) Clothing Use #4: Again trying to make yourself look cool and tough by using it as an armband.
P) Clothing Use #5: Going again for looking cool and of course failing miserably by wearing it as a head band instead of it covering the entire top of your head.
Q) Clothing Use #6: Knee/leg band but this time you aren't trying again to make yourself look cool (since you fail miserably every time) going for the hippie look.
R) Sports Use #1: Differentiate between different teams for games such as soccer, football, or capture the flag.
S) Sports Use #2: Using it as a flag assuming you have two different colors (or if you want to create true chaos having both teams use the same color) during flag football!
T) Sports use #3: Blindfold (but you need to remember to take the bandana off because well.............lets just say things can go horribly wrong if you choose to do otherwise.)
WARNING: NOT responsible for ANY action, inaction, or use resulting in injury, serious injury, disability or even death!
U) Sports Use #4: During arm wrestling match when you have opponents who either have grip strength issues or butterfingers!
V) Sports Use #5: When starting any type of race for any type of event it can be used to signal go when racing.
W) Sports Use #6: While running events for Scouts usually end with tripping and then victim saying "I'm going to get you" it can be used as a cheap mans baton, shuffle run item to be picked up.
X) Sports Use #7: For those who failed at push-ups because they can't keep there feet together by forcing them together by tying there legs together.
WARNING: MAY cause ankle INJURIES, as such ScoutingManiac CAN NOT be held RESPONSIBLE for the ACTIONS or INACTIONS of the person doing that particular PHYSICAL ACTIVITY!
Y) Sports Use #8: During sit-ups for those who insist on using arms to help sit up having there hands tied together across chest.
WARNING: Potential of RISK that directions may be CONSIDERED hazing or CHILD ABUSE!
Z) Sports Use #9: Used to trip your opponents when participating on slippery gym floors such as sealed wood floors or tile floors!
WARNING: Any suggestion INCLUDED on this list that PROMOTES violence is STRICTLY the RESPONSIBLE of the OFFENDER!
So there is 26 uses, hopefully some were interesting, while others may have possibly been boring which even though the use is boring it was done so unintentionally. Therefore please do not commit to aggressive reactions but instead use your energy to come up with better and less boring uses by posting a comment below!
Yours in Scouting Service
Mark West
Assistant Scoutmaster
Camp Gorsuch 2012 Super-Troop Coordinator
T1316- Eklutna District; T669- Tustumena District; T125- Denali District;
Program Committee; Training Committee; Cope Committee; Camping Committee:
NSJ2005 Participant- Youth QM; NSJ2010 Subcamp 7 Staff;
NSJ2013 Extreme Sports Staff; WSJ2007 Youth QM; WSJ2011 IST;
Eagle Scout; OA Nanuk Lodge; Philmont AA2008; 2010 NYLT Staff- Youth QM;
If you are paid to do Scouting, you are called a professional. If you are not paid to do Scouting, you are called a Volunteer. If you pay to do Scouting, then you are called a Scouter.
