Afghan Patu Mountain Shawl

It's a shawl. It's a blanket. And it's comfortable as hell. It's one of the most versatile pieces of clothing from the middle east, and it actually qualifies as tacticool. 

The Patu is an ultra-cozy wool blanket with simple embellishments & tassels on the top and bottom edge, designed to be worn for cool nights in the mountains or be used as you'd use any other blanket. That's Literally it. But there's more to it.

So what's KommandoStore doing selling Afghan Blankets? During the hunt for Bin Laden in Afghanistan, and particularly during the Battle of Tora Bora, these very shawls were seen on Operators from the United States Delta Force and CIA as a means to blend in with the local populace - a 'when in rome' approach to urban camouflage. Paired up with other pieces of locally-worn garb, an operator could conceal most of his kit neatly beneath these blankets, and flip it over his shoulder when the need arose. Of course, being a blanket, it kept them warm in the inclement weather in the Khyber Pass and even kept their arms out of the sun.

So whether you're using this as a means to LARP or not, it's hard to argue with it's utility. 

Specs

• Authentic Middle Eastern Import
• 94" x 44" — slightly larger when accounting for stretch
• Cozy wool blend construction ideal for cool nights and looking cool too :)
• Exact same type of shawl used by Delta Force/CIA during the Battle of Tora Bora
  
• tassels & woven pattern on each end

 

Wearing Your Patu Shawl

Patu shawls are most commonly worn using a simple "once around" wrap. Start with the short side of the shawl draped off your shoulder, wrap it around your back, over the other shoulder, around your front, and back over the shoulder you started on. It should sit around or below your waist just like our model photos, with a relatively even distribution all around.

Ready for some CIA LARP? For concealing rifles, start on the shoulder opposite your trigger finger. This will allow the long angle of the shawl to match the gun across your body, and makes it easier to swim the muzzle out. To keep your shawl wrapped tight with a rifle outside concealment, wrap the shawl between you and the sling before the final wrap on the starting shoulder.