A balaclava also known as a balaclava helmet or ski mask, is a form of cloth headgear that covers the whole head, exposing only part of the face. Often only the eyes or eyes and mouth are left exposed. The name "balaclava" comes from the town of Balaklava

Balaklava

Balaklava is a former city on the Crimean peninsula and part of the city of Sevastopol which carries a special administrative status in Ukraine. It was a city in its own right until 1957 when it was formally incorporated into the municipal borders of Sevastopol by the Soviet government...

, near Sevastopol

Sevastopol

Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....

 in Crimea

Crimea

Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...

, Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

.

History

During the Crimean War

Crimean War

The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...

, knitted

Knitting

Knitting is a method by which thread or yarn may be turned into cloth or other fine crafts. Knitted fabric consists of consecutive rows of loops, called stitches. As each row progresses, a new loop is pulled through an existing loop. The active stitches are held on a needle until another loop can...

 balaclavas were sent over to the British troops

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

 to help protect them from the bitter cold weather. However, according to Richard Rutt in his History of Handknitting, the name "balaclava helmet" did not first appear in print during the Crimean War, but only much later, in 1881. This type of headgear was also known in the 19th century as an Uhlan

Uhlan

Uhlans were Polish light cavalry armed with lances, sabres and pistols. The title was later used by lancer regiments in the Russian, Prussian, and Austrian armies....

 cap or a Templar cap. In modern American English, when made for those serving in the armed forces, they are usually known as "helmet liners". They are traditionally knitted from wool

Wool

Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....

, and can be rolled up into a hat to cover just the crown of the head, or folded right down as a collar around the neck.

Materials used

Modern balaclavas can be made from a number of materials, such as silk

Silk

Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...

, cotton

Cotton

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....

, polypropylene

Polypropylene

Polypropylene , also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications including packaging, textiles , stationery, plastic parts and reusable containers of various types, laboratory equipment, loudspeakers, automotive components, and polymer banknotes...

, neoprene

Neoprene

Neoprene or polychloroprene is a family of synthetic rubbers that are produced by polymerization of chloroprene. Neoprene in general has good chemical stability, and maintains flexibility over a wide temperature range...

, wool, acrylic

Acrylic fiber

Acrylic fibers are synthetic fibers made from a polymer with an average molecular weight of ~100,000, about 1900 monomer units. To be called acrylic in the U.S, the polymer must contain at least 85% acrylonitrile monomer. Typical comonomers are vinyl acetate or methyl acrylate...

, woollen

Fleece

Fleece is a general term for a soft fabric , and may refer to:* A fleece, the woollen coat of a domestic sheep or long-haired goat, especially after having been sheared ....

 or polar fleece

Polar fleece

Polar fleece, usually referred to simply as "fleece," is a soft napped insulating synthetic fabric made from Polyethylene terephthalate or other synthetic fibers. One of the first forms was Polar Fleece created in 1979 by Malden Mills, now Polartec LLC., a new, light and strong pile fabric meant...

.

Health and safety uses

Modern balaclavas are used in outdoor winter sports activities such as skiing, snowboarding

Snowboarding

Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set onto mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A...

, snowmobiling, running or winter bicycling to help protect the face from the cold wind and maintain warmth.

Motorcyclists also wear one under their safety helmets for similar reasons; balaclavas also help to keep the inner lining of the helmet clean.

Most commonly firefighters will wear a fire resistant balaclava, otherwise known as a Nomex Hood

Nomex

Nomex is a registered trademark for flame resistant meta-aramid material developed in the early 1960s by DuPont and first marketed in 1967.- Properties:...

, when responding to a fire call along with their SCBA

Self contained breathing apparatus

A self contained breathing apparatus, or SCBA, sometimes referred to as a Compressed Air Breathing Apparatus , air pack, or simply Breathing Apparatus is a device worn by rescue workers, firefighters, and others to provide breathable air in an IDLH Atmosphere...

 and Bunker Gear

Bunker gear

Bunker Gear or "Turnout Gear" are terms used by many firefighters to refer to their system of outer protective clothing. "Bunker gear" and "turnout gear" can refer, depending on the context, to just the trousers and boots, and jacket, or the entire combination of personal protective equipment and...

. This balaclava covers the head and neck, with an open face; typically covered by the mask portion of the SCBA. This is used to help minimize the risk of potentially fatal burns to the upper back, neck, scalp and face.

Racing drivers must wear balaclavas made of fire-retardant material underneath their crash helmet

Helmet

A helmet is a form of protective gear worn on the head to protect it from injuries.Ceremonial or symbolic helmets without protective function are sometimes used. The oldest known use of helmets was by Assyrian soldiers in 900BC, who wore thick leather or bronze helmets to protect the head from...

s in order to improve protection in case of a fire following an accident, and commonly cover the nose and mouth to reduce inhalation of smoke and fumes. Dragster

Dragster

Dragster may refer to*Dragster, a rock band of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal era.*Dragster, a video game released in 1980.*Dragster, a term referring to a custom-built vehicle used in drag racing....

-racing drivers usually wear balaclavas which have just two separate eye holes because of the increased fire risk.

Military and police uses

In the Indian subcontinent

Indian subcontinent

The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...

, balaclavas are commonly referred to as monkey caps, due to their typical earth tone colours, and the fact that they blot out most human facial features. Monkey caps sometimes have a small, decorative, woollen pom-pon

Pom-pon

A pom-pon is a fluffy, decorative ball or tuft. Pom-pons may come in many colors, sizes, and varieties and are made from a wide array of materials, including wool, cotton, paper, plastic, and occasionally feathers....

 on top. They are commonly worn by troops on Himalayan duty for protection from the cold.

The United States Marine Corps

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

 has recently begun issuing balaclavas with hinged face guards as part of the Flame Resistant Organizational Gear

Flame Resistant Organizational Gear

Flame Resistant Organizational Gear or FROG is United States Marine Corps clothing designed to reduce the number of injuries resulting from fire and flash , due to the increased use of improvised explosive devices in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.-Features:The FROG system consists of a...

 program.

Armed Russian police commonly conduct raids and searches of white-collar premises (typically in Moscow) while wearing balaclavas. Such raids have therefore come to be known in Russia as "maski shows", an allusion to popular comic TV show of the 1990s.

Controversy and concealment

British Police in Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

 confiscated the War on Terror

War on Terror (game)

War on Terror, The Boardgame is a satirical, strategic board game, produced and published in 2006 by TerrorBull Games. War on Terror was originally conceived back in 2003 by Andy Tompkins and Andrew Sheerin, two friends based in Cambridge, England...

 board game partly due to the inclusion of a balaclava. Police said it "could be used to conceal someone's identity or could be used in the course of a criminal act".

A balaclava may also be used for concealment purposes, in the course of illegal activities by criminals, and occupationally by SWAT

SWAT

A SWAT team is an elite tactical unit in various national law enforcement departments. They are trained to perform high-risk operations that fall outside of the abilities of regular officers...

 and Special Forces

Special forces

Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...

 personnel. It may also be used by irregular military

Irregular military

Irregular military refers to any non-standard military. Being defined by exclusion, there is significant variance in what comes under the term. It can refer to the type of military organization, or to the type of tactics used....

 forces or paramilitary

Paramilitary

A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....

organizations to conceal their identities.