Lightweight Tallis

'Tis the season for lightweight tallit purchases. This week we received several lightweight tallit purchases and inquiries. One inquiry I found to be surprisingly insightful:

Hi,
I would like to get your advice on taleisim, since I can't actually see them when ordering online. I'm looking for a traditional black-stripe talis, as light weight as possible, except with the top part reinforced for putting it over your head. Can you recommend one? I find having a little extra weight on the top part help it stay on my head.  It tends to fall off frequently when it’s unlined. 

I was looking at the page for the Kalil Tallis, and I’m curious as to why it is made narrower than other taleisim.  Do you know why they do that, and how different that feels practically?  Are there any lightweight taleisim that are sized normally?
Thanks, David

David is very right. A year or two ago I happened to have an extra Beit Yosef atara, and had it sewn on my Shabbos tallis, and then noticed that adding a bit of weight there does improve "tallit stability."

The Kalil is narrower so that you have less tallit bunched on your shoulders. Thin fabric, doubled up, is no longer very thin.

Just about every other tallit is sized normally. I suggested to David that he consider the Tashbetz. But if you want to stick with a very conservative black-striped look, you should know that up close the Tashbetz fabric looks very slightly different from standard black-striped tallits. 

Another option would be Hamefoar. Here in Israel it's marketed as Pe'er Kal (kal means lightweight) and it is a smidge lighter than your standard tallit. I would say it breathes a bit better than a standard tallit, but not quite as well as the Tashbetz.

          Go to Lightweight Tallit page>>