The SkyRoll--convenient way to travel with a kilt or three

[ForresterModern]

I meant to write this post last fall after returning from my Scottish Golf Odyssey, where I carried three 16oz kilts and all my hose, flashes, sporrans, belts, and headwear in an original SkyRoll as carry on and ground luggage for 9 days travel. But am glad I waited as I recieved a second larger and wheeled version for my birthday a couple months ago, which I think may be the final soution on how to travel efficiently with 1-3 kilts and kit, or 1-2 kilts and a jacket and your kit.

SkyRoll makes two different pieces of carry-on or checked luggage that is designed as a central plastic tube with an outer wraparound garment hanger bag, the original just a smaller simple tube-shaped 8 inch rounded off triangle, and the wheeled version a rounded off 8x12 inch tube with wheels and an extending handle with the same outer wraparound garment bag. These are originally designed for one-two suiters who travel for business for a couple days and are meant to carry your suits/jackets in the outer wraparound garment bag, with some thin pieces of clothing in the wrap as well, and then bulkier items like shoes and kit bag in the center tube. The tubes are nylon canvas covered and zippered at each end while the wraparound garment bag portions are like a miniature version of a larger travel garment bag having a zipped closure and sub compartments, with the latter snapping and velcroing onto the outside of the former with delryn straps and snaps. The idea is that your suits are wrapped around the outside of a smooth edged a tube rather than folded during travel, thus diminishing wrinkles. The larger version is capable of taking folded laundered shirts in the tube rather than hangered dress shirts in the garment bag portion.

I used the standard one to (barely) carry three kilts and the above kit as a shoulder strap born carry on for my golf oddyssey, and anticipate being able to use my newer and larger rolling and handled one for similar use with a bit more space. Three kilts in my size were a real stretch for the original but should work better with the larger rollling version. Obviously works fine for suits as it was designed for this.



Original on left, larger rolling version on right.



Backside of each showing the delryn snaps and nylon straps for the garment bag portions.



Open roll garment bag ready for loading with your dress gear/kilts, with one end still snapped to the outside of the larger rolling version, and the original in the background.

They can be seen at skyroll.com and most easily purchased at Menswearhouse.com or menswearhouse stores, $99 for the original and $199 for the rolling version, but a smart shopper can find them for 10-25% off around the holidays or on sales frequently, and even more discounted if you are a frequent shopper at the stores as they have special coupons and a money-back program at the stores.

They should work well for kilts up to about 44" waist give or take---anything larger and you may need to fold over an edge of a kilt to get it into the garment bag, which increases the risk of wrinkling obviously. It is actually pretty amazing how much of your kit you can squeeze into the tube as well. Highly recommended. I am planning a 5 day trip to Hong Kong in late June and will likely take the roller and another carry on for that trip than check any luggage--still deciding whether to go with a kilt for travel, as it is a business trip and a kilt may be marginal dress for my meetings this time, whereas it was perfect for golf last summer (at least at most golf courses).

jeff

[Santa Wally]

Jeff, Thanks for posting. That's something to add to my wish list.

[Standard]

Thanks for the review Jeff. Do you by chance have any photos that you could share of how you stow your kilts in the outer compartment?

[ForresterModern]

The garment bag opens and functions just as it would with regular clothes (ummm, non-kilts) except that for kilts I would recommend no hangers unless you are only carrying one kilt, for space savings and fit of the rolled garment bag. In Scotland I took three 16oz 8yd tanks as carry on along with nearly all the kit I needed (at least 6 pair hose, three cpas/bonnets, two sporrans, belts, flashes, etc...---no kilt pins due to carry on rules), just in this standard version SkyRoll (carry on weighed about 30 pounds).



Kilts folded in thirds as if on hangers but placed in the garment bag with waistbands and fells staggered to spread out the bulky parts equally around the tube when wrapped up.



Zipped up. If your waist is much over 42 you may have to fold an edge over on your kilt to get it to fit into the garment bag, or fold your kilt into fourths instead of thirds, but that makes the whole thing thicker and less likely to close and snap properly.



Top end of garment bag snaps to tube base with two snaps/straps, then when you roll it up additional velcro strips on tube and garment bag line up, grab it, and hold it in place from slouching when carried.



Rolled up showing three additional snaps and straps at the other outer end of the garment bag that hold it together once rolled. Straps are addjustable to a certain extent (wish they were a smidgen longer).



Packed and standing up, showing some extra flat space inside zipper on outside of garment bag.



End flap of smaller standard version unzipped to show storage inside tube---standard version is separated into different halves for each end access, while the larger rolling version only opens at one end for total access to the whole center tube.


The rolling larger version has an even longer garment bag and straps and I would guess should hold three possibly four kilts with ease, and the larger base tube should hold maybe twice as much kit in a better shape. Hopes this helps folks get an idea of how this device works as a kilt carrier for travelling on a plane and elsewhere as needed. When car travelling I use my Order of the Gael kit instead and either hang it or lay it out over the rest of the luggage. But when you have to carry it compactly, like on a plane, this is a whole lot more efficient than my bigger rolling garment bag or the OOTG bag.

Jeff

[Spartan Tartan]

So this meets with carry-on rules? You don't have to check this bag with your other luggage? That is a must have.

[ForresterModern]

So this meets with carry-on rules? You don't have to check this bag with your other luggage? That is a must have.

Even the bigger roller version meets carry on rules, so despite the extra cost I would suggest getting the bigger roller as there is more space for all your stuff in one bag and it rolls instead of being a shoulder bag. (30 pounds on my shoulder got a little bit old when I had to make three plane changes each way to and from Scotland last summer).

[Dale Seago]

This is really impressive. Bookmarking the manufacturer's site for near-future reference. Thanks!

[Santa Kona]

Bought one for my trip to the Hawaii games works great. Packed my kilt, jacket, sporran, belts , hose and other stuff. I got mine at Men's Wearhouse for $99.00 but they have buy one get one free deals all the time... So I have 2 of them.

[Dale Seago]

This is really impressive. Bookmarking the manufacturer's site for near-future reference. Thanks!

Got the wheeled version arriving today from The Men's Wearhouse. Apart from the obvious -- the kilts -- I'm thinking about some of these for "core storage" during transport:

Magellan's StowAways Packing Tubes

[Standard]

Thanks for the photos of the packed luggage. It looks like it works great. The one problem I have is that my small suitcase which is perfect for a 3 or 4 day trip is not long enough to hold a kilt without scrunching the kilt up after rolling it. I have a bag from Duluth Trading Company called the One Night Stand http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/p...cessor=content But your set up seems superior to it due to the rigidity of the central tube.