kilt weights

[macgreggor]

Can anybody tell me what a good range for the actual weight of kilts is. Money being very tight right now, I keep looking on ebay. everybody claims "heavyweight wool" or Middle weight wool etc....when I ask what the actual weight of the kilt is, the answers are all over the ballpark.

Riverkilt, I know you just got a new heavywieght kilt, what is the weight?

there has to be a way to narrow down the field.

Thanks much,

macG

[Miah]

I know 22oz is Very heavy, some of the Military kilts are made of that weight.
If I am not Mistaken a 13oz is a good weight for a traditional kilt it is not overly heavy but not very flimsy.

[yoippari]

Generally accepted minimum weight for a traditional kilt is around 13 oz. This is also usually called medium weight. Most will agree that lower than 13oz becomes flimsy and the wind likes to play with your kilt a bit too much. Heavy weight usually refers to 16oz but military weights are sometimes much heavier, though those weights are mostly found only in military tartans. Many lower cost kilts come in 11 or 9 oz. I think that economy and standard kilts are in this light range, but for the price it is hard to argue. Poly viscose is a bit lighter than stillwaters acrylic but is also an accepted material.

Some places might call 13oz heavy weight because compared to their normal stuff, it is. However others might call 16oz medium weight and reserve the term "heavy" for the 18-24oz range.

I know that I am using words like "usually", and "mostly" very often in this post but the terms in question are relative, and there are few absolutes.

[prattw]

I live in Las Vegas, NV, in the Mohave Desert. It's a very windy and also a very hot locality. (As in 30 mph winds are listed as "breezy" and 105 degrees Fahrenheit in July merits the comment "We're having a slight cool wave through".) All my kilts are 11 oz, both top-quality wool tartan and alternative fabrics, and I've never had any problem with the wind. Mind, a strong air current blowing from BELOW would be a different matter, I expect. I understand that 11 oz is the lower end of suitable kilting material; lighter weights simply don't hang well and are also more subject to blowing up.

Will Pratt

[Archangel]

The other thing to keep in mind with weights is that the standard has moved several years back. Somebody can help me with this.
An older military heavyweight is far heavier than a modern military equivalent. The middleweights are also lighter.
The point is that without specific weights, you would also need some context to compare whatever standard is being discussed.

[Kilts_Knave]

I live in Las Vegas , [and] all my kilts are 11 oz

What is it like to be "used" to that kind of heat and to be wearing this weight? Here in SE Florida it feels like it is 105 many months out of the year. I have read both that heavyweighted material is ideal for hot weather and also that it is unbearable in hot weather. I am curious to hear from another hotblooded individual's opinion about it.

[macgreggor]

Sorry guys,

I guess i didn't make my self real clear. When you put the entire kilt on a scale what would the weight range be for say a 16 oz. 8 yard kilt?I sorta worked it in my head last night and the total weight should be in the 3-4 pound range. Is that a reasonabel thought?

It seems that when asked many sellers reply "it feels like a heave fabric". Rather vague.

I have my eye on an "ex-militatary" kilt. However it looks to be in , my personal dream, MacGregor tartan. I didn't think there was such a beast. Military weight perhaps.

Trying my best to realize my fondest wish. Trying not to get burned real bad.

macG

[prattw]

What is it like to be "used" to that kind of heat and to be wearing this weight? Here in SE Florida it feels like it is 105 many months out of the year. I have read both that heavyweighted material is ideal for hot weather and also that it is unbearable in hot weather. I am curious to hear from another hotblooded individual's opinion about it.

"But it's a dry heat" is a charter member of "Famous Last Words", but it does make a difference. Some people never adapt to the dryness; Suzy and I love it; we both feel uncomfortable at 50 percent humidity at any temperature. There's no question, though, that 115 is HOT, regardless of humidity, about as uncomfortable as 95 with 95. At 10 percent, 90 is blissfully cool in the shade and 100 is quite comfortable, for the adapted. Which includes most people, after a year or so. We have come to regard our months of 100+ as our region's period of inclement weather, equivalent to the winter of colder climes, which we escape.

Heavy weight kilts may be fine for brief exposure, as from parking spot to (air conditioned) destination, offering insulation from the heat during the relatively short period. They're hell to wear all day long outdoors in 100+ temps at a games or festival. Especially the rise encasing your mid-torso. The rise on an 11 oz kilt is less insulating, and the wicking effect and evaporation offsets more of the heat gain. (Not ALL the heat gain, mind, it's still too d__n hot. But survivable.) 100+ weather, incidentally, is likely, even probable, from the Las Vegas Games in April through the RenFaire in early October.

As to specifically what it's like in a (light weight) kilt: under the kilt is as cool as anything is going to get, like wide legged shorts but not so confining. The part of the torso encased by the rise is less comfortable, but that's true of any kind of waistband. Sweat tends to evaporate as it forms in our climate, but still the rise of your kilt can get sweaty and for that reason I generally wear a "wash and hang dry" fabric, such as Poly viscose or acrylic for outdoor occasions in summer.

Will Pratt