Hey David,

I may be a bit partial about the quality, so your best bet would be to listen to others on XMARKS that have BOTH a USAK Traditional and an import. They'll be the ones to REALLY listen to. You can't compare my Traditional to an Import without wearing both. Richard and Graham both (I believe) have imports as WELL as a USAK Traditional.

My take... The PV is an 11 OZ fabric, so it IS a little lighter than your 13 oz. The swing of our PV Traditional is about the same as the swing on an 11 Oz WOOL kilt. The weight and depth of pleats (as long as the kilts are CONSTRUCTED the same way) are big parts of what gives a kilt it's swing.

Wool is a natural fiber and PV is man made. When you rub it between your fingers, you can definitely feel a difference (the PV feels tighter woven with a definite face side and a definite back side). However, if you're just LOOKING at it, to the untrained eye, there's little to no difference. The plus side is that you can wash PV and hang it dry and it's much easier to clean. It breathes in the summer (not as hot as 13 oz wool in the MD Summer Sun) and it's MUCH cheaper than 13 oz wool.

If you have any other questions, let me know! I hope this info helps!