I'm coming back to XMarks after being away for a while, and found this thread.

Several years ago I used to travel quite a bit in a kilt. I did all the standard things mentioned: putting the belt, sporran, etc. through the scanner. I didn't know about going through the metal detector sideways - that's a good tip, thanks.

I did discover that the casual kilts with velcro closures instead of buckles work great for not having issues with the metal detectors, and those kilt models also usually have pleat edges stitched down. That's nice, as I've found it very difficult to get regular pleats properly smoothed down in the confines of a crowded airline seat area.

Once I discovered the velcro kilt option, which kilt I wore depended on how pressed for time I expected to have at the security line, and how devlish I felt . . . . . . after the first time or two with the buckles, I knew they were going to set off the metal detector and I'd get wanded or patted down. The screener operating the metal detector would call out "male assist", and whose ever turn it was to do the assist would look over . . . many times, he'd get this "deer in the headlights" look when he realized he was going to have to pat down a guy in a "skirt"! You could almost read his thoughts, "Why is it my turn? Why didn't I pay closer attention to this part in trainint?"

Mark