Have to go with my wool tank despite today's weather.

[MacMillans son]

...some Scots must have dressed like that in the summer....maybe.....

Ya, when they visited ARIZONA!!

I'm with you on the kilt hose Ron, the kilt is never the issue here for me either, it's always the kilt hose. I just go with it!.

Artificer, I find the only time I ever wear a PV kilt ( imported or USAK casual) is when participating in some outside activity that would potential threaten one of my wool kilts. Hiking for instance where I don't want to pay attention to where or on what I sit, how I eat (over my lap), campfire smoke, or if I am likely to get wet or muddy (crossing streams or bogs). My only real choices in regular day to day activities are 13oz or 16 oz 8 yard kilts. I do find the 13oz a little bit cooler, but rarely enough to make them exclusive in the summer. For me it's just wear what looks the best to me on any given day.

[Nathan]

I only own wool kilts. When I'm hiking in thick woods or bramble, I wear my military weight kilt and since it's about 100 years old now and still as good as new, I don't think twice and can't imagine PV being any heartier.

[MacMillans son]

I only own wool kilts. When I'm hiking in thick woods or bramble, I wear my military weight kilt and since it's about 100 years old now and still as good as new, I don't think twice and can't imagine PV being any heartier.

Certainly not heartier Nathan, just cheaper to replace if severely damaged. For me, not having to worry about my expensive kilts getting stained, torn, smoke infused etc. is well worth having a kilt in something other than wool. In PV, I just do whatever I want and never think twice about how it will effect my kilt. Not so with my $500+ hand made wool kilts.

[flyrod6057]

I'm in wool regardless of the weather. I've done Arizona heat in my 13oz MacLean hunting: no problems. I did Bellingham today (81 degrees) in 13oz Leatherneck, and was quite comfortable. I've worn my 16oz tanks in the same conditions. Wool breathes and isn't afraid to manage a little sweat. It also has some natural water repellent built in, so I don't worry about a little rain. I own a couple PV kilts, but aside from wearing them for kilted hash runs, they rarely see the light of day. I also own a couple UKs, and I do my heavy yardwork in my UK workman. The heavy duck is a great protectant, but it soaks up sweat like crazy and is pretty much a miserable mess by the end of the day.

Unless there's a great reason to forego, I'll take the wool!

[MacGumerait]

So I'm getting ready for the first of our local games, my much loved PV kilt pressed and ready to go. I decided to go PV because the temperatures forecasted for today +80*f as well as the +50% chance of heavy rain, with plenty of humidity to boot.

As soon as I got the PV on I found myself thinking "you know, the tank really has much nicer swish" and five short minutes later I've got my 16oz Holyrood tank (made by our own xman) on instead.

Weather be damned, for me at least, it's hard to go back down in weight once you've got the feel of heavy wool.

Does anyone else find this to be an issue, or is it just me fixating on what's good and familiar?


Also, I'll check back in tonite with whether or not I'll need to have all the mud dry cleaned out of it.

ith:

Artificer , I very much agree and it's certainly not you being fixated on what's good and familiar .

I can totally understand where you are coming from .

Have been kilted since I was 16 and now 56 . Over the past 40 yrs I have owned several kilts - PV , wool , etc . I always find myself going to the 8 yd tank , even in hot , humid weather .... for the exact reasons you have stated .

As others have said , I have never found the 8 yd kilt to be an issue , it's always been the kilt hose that can get me overheated . Thus , I wear a lightweight Merino blend .

All things considered , it's hard to beat an 8 yd tank , there's nothing like it . Once a person wears one , it's sometimes challenging to wear the others .

Of course , we all do wear the others and each has it's place , it's just hard to beat an 8 yd tank .

Cheers , Mike

[CMcG]

During the hot and humid days of summer, I wear my Sportkilt around the house a lot because it is super lightweight, comfortable (elastic waistband!), and low yardage. It's also great for hiking and I know lots of Highland heavy athletics folks wear them too.

If I'm out and about, however, I'd rather wear one of my nicer kilts because they look better. None of my wool kilts were bespoke, so the fit on them is OK, but not great. Sometimes I end up wearing my heavyweight acrylic, New World Irish tartan, 8 yarder, not because it is nicer than my ex-pipeband, Maple Leaf tartan tank, but because it was actually made to measure and fits me the best.

[Liam]

While I love my 16 oz wool "8 yarders", my go to kilts for hot humid weather are either my 4 yd box pleat pv, or my 4 yd 11 oz wool. I generally wear compression stockings so add a hose top to fancy them up a tad, sometimes garters, put on some light shoes or sandals and it's cooler than just about any outfit I own.

Here I am in Mexico:
http://mob1037.photobucket.com/album...psec2bdc10.jpg

[artificer]

+ 1 to Ron's comment.

Something I tell my customers:

A good quality custom (made to your measurements) PV kilt is like a VW Jetta. It's a nice car, gets you from A to B. Perfectly servicable.

A high quality wool kilt is like a BMW 6 series... VERY nice. Once you get used to driving the BMW, you appreciate the little things that make it cost more money.

Let's say you have to take your BMW in for service and have to drive the Jetta for a few days. You're not quite as happy w/ it after getting used to the BMW b/c it's "just not the same". The car itself hasn't changed... your experience has. Ditto the kilt scenario.

That's an excellent point, Rocky! Both my PVs were stock "Monarch of the Glen" (Gold Bros.) but I'm a pretty stock guy ~24"l, with a waist/hip ratio that seems pretty close to whatever they use.
But even a good 'stock' fit isn't quite the same as something specifically made for the customer. This may be part of the issue I hadn't considered.

I guess it's all relative... And depends on what you're accustomed to.

80 degrees isn't hot by Texas standards. In fact, that's pretty pleasant. I recall it being 104 degrees at the Texas Scottish Festival a couple of years in a row (which until recently was held in June. They've since changed the date to May the past two seasons and it has been cooler, in fact so much cooler this year that I wore a tweed jacket and waistcoat the first night of the event... But that was very atypical weather!) All my kilts are 16 oz. wool, and I always wear hose with them to such events. The key down here is to drink plenty of iced tea, Irn Bru, Belhaven, or what have you!

Of course, I don't reckon I'd survive a winter up in your part of the world! I worked in the -20 degrees vault at Blue Bell Creameries one school year and summer when I was in high school and that was enough to convince me to stay in a warmer climate.

Hope you had a great time at the games!

Yeah, we don't usually get much above 100*f, and if we do it's rare that it runs for more than a week. -15*f to 95*f is our main range with most of the year being somewhere between 39-51*f, depending where you are in the state.
It was actually a lovely day, the rain held off and we had enough cloud cover that we didn't roast like the last two years.

There's a happy medium, a shorter yardage kilt in wool. I have kilts in PV and kilts in 5,6 and 8 yards And the lower yardage kilts feel cooler to me at least.

I was actually going to wear my 5yd R'lyeh box pleat, but I've worn that at the last two games, so I wanted to do something different.

[seanachie]

I am curious from the "all wool, all the time" members do you wear them to work. I am an avid participant in "Kilt Friday" at work and generally wear PV or hemp (RKilts) because of the low maintenance. My wool kilts, were hard earned and I fear wearing them in an office for 10 hours at a go will be to their detriment.

Go raibh maith agaibh

[Father Bill]

Had PV. Sold it. Wool for me always. My 5 yd box pleat is minimally cooler and still "moves" pretty much like heavy wool because that's what it is!