Looking for a heavyweight kilt for hiking in the winter

[Steve Ashton]

I guess it would all depend on your definition of "heavy weight" and "Durable".

An 8 yard, 16oz kilt in the Traditional style will weigh right around 4 lbs. And while some would call it durable or long lasting, it is of expensive wool fabric that can snag, should be dry-cleaned, and has a waist height that is up about three or four finger widths below the bottom of your breastbone. Well above the navel on most guys.

The Gray kilt on the left is a the definition of the Traditional Style. It was made by Barb Tewksbury.
The Green kilt on the right is a current MOD military issue kilt.
Notice please that all three kilts in this photo have the bottom just above the top of the knee cap where they are designed to be worn and where it would cause the less chaff while hiking.



The waist height of both of these may be too high to be comfortable under packstraps. They also may be too expensive for rough hiking in the woods.

There is a material called "PV" that is a blend of Polyester and Acrylic that may fit your needs a bit better.
Be careful however as you will see the letters "PV" on many sites selling kilts made in Pakistan. While inexpensive the Pakistani kilts are usually not actually PV but 100% Acrylic. Very light weight and snags very easily.

Look at the offerings of one of our advertisers - USA Kilts. Their logo is on the top banner. They make kilts from true English PV. The fabric is 12oz so an 8 yard kilt like their Semi-Trad will weight about 3 lbs.
It is machine washable and could be washed in any stream. The weave is tight enough not to snag easily. And the cost is much more reasonable in case you do destroy it.

This is a photo from the USA Kilts website of the owner, Rocky, in a Semi-trad.

[Dukbrand]

There is a material called "PV" that is a blend of Polyester and Acrylic that may fit your needs a bit better.
Be careful however as you will see the letters "PV" on many sites selling kilts made in Pakistan. While inexpensive the Pakistani kilts are usually not actually PV but 100% Acrylic. Very light weight and snags very easily.

Heavyweight may not have been the right word. My main concern is something with more wind resistance. So the cold Minnesota winter wind doesn't chaff my neither region.

[Tomo]

As far as I know PV is more durable and easier to clean - but wool has better thermal qualities (especially when wet) and is more breathable. So it really comes down to whether you want to prioritise durability over warmth or visa-versa. As I mentioned previously, if cost is a big factor there are plenty of options with the ex-hire market - but you might need to flexible in terms of your choice of tartan.

All three of these kilts cost less than £200 - all heavyweight tartan two are ex-hire, one is from a kilt-maker who sells pre-made kilts (just happened to be in my clan tartan and size).

[Dukbrand]

As I mentioned previously, if cost is a big factor there are plenty of options with the ex-hire market - but you might need to flexible in terms of your choice of tartan.

Where would one look for ex-hire kilts? Is that something that would be available in the states?

[Tomo]

Where would one look for ex-hire kilts? Is that something that would be available in the states?

I believe all of these provide international shipping

https://slanjkilts.com/clearance-kilts - a lot of these may only have been worn once as they do a hire to buy wedding service, but not everyone buys the kilt afterwards - tend to be more expensive than ex-rental but cheaper than buying new

https://www.mccalls.co.uk/products/ex-hire-sale - have a big annual sale in their shops but also sell some items online

https://www.facebook.com/p/Tartan-Co...0064839366786/ - not ex-hire but well-priced ready made kilts - check her post from 3 Oct.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_t...egorandmacduff - sell clearance lines and ex-hire through their ebay shop - but no kilts listed at present

https://stkildastore.com/store/Clearance - has a clearance line offering made to measure and ready made kilts

http://www.ministryoftartan.com/second-hand-kilts - sells 2nd hand and vintage kilts