chafing

[michael steinrok]

Thank you southern breeze. An interesting possibilty ;-)

[arrogcow]

At the risk of being stoned (that's with rocks not with...) loose boxer briefs help with both. I have never chafed with BB's and they also keep the wool off my thighs so less itchiness. If you are regimental, I also heartly agree with Body Glide.

Adam

[Iolaus]

At the risk of being stoned (that's with rocks not with...) loose boxer briefs help with both. I have never chafed with BB's and they also keep the wool off my thighs so less itchiness. If you are regimental, I also heartly agree with Body Glide.

Adam

In the southern California heat, sweat has been a signifacant contributor to irritation and chafing. I've worn boxers, and I've worn boxer briefs in an attempt to alleviate the irritation (and also to preserve my modesty under lightweight fabrics). The boxers' crotch hung just low enough to allow chafing anyway, and the BB's had an inside seam that ended up being the irritant I was trying to avoid in the first place.

What I've ended up with is: when there's not going to be a lot of walking, briefs or nothing, depending on the style of kilt, but if there is going to be a lot of walking, then it's briefs and body-glide.

[James]

This raises some interesting points.

First with age the skin does get more sensitive-thus now I could not wear the British serge BD trousers of my youth: by the same token my heavier kilts of rougher material which would not have chafed in my youth-do now.

Second there has been mention of various salves and the use of powder: possibly fine with a cotton or man-made material faux kilt, which can be easily washed. Unsuitable however with a regular wool kilt: for together with the natural body oils-sweat etc-they form a rather nasty coating which impregnates the kilt: not something that is the least bit desirable. However clean one is in person, the problems of sweat and body oils are always there, but why make them much worse.

So when wearing the regular kilt and suffering as mentioned the options are to either endure, but why suffer: or look to underwear.

If taking the underwear option, the obvious answer is to wear a long tailed traditional shirt, which in fact comes down to nearly as far as the hem of the kilt. This would satisfy the most demanding purist, and is of course the root of the 'nothing is worn underneath' idea.

Moving on from that there is the option of some form of drawers: or to be entirely modern, yet true to tradition-split the shirt into a modern short tailed version and for the lower part wear something such as the J'DEZ underkilt.

This is nothing new, long before this board was created or that book by Thomson was written, the subject came up in conversation with a very traditional piper who is still in demand throughout Scotland and abroad: and he mentioned the solution as stated above, as being not uncommon.

James

[GlassMan]

well I live in california and the heat and the possibility that I maybe alergic to wooltend to cause an irrataion that is extremely painful to walk. So sucking it up has been sucked and rated as sucking. Fortunately PV like stillwater is an option that I like but, I am atraditionalist. So I'm looking for options when it comes to wool :-?

I've never had any problems with wool. Guess it's something about my skin, who knows. I could probably wear a wool thong and not get itchy (don't worry, I'm not going to try that experiment - ever - and I'm sorry for putting that image in your head )

But I have seen a kilt advertised that had been treated with teflon for stain resistance. I'm wondering if the teflon coating might also make it less itchy.

[michael steinrok]

This summer is going to tell on the stillwater pvs. I do know that they don't itch. In fact they feel quite nice and pretty darn close to wool for my taste. I'm very much looking forward to the 2006s.
This thread is becoming kind of interesting don't you think?

[arrogcow]

In the southern California heat, sweat has been a signifacant contributor to irritation and chafing. I've worn boxers, and I've worn boxer briefs in an attempt to alleviate the irritation (and also to preserve my modesty under lightweight fabrics). The boxers' crotch hung just low enough to allow chafing anyway, and the BB's had an inside seam that ended up being the irritant I was trying to avoid in the first place.

What I've ended up with is: when there's not going to be a lot of walking, briefs or nothing, depending on the style of kilt, but if there is going to be a lot of walking, then it's briefs and body-glide.

I agree that sweat is a factor. Basically what I have discovered through testing is that I chaffe almost instantly when wearing briefs, after a few hours either regimental or in regular boxers and never (at least not yet) in boxer briefs. And I have spent 12 hour days working outside in 95 F 95% humidity weather sweating like a pig. I am good for about 6 hours with body glide.

Adam

[Colin]

BodyGlide is what you need for the chafing.
http://www.bodyglide.com/

I second this wholeheartily! Baby powder is meant to dry the skin, where as bodyglide adds a barrier. Anyone that has ever had chafing of the thighs knows that drying the area out is not really a helpful solution. Get some bodyglide, you'll be hooked. Last time I checked, Bear was actually selling it for fairly cheap.

[michael steinrok]

Getting a lot of votes for body glide

[furrycelt]

As best I can tell, the "itchiness" of wool is a factor of quality. The more expensive wools don't itch, while the cheap ones do. When I was a kid, I had a wool sweater that I hated cause it would itch. I was surprised to learn my Air Force uniform was wool, cause it never bothered me. And my tank, that my parents dropped an unknown large sum of money on, doesn't bother me either.

I have some historical repro' kilts that are made with "affordable" wool, and those will bother me if my skin gets the least bit moist. Luckily I wear a historically accurate shirt with that wool, so I have little to worry about in my "lowlands" as such shirts are very long and act as underwear.

And to echo what has been said already, I know of no way to reduce the itch-factor of wool once it is off the sheep and woven. Perhaps some of the professional kilt-makers in this forum can elaborate further.