In need of a good, low cost sporan.

[McGurk]

I'm in need of a sporran, in order to have some where to put my wallet, phone and keys when wearing my kilt. It needs to be cheap, but leather, and come with a chain/strap.

I'm looking towards stillwater, and their sporran for $16.50. Is it a decent sporran and will it fit my needs? Or are there others that you'd recommend?

[James MacMillan]

I should say up front that I am a fan of Stillwater. Their products give you good value for the money.

Having said that, low cost and good and leather may not go together here.

Questions arise:

Is this going to be a sporran that you wear everyday, and will get hard use?

What is your definition of low cost?

How many things do you want to carry around?

Casual or dressy?

Dressy or formal?

$55.00 for a Buz Kidder is a pretty good price for a quality product. But it is a basic leather pouch.

$25.00 is a good price for probably the best casual sporran available today - regardless of price!

I know of no low cost quality formal sporran.

If you are going to be using the sporran on a daily or frequent basis, save up your money for a Freedlander or Thorfinn sporran. They will serve for all but the most formal of times.

[pipesndrumsnun]

I don't think you'll find a lower price!

[M. A. C. Newsome]

In terms of affordable sporrans, I really have not seen a better value for your dollar than the Buzz Kidder sporrans that many sponsors of this forum sell, including the Scottish Tartans Museum:
http://giftshop.scottishtartans.org/sporran_cas.html

These are, by far, the highest quality sporran in the $60 range that you'll find.

Aye,
Matt

[Cawdorian]

I agree with James, I think Buzz Kidder Sporrans are a great buy and a great value for the money, I have two different styles of Buzz Kidder's and have enjoyed both of them.

You can purchase Buzz Kidder Sporrans at www.scottishtartans.org and from several of our other advertisers.

[McGurk]

What I'm after is something as cheap as possable. Thats what my kilt. Its really a stop gap measure. I want to get to wear my kilt before the end of the year, It would probably be used once or twice a week, till spring. All it needs to hold is a wallet, a phone and some keys. If it satisfies those requirements, I'll consider it 'good'

[McMurdo]

What I'm after is something as cheap as possable. Thats what my kilt. Its really a stop gap measure. I want to get to wear my kilt before the end of the year, It would probably be used once or twice a week, till spring. All it needs to hold is a wallet, a phone and some keys. If it satisfies those requirements, I'll consider it 'good'

In that case, I would say go for the Stillwater and perhaps spend the extra $10 or so for a Nylon Nightstalker sporran from Stillwater.

[Riverkilt]

As with other products I've had to "pay" to get a sporran that I like and that works.

Be SURE to get the size of your sporran before you place your order. For some reason most sporran vendors still don't include a size...I've been quite surprised at how small the container portion of some popular inexpensive sporrans are and how small the "hand hole" is. Have had some name brands that I couldn't get my ham hocks into, let alone all my gear.

The least expensive "sporran" is a vest or jean jacket that you already own.

Ron

[James MacMillan]

What I'm after is something as cheap as possable. Thats what my kilt. Its really a stop gap measure. I want to get to wear my kilt before the end of the year, It would probably be used once or twice a week, till spring. All it needs to hold is a wallet, a phone and some keys. If it satisfies those requirements, I'll consider it 'good'

OK - As cheap as possible. I would still go with Stillwater = here. -But, for just a few dollars more, look here.

The old saying that you get what you pay for really applies. Jerry at SWK will ship to you at warp/house-elf speed.

Try a cheap sporran for a while, and then upgrade to something that you want. Sell the old one, use that money to get a new one.

If you must really scrimp on cost, check out e-bay, but it really is buyer beware.

The cost of the nightstalker nylon isn't wasted and you won't sell that one! The nightstalker is my most used sporran and I now have three.

I also check Jerry's site on a daily basis hoping and waiting and wanting to see the nightstalker made in leather available to us peons. He has to have it before Christmas!!!!!!

[auld argonian]

I'll tell you what one of the biggest "D'oh!" things is that I do on a regular basis: I buy an "economical" version of something and then find myself buying a "somewhat more deluxe but really what I should have popped for in the first place" version. This gets my wife really exasperted with me and, if for no other reason than that, I have gotta stop doing it.

Fortunately for me, the first sporran that I got was a Buzz Kidder from USAK. Very serviceable and just nice. Got a Stillwater Nightstalker just because of the incredible capacity and picked up a "bargain bunny" sporran for an event that I went to in formal.

Think about the possibility that you will use the sporran even if you are not wearing a kilt. I have that middle-aged thing going that I have to schlep around a cell phone, a notebook, train tickets, reading glasses...a whole lot more stuff than I had to carry when I was younger. In my humble opinion, a sporran is a WHOLE lot more convenient and manly than using a fanny-pack or a shoulder bag. Thus, I take that Nightstalker with me a whole lot...especially in warm weather when I don't have coat pockets to tuck all that crap into.

Just saying that My suggestion is to get something that may seem to be a bit more than you need just now because I think that you'll use it more than you think and heavier material and serviceability will be important.

Best

AA