Sporrans SHOULD be able to hold?

[creativeaccents]

A wonderful day at Atlanta's AMERICA'S MART yesterday...the largest Retail/Apparel/Accesories market in the world. Kilted, of course! Drew lots of interest, comments and, I must say, ATTENTION. Yes, I loved it! Even discovered a great product for keeping the front flap of the kilt down even in windy weather without a pin. Lot's of "the question" and opportunities to play with various responses. We're talking thousands of female buyers!

In meeting with a leathersmith, I later began to wonder just how much the kilt wearer who frequently wears the kilt, as in almost daily, wants to be able to carry in the sporran...versus, a sporran and a side or back pouch, or maybe no sporran at all, but a side or back container.

An opportunity to brainstorm here, as in what would be the preferred combination, NOT for the more detailed dress occasions, but for everyday.
What, or how much do YOU want to carry. Preferred dimensions. better to just have the sporran or some alternatives? Compartments? Special holders?

Personally, I thinkink that I am leaning towards a really nice leather, with multiple segments in the sporran, but maybe moving other items to deicated matching leather pouches to distribute the weight and bulk.

[Brian F]

While I'm nowhere near full-time kilted, I only need a few things in my sporran: wallet, phone, keys, a pen, and a knife. I rarely carry anything more than that in my pants' pockets, so there ya' go.

Other input?

~Yeti

[OFCJAX]

Wallet
cell phone
lighter
cigar
flask
badge

[Mr. MacDougall]

There should be a ring sewn in so I can snap the carabeener with my keys to it
Wallet
cell phone
compass (magnetic, but not lensatic)
small flashlight
knife
lighter
paperback book.

And yes, I carry all these things in my Stillwater cargo sporran on a regular basis.

[Monkey@Arms]

Wallet, two sets of keys, pda/phone, knife. Because I don't want my phone to get banged up, I sometimes wear it in separate belt pouch, or just clipped to my belt.

Best regards,

Jake

[creativeaccents]

I wonder how many of the kilted carry PDA's?
Too, in terms of wallet size, the trifold is today's most popular, OR should the largerg size that used to go in suitcoat pockets to carry credit cards and a checkbook be accomodated.
Would separate segments for the various items such as Cell phone, pda, wallet, and then misc. keys, knife, etc be preferred. I personally am finding that having to dig through everything is a real pain.
Other considerations such as closures.
There may not be such a thing as a perfect sporran, hence my wondering about distributing the load with a side or back case/pouch.
TOO, how big a factor is the size and weight?

[Clockwork John]

Here's what I carry on a daily basis:
Cell phone
Wallet
Keys (lots of them)
Chapstick
Eyedrops
Lighter
Pipe/tobacco combo pouch or
Cigarettes

[Riverkilt]

Thanks for the creative and inventive spirit...

For me its less what it holds - the Stillwater nightstalker holds what I need for day to day. A larger 9x9" sporran works for hikes and highland games where I want to carry a camera, extra camera batteries, a water bottle, sun block...

For this old pot bellied geezer the key is can I work it with one hand and find what I need? Can I get my hand inside to take out what I need?

What drives me crazy are all the closure mechanisms...I'm hopeless with he little magnetic snap catches. I struggle with drawstrings and things I need to loop over the button and pull tight because for me I'm doing it all upside down and having to peer out over my paunch to see what I'm doing.

There's something about my aging ego that wants to be able to "drive" a sporran closure without having to stop everything, bend my head over like a penguin, and open or close the flap.

I've had no luck with poke through and twist deals like you see on women's purses a lot. I thought that big nail on a chain thing that you drop through the ring would be the answer...it ain't...you'd be surprised where that nail can wind up and what the chain can get twisted up with.

Even with the zippers on the Stillwater Nightstalker sometimes I just can't find the pull tabs because I've left them to one side or the other or can't get them flipped up to get a grip on.

If there were a class on learning to open, close, and access sporrans I'd probably flunk it. Guess that's why I prefer vests and jackets as a sporran alternative.

The one sporran that works for me is the custom hide on buffalo sporran that I had made up at Miss April's Carpetbags. It has a long flap and the weight of the buffalo leather holds it down. No need for any closure device. I want something - I reach in and take it out and the flap falls back into place. Its roomy enough to rumage around in and find what I want without having to constrict my hand to squeeze through the top.

Its 7" wide x 9" long x 1 1/2" and I've since stained the leather brown from the original gray.



Principal is sort of like the big old flap on postman's mail bags. At my age I don't plan on hanging by my knees from the jungle gym so I let gravity keep my sporran stuff inside.

That's my reccomendation...a large flap that doesn't need to be secured. If done without the hide on it leaves lots of room for decorations of all sorts too.

Oh, that, and of course advertise the dimensions.

Ron

[sorcererdale]

Mine are about the same, but it gets crowded with the wallet and phone.

NOTE: Wearing a kilt is also healthier for the male too, since carrying a wallet in the back pocket makes one sit "wrong" and can cause back problems or other aches. I used to get headaches from sitting on a wallet, and NO Wise cracks here, please.

Also, if I don't wear a kilt with a sporran, I keep my walled in a front pocket. Harder to pick pocket, and saves my back.

DALE.

[Rex_Tremende]

The What's in Your Sporran thread was illustrative on this topic. Lotsa pix.

I try to keep my sporran contents down to a minimum: keys, cellphone, and skinny wallet.

Regards,
Rex.