SWK Nightstalker Kilt - Opinions of warmth?

[The Wizard of BC]

Avonlea,

I'll answer this question of cutouts for Jamie because he has super secret Mod Squad stuff he must attend to.

In a Traditional Kilt the area of the Fell (The area in the back of the kilt between the waistband and the hip) is tapered and the pleats are sewn down. When you taper the pleats the overlapping fabric can get quite thick. We in the Kilt world call this "The dreaded pillow butt". So the kiltmaker cuts away the excess material on the inside of the kilt to make it thinner. They then put in a canvas interfacing or reinforcing to take the strain of strapping the kilt on and the wearer moving.
When all this is done a light cotton liner is sewn on to cover the cut-away area and hide the interfacing.

On some kilts this Fell area does not have the excess fabric cut-away and this can sometimes cause the wearer to sweat in the small of the back.

[ardchoille]

I recently wore my SWK Standard Black Stewart kilt all day in 88 degree weather here in Seattle, WA. and the only thing I noticed was some slight dampness in the waist in the back. But, it was really comfy all day.

I'll be ordering more from Jerry

[Avonlea22]

Avonlea,

I'll answer this question of cutouts for Jamie because he has super secret Mod Squad stuff he must attend to.

In a Traditional Kilt the area of the Fell (The area in the back of the kilt between the waistband and the hip) is tapered and the pleats are sewn down. When you taper the pleats the overlapping fabric can get quite thick. We in the Kilt world call this "The dreaded pillow butt". So the kiltmaker cuts away the excess material on the inside of the kilt to make it thinner. They then put in a canvas interfacing or reinforcing to take the strain of strapping the kilt on and the wearer moving.
When all this is done a light cotton liner is sewn on to cover the cut-away area and hide the interfacing.

On some kilts this Fell area does not have the excess fabric cut-away and this can sometimes cause the wearer to sweat in the small of the back.

Thanks for the explanation.

[Panache]

Since The Curmudgeon of... ...err...The Wizard of BC covered Avonlea's question (and expressed it better than I could have) I'll answer RadioKen's

...Are you recommending the casual USA Kilt over the standard Stillwater because it's made with less material, or is there another reason?

I would choose Jerry's standard kilt over Rocky's casual model because:

The USA Casual Kilt has a lower rise than Jerry's traditional one
The Stillwater Standard will have more pleats than the USA Casual
Jerry has much sexier knees than Rocky*

I am a huge Stillwater fan (5 kilts) and only have one USA Kilt.

If the Stillwater's standard length works for you I'd go with it over the USA casual.

But!

My goal right now (i.e. what I'm saving my pennies for right now) is a USA Kilt semi-traditional model..

It has it all. Lots of pleats, custom fit, a decent range of tartans, and a fantastic weight for the summer heat.

The only drawback is that Rocky has a 9 week waiting list!

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Jamie





* In truth this is rumored, but uncomfirmed

[RadioKen]

I would choose Jerry's standard kilt over Rocky's casual model because:

The USA Casual Kilt has a lower rise than Jerry's traditional one
The Stillwater Standard will have more pleats than the USA Casual
Jerry has much sexier knees than Rocky*

I am a huge Stillwater fan (5 kilts) and only have one USA Kilt.

If the Stillwater's standard length works for you I'd go with it over the USA casual.

Those are some good points to consider, thanks! It is the last thing, though, that has me a little concerned. I've measured and re-measured and re-re-measured and it looks like the standard length on the Stillwaters is just too long for me. What I really need is one in the 22" range; in order to get a 24" to fall where I want it I would have to wear the thing hiked almost up to my sternum. I absolutely love the Nightstalker look, though, and I know that most any tartan I wear besides the Black Watch (or something similarly dark) will draw sighs and pursed lips from my wife (most tartan reminds her too much of her Catholic School days, she says, and so is not a big fan).

~Ken

[TheKiltedCoder]

I ordered my Nightstalker last night.

Now, how do you all handle the happy dance of anticipation that you have do do for a couple of days between the order and the arrival?

[Scratchy's Lass]

I ordered my Nightstalker last night.

Now, how do you all handle the happy dance of anticipation that you have do do for a couple of days between the order and the arrival?

Um, Scotch?

I LOVE the Nightstalker that my Bests Half ("Scratchy" aka Jay) got recently!
YumOH!



(Interesting, the differences in color from the image shown on at http://www.stillwaterkilts.com/Resources/SWK-NS5.jpg - my digital camera is a good 5 yrs. or more old, and wasn't a high-dollar model at the time; plus we were outside the credit union in Flagstaff, then I had him pose more in the shade by the trees and stuff, plus the differences in color display from one computer monitor to the next.....) The SWK image shows the 'purple' aspect much better than the pics from my camera taken outside.

[TheKiltedCoder]

Um, Scotch?

I LOVE the Nightstalker that my Bests Half ("Scratchy" aka Jay) got recently!
YumOH!

(Interesting, the differences in color from the image shown on at http://www.stillwaterkilts.com/Resources/SWK-NS5.jpg - my digital camera is a good 5 yrs. or more old, and wasn't a high-dollar model at the time; plus we were outside the credit union in Flagstaff, then I had him pose more in the shade by the trees and stuff, plus the differences in color display from one computer monitor to the next.....) The SWK image shows the 'purple' aspect much better than the pics from my camera taken outside.

/* Snipped the Pics */

Thanks much for posting the pictures!! And, if you can handle life in Flagstaff in the summer with a Nightstalker, that's good enough for me.

As far as the scotch goes, I've got a bottle of Glenlivet up in the cupboard, but I'm told that real Scots look upon Glenlivet with a significant level of disdain. Oh well, it tastes good to me, but then I had my had my taste buds surgically removed by Army cooking in my younger days.

The Coder

[Galb]

Those pictures DO look different from what Jerry shows on his website. What color is the Nightstalker actually? My wife likes it but I told her that it almost looks gray on black, which will look almost pure black in shaded areas. I'm not about to wear a non-tartan kilt. I don't like the solids. But this now doesn't look at all even remotely close to those other pictures.

If the tartan comes out as much as it does in these pictures, I may have another kilt to buy. Damn. My money is disappearing fast thanks to you all. Must get Irish National first though. That tartan is hawt.

By the way, how do you all clean the Standards? Throw them in the wash and hang dry? How do the pleats come out?

[Panache]

... I've measured and re-measured and re-re-measured and it looks like the standard length on the Stillwaters is just too long for me. What I really need is one in the 22" range; in order to get a 24" to fall where I want it I would have to wear the thing hiked almost up to my sternum...

They can be hemmed. my lovely wife did it, see here:

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/h...x.html?t=25188

Cheers

Jamie