I have been reading this thread with some interest. I actually went down to kiltmart to have a look around. I was not impressed with the quality of pretty much everything there. The reason I went was to check out their balmorals, because the price seemed prety good and I could pick it up in town, instead of waiting for it to be delivered. I found one that I liked but had to go through the stock- the one I liked had particles of straw and other foreign materials lodged in the felt, but less than any of the others. I spent some time with tweezers at home to get it to where I felt it looked clean and passable. It came from Pakistan. While I was there I had to wait for the person who was overseeing that counter (kiltmart is in the back of a music store-pawn shop), so while waiting I pretty much checked everything out. What I have purchased from SK, SWK and USAK far surpass in terms of quality. IMHO. Sorry for the rant.