Acrylic vs poly-viscose

[Sir William]

I've several wool kilts but I'm thinking of getting a less-expensive kilt that I can wear without too much worry if it gets muddy or soiled, such as while hiking in the rain, etc.

How does acrylic fabric, as used by SWK, compare to poly-viscose (pv) fabric with regard to texture and feel as compared to wool?

[JolyStNicholas]

I have one of each, for feel I prefer on order (A) Wool Acrylic (C) PV,
As far as how they will hold up under the conditions you describe others who
put their kilts through those conditions will have to provide you with that info,
I'm an easy going kilter in my old age( ya don't get to dusty or muddy chas'en the lassies).

[McNulty]

I've got two SWK's that I use for hiking and they have held up pretty darn good for the past two hiking seasons. Pilling a bit but warm to wear on really hot strenuous days. The acryllic does not breathe well. I also wear a pv for hiking and it is cooler and wears a little bit better. The temps and the trail determine which one I'll wear. Six of one and a half dozen...


Nulty

[JolyStNicholas]

Nulty, I take it that this is an older photo, or have you chucked away those crutches and gott'in back to the ol'Nulty?

Grand look'in Dog too!

[Spartan]

Both will be lighter and softer to the skin. Acrylic pills. I wear my acrylic only lounging or working around the house. I wore my Sport Kilt PV the other day on a hike and found it very comfortable. If it's a windy day, I'll go for the 16 oz tank, but I don't care to take it out hiking.

My preference is the PV -- especially the Teflon coated PV that Rocky uses at USA Kilts. Sport Kilt does have an interesting hiking specific kilt using a microfiber material.

[The Wizard of BC]

A personal opinion resulting from a side by side comparison of 13oz Scottish Wool, 12oz Poly/Rayon, and what is listed as 13oz Acrylic.

Wool -
The feel or "Hand" of the fabric - Hard twisted Worsted Wool results in a firm, slightly knubbly feel to the surface of the fabric. The ends of the wool "hairs" is minimized and give a non-itchy feel. The weave by Lochcarron is has a few more of these nap "hairs" than does the weave by Marton Mills.

Wrinkling and care - Wool is the Standard Kilt fiber. It wrinkles very little and a shot of steam will allow wrinkles to fall out quickly. Too much steam though and you may steam out the creases requiring basting and re-pressing.
Wool requires hand washing and will take a while to dry.

Overall effect - The "Swish" factor of Wool is the best of all samples.



P/V -
The feel or "Hand" of the fabric -The Polyester/Viscos (Rayon) woven by Marton Mills results in a very smooth, almost silky finish to the fabric. The individual yarns in the weave appear finer to the eye. To me the P/V is "velvety".
The fabric used by Sport Kilts while listed as P/V feels more like Cotton flannel. It wrinkles far more, and I suspect is actually more like a Poly/Cotton.

Wrinkling and care - True P/V resists wrinkles the best of all that I have tried. Creases, when properly set, are virtually permanent. I have yet to need to baste and re-press.
True P/V is machine washable and dryable. Dirt will not stick to it.

Overall effect - The P/V feels light when you first feel it but the Swish is comparable to Wool.



Acrylic -
The feel or "Hand" of the fabric -The fabric used in a Stillwater Kilt feels to me to be similar to Polar Fleece. The surface has quite a bit of "Nap" or fuzz. The individual yarns are very large and the weave is the loosest of all the samples.
I find the Acrylic to be the least Wool like which is strange as Acrylic, if Worsted and hard twisted, has the potential to be the most Wool like.
The fabric used by Frugal Corner and The Gold Bros. also has the fuzzy nap but slightly less than the Stillwater fabric.

Wrinkling and care - Both wrinkle and pill quite a lot. The creases will fall out after a while and need basting and re-pressing.
After machine washing some ironing will be necessary.
I find pilling to be a major problem with the Acrylics.

Overall effect - Although listed as 13oz or heavy-weight it actually weighs only 5-6oz per fabric yard when I weigh it on a scale, which to me feels very light and fly-away. The least "Swish" of the three.

Please remember that this comparison is purely my personal opinion.

[bricelythgoe]

I agree with the Wizard of BC. Although I have never had acrylic, I love the PV kilt I have from USAK (although I am thinking about selling my casual to upgrade to a semi-traditional)

Brice

[sathor]

Overall effect - Although listed as 13oz or heavy-weight it actually weighs only 5-6oz per fabric yard when I weigh it on a scale, which to me feels very light and fly-away. The least "Swish" of the three.

Please remember that this comparison is purely my personal opinion.

woah.... wait a minute, are you saying then, a similar PV USKilt would weigh more than a SWK? Perhaps I should have looked closer at the USkilt at the kiltnight the other day, but that sounds a bit handy. Although, I though I have heard it said that Rocky's PV and Jerrys Acrylic seem similar in the wind factors.

[sathor]

I'm an easy going kilter in my old age( ya don't get to dusty or muddy chas'en the lassies).

Then you are either doing it wrong or missing out on some of the fun.

[NorCalPiper]

I'm finding myself wearing PV 90% of the time these days. I think it is thebest way to go. I use my swk's for light dinner parties, or such, but acrylic just does 't hold up for a lot of use.