combat kilt

**Rawlinson** · 5th October 09, 01:19 AM

I recently joined a local chapter of Dagorhir Battle Games, and am planning on fighting kilted. There's dirt, mud, some river crossings, etc., so it's not going to be made out of anything expensive or hard to clean. I was thinking black denim (black because I was told that for my unit, earth tones are good, but black is better) would be a good material to use, but you guys are the experts.

Opinions? Suggestions? General comments?

**csbdr** · 5th October 09, 02:39 AM

I'd say black Utilikilt Workmans, Tough, easy to wash, and all the rivets could fit in with further costume.

**Rawlinson** · 5th October 09, 04:14 AM

Being in the broke college student stage of my life, I'd like to use the connections this guy on my floor has in the fabric industry. His Mom trades in fabric or something like that, so he can occasionally get cheap stuff. Utilikilts are out of my price range at the moment. (unless I can get Pitt to buy me one...)

**McMurdo** · 5th October 09, 04:58 AM

Given the circumstances I'd say sew up your own XKilt, if you do a search for XKilt you find loads of information. Good luck.

**Pleater** · 5th October 09, 05:48 AM

Denim might be the wrong sort of weave - it makes a rather stiff pleat unless it is a bit thin and wimpy and that is not the sort of thing to go afield in - but you don't want to look like you were stuffed through a very large lampshade either.

Utilikilts are sewn to minimise flare, and to keep the folds - quite a lot more sewing than a traditional kilt pleat.

If you can get a wool blended with man made fibre then it will most likely be soft and easy to fold, it will happily hang in folds, and will be happier being hosed down or dunked in cold water than put into a washing machine with hot water, where it might shrink or go limp.

It is also far more comfortable to wear in any weather - wet denim is no where near my first choice - though a kilt is a good design for wet weather as it holds a layer of air even when wet through. You dry off underneath and keep warm even when the kilt is dripping wet.

Whatever sort of fabric you select try to get one which will swing rather than remain straight. I have cotton, polyester/cotton wool blend and pure wool kilts and the ones which work best are of a fairly heavyweight fabric which is not rigid but makes a pleat which will swish and sway as you move.

Black will not remain black for long - I find that they tend to fade to gray. I have several tough kilts in dpm (camouflage material) and although they have faded it is not so obvious. Perhaps something in dark colours might be advisable for the mud and river part of the games and save the black for pre and apre battle campsite events.

Anne the Pleater :ootd:

**1malt** · 5th October 09, 07:11 AM

Likely out of your price range but an RKilt hemp kilt would be as tough as they come and I would go for the Taupe (khaki) instead of the black. www.rkilts.com

Ken

**McMurdo** · 5th October 09, 08:45 AM

Robert did do the Paintball kilt a while ago for one member, perhaps you could save up, here is the thread on it.
http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/r...x.html?t=35755

**Raphael** · 5th October 09, 09:11 AM

What is your budget?

**csbdr** · 5th October 09, 12:13 PM

Good question. JT does a terrific combat kilt in any color/fabric you want and could probably keep it under $200.

Sorry, his regular site is under construction and he's also a member here,OFCJAX. I have an Apocokilt (as he calls them) and it's bombproof.

here's a review..

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/a...ight=apocokilt

**Rawlinson** · 5th October 09, 03:46 PM

Okay, so denim is probably out... Black is still on the table (if it fades to dark gray, it'll probably still be close enough), but I'm considering earth tones more now. I'm not sure if camo is "period" enough, but those kilts looked really cool nonetheless, and I'll definitely find out if those sorts of camo patterns are legal.

In short, my budget ranges from $20 to probably somewhere less than $100. Explanation below:

My budget right now is about $20-30, which is more than it should be, but I'm prioritizing this kilt over mundane things like food right now (don't worry, I'm still eating, just keeping it really basic).

I can get 40%+ off fabric if ask my aforementioned friend to have his Mom keep a weather eye out for something specific, so that's why I figure I can get away with $20. She once bought half a warehouse of fabric for 50 cents a yard before the company realized they needed to move the decimal one place to the right; this woman is good.

However, if I can get 3 more Pitt students to bash people with foam swords (which shouldn't be a problem), we can have a Pitt Medieval Combat Club recognized by and, more importantly, funded by Pitt: clubs of 10+ Pitt students are given $1k/semester.

If we keep it at the minimum of 10 people (not our goal, but let's say this happens for the ease of calculation), that's $100/semester/person to go towards weapons, garb, and attending and hosting events.

Garb is important in this sport, so I could easily justify spending most of my allotted ≤$100/semester on a combat kilt, whether it would actually be mine, or just mine to use. I can still get the cheap fabric here.

The girl who recruited me to Dagorhir said she'll make make the kilt free if I provide the materials. She's done a few in the past and seems to be amused by it.