Kilt Hose in the U.S.??

[macwilkin]

Any suggestions for really heavy weight hose that would stand up to hiking duty? Mine are a bit thin and I have to double sock with hiking boots.
Bill

Bill, try the aforementioned Almost Unwearoutable Sock Co. in England -- you'll pay a bit more, but they're worth every penny.

Cheers,

Todd

[Riverkilt]

Thanks Matt,

I have two packages down at the post office to pick up, bet that one is the kilt hose, thanks.

Have ordered from Rocky, hit him at a bad time too and he had to drop ship from Scotland and they shipped me the wrong color - not his fault...kept them, can always use kilt hose.

Appreciate the other tips too. Thought I'd heard other cautions about jhiggins, and know the other sites.

My dream, of a "Kilt Hose Are Us" or a "Kilt Hosearama" or a "Kilt Hose Mart" probably just doesn't exist.

Ron

[Sherry]

As for hiking, I guess any decent quality hiking sock will do, but in rough country with briars, thorns & such (like Texas ;-) ) you might need gaitors over the socks.

[mudd]

and even though they are cotton,

Do they HAVE to be wool? How do you wash 'em? I just got three pair of wool hose and my Wife if afraid to wash 'em. She says they will come out like baby socks. ??:

[bubba]

Hand wash in cold water

[mudd]

Hand wash in cold water

Thanks.

[davedove]

Do they HAVE to be wool? How do you wash 'em? I just got three pair of wool hose and my Wife if afraid to wash 'em. She says they will come out like baby socks. ??:

No, they don't have to be cotton. Although I think you should probably stick to wool when you are getting dressed up, other materials like cotton work fine for casual wear. Most of what you will find for sale though is wool.

[Cawdorian]

Hand wash the kilt hose in cold water with Woolite, use a towel to soak up the excess water and let them air dry. They will retain their shape and size. This method seems to work very well.

I think Lochcarron has the best kilt hose, they are not the cheapest, but they are a good value for the money.

[mkmound]

Do they HAVE to be wool? How do you wash 'em? I just got three pair of wool hose and my Wife if afraid to wash 'em. She says they will come out like baby socks. ??:

I'm sure this will be considered heretical, but please promise me you won't force me back into tr*****s!!

I started out washing my kilt hose in Woollite and cold water by hand, but got tired of the effort . . . on one occasion, I decided I'd take a gamble and throw them into the washing machine (wool blend from Lochcarron (sp?) and others). They didn't end up as baby socks!

What I do now is just toss them in with the regular laundry, dark socks with dark clothes, light colors with lights, etc. HOWEVER, I wash most things in cold water, or occasionally wash the whites in warm water. I also toss them into the dryer on "permanent press" (warm, not hot) cycle. This seems to give just a bit of "shrinkage" to take up just the slight stretch from wearing them. I have on occasion taken them out of the washer and dried them flat on a towel.

Since I'm an office desk jockey, they're not heavily soiled.

YMMV . . .

Regards,
Mark

[auld argonian]

Try to stick with wool...it's so vastly superior to cotton as a foot covering that it isn't funny. I've been wearing wool socks year round for years now...people who figure this out always ask "isn't that too hot for the summer?"...definitely not; the wicking action of the wool keeps your feet reasonably dry.

And Sherry's suggestion about gaitors is right on...I'll have to see how my current gaitors look over hiking boots and knee socks...much like a piper with spats on only black cordura, I guess. One of my best resources for gaitors and such is campmor.com if you want to look at a selection and a price range.

Best

AA