Cold Weather Kilting?

[Blu (Ontario)]

I am a pragmatist. I also hate the cold weather... tough considering I live in Ontario where temps can fall well below zero F. in the depths of winter. It snowed today - a harbinger of days to come.

If it gets too cold... I wear trousers. In the past, and on accasion still do wear kilts in some pretty brutal conditions... but not as a general rule.

Warm kilt hose are important to me this time of year. I do wear them with boots and then change into shoes indoors... nobody has ever commented to me that kilt hose with boots looked goofy - in winter, health and survival overrules fashion.

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[porrick]

Harumph!!! 54f and falling to 34F So harumph again.

I changed to studded tires this afternoon...

[scoutniagara]

I will arrange to put on my winter tires this week, but I'm still in kilt. My Burnetts and Struth traditional kilt as has been said, is quite warm in winter, yet breezy in summer. Unless I'm going to be outside in the snow for extended periods of time, nothing more than wool hose are required to keep everything toasty warm. Keep your core area warm, but you lose most of your body heat out through your head, so put a cap on the chimney.

[Hachiman]

'Fraid I can't help you, Chefdave - I'm a desert rat.

Here in Phoenix, if it gets below 60ºF (15.6ºC) it's considered a cold spell. In fact today's high temp is suppose to be 92ºF (33.3ºC).
.

I'm in a similar position: Queensland rarely gets below 20 deg C on a winter's day (I guess that's in the mid 60's?), and in summer it often exceeds 100 deg F during the day. Then there's the humidity!

I look forward to moving to a colder climate - in fact, I can't wait! (does that mean I'm jonesing for the Northern Hemisphere?). I'm pleased to see that a decent woollen kilt will keep me warm in most winter weather in the USA...

Now, I just need to buy a decent woollen kilt! :rolleyes:

cheers

Hachiman

[cavscout]

Granted, I'm in Georgia, but we do get a very wet cold here and a heck of a lot of ice.

I wore my USA Casual all winter with a pair of thick cotton kilt socks and was as good if not better than in pants. During the coldest days I'd have a sweater and jacket up top while outside.

The kilt just traps a huge heat pocket around the lower half where as pants expel any heat due to compression around the leggs.

[Kilted_John]

As long as you aren't doing off-white or oatmeal hose with hiking boots, it doesn't look goofy. In the winter, I usually wear either my Armstrong 9-yard 16 ounce kilt or my MacKenzie modern 9-yard 18 ounce wool kilt. Black, navy blue, or bottle green KH (kilt hose) with flashes, then whichever shoes or boots I feel like wearing. UK's are a bit too cool for my taste when temps get below a certain level. On top, it's usually a t-shirt, a sweatshirt, and if it's cold enough below freezing, I'll add a down parka. Since I'm still not folically challenged and have long enough hair, I find that I don't lose much heat in the winter from the top of my head. It does tend to get a bit wet when show's falling, though. When it's raining, only the end of my 12" long ponytail gets damp. Last winter, I wore my MacKenzie when we had some pretty strong wind coming down the Fraser River valley into WA. Still was warm enough and didn't get frostbite on the kneecaps.

-J

[Riverkilt]

Cavscout's right about heat rising and keeping things under the kilt toasty.

You'll really notice the effect if you have to raise the kilt for the usual purpose and find you've dumped the heat out too. Gets cool fast until the air under the kilt can warm up again.

Ron

[KiltedCodeWarrior]

You'll be fine. I would expect that the SWK Standard might not see much use if it gets below 45 or so. I spend all last winter in Chicago and my SWK Standard, my lightweight Pride of Scotland, and my AK were the only ones that did not get worn. And I think that hose pulled up with Doc Marten type boots looks fine. That is all I wore for normal work attire. If I was going somewhere more formal, then I might add flashes and wear wingtips.

[Raphael]

I also prefer to wear my hose scrunched with boots rather than at the knee but I may have to alter that for the cold. Boots and knee high hose look a little goofy though.

Any advice or recommendations?

Function over fashion.

[auld argonian]

Look at it logically...if it gets entirely too savage, you can always wear something under the kilt...get over the "regimental or nothing" philosphy and deal with reality. You can always excuse yourself to the mens' room and divest yourself of any auxilliary under-kilt accessories if it makes you happier.

And I vote for some emergency wooly leggings strapped on Viking-style in case of totally Antarctical conditions...fur would be better.

I did see a place online where they sold those very high leggings that were worn in the Seven Years War...don't know about wearing them with a kilt but they looked rather practical for some other applications...sort of very tall gaiters.

http://www.jarnaginco.com/Rev%20War%20Gaitors.htm

Best

AA