Preferred pleating style for hiking?

[Tartan Hiker]

if you are going to wear a wool kilt hiking make sure the length is correct. You want this kilt to be at the top of the knee. If it is longer it can catch the back of the knee and it can be a dreadful experience. It is especially bad if the kilt gets wet.

I'll echo that sentiment as well. I usually make my hikers an inch shorter than usual for this very reason. Polycotton with a hemmed edge can be brutal on the skin behind your knee joint.

And at the risk of starting a new discussion and leading the thread off-topic, don't forget to pack a stick of Body-glide.

[Riverkilt]

I'll be the fourth hiker to affirm that pleat style don't make no difference but LENGTH will beat you sensless if you're doing any extended hiking with a hemline below the top of your knee. Been there, done that, it hurts.

I hike in my 16 ounce kilts from time to time but around here the scrub brush is so low to the ground its not a worry.

Bottom line, any pleat you like, but get the length correct or you'll be in repetative pain.

Ron

[Bellfree]

Thanks guys.

Tartan Hiker, when you say you raise the hem an inch on hiking kilts, I assume that puts it an inch above the knee?

BTW, I think I saw you last Sunday at Jack of the Wood, but when I got up to say hello, you were not there. Nice pub that, reminds me of pubs in Ireland and Scotland.

And yes, Wizard, while not exactly insane, I have been called "different", "eccentric" and other similar things, and that was before I had 4 strokes! ...now at least I have an excuse

[Andrew Breecher]

I've only had problems with kilts chaffing at the hem in snow, and always with PV kilts with a "fringed" hem - there may be no problem with a true selvage edge. The first time was when I was hiking in the snow and the wind was blowing the icy snow crystals at me from the left. Some of the ice got caught and built up in the fringe and chaffed at the back of my left knee until it was raw. I had to tie a bandanna around my leg above my knee to keep it from rubbing. The second time was when I was snowshoeing, and the snow which kicked up from the backs of my snowshoes got caught in the fringe, and again chaffed the backs of my knees.

Believe me, I've been in every sort of weather outdoors in a kilt, for about a year and a half completely living outdoors, and these are the only times I've had a problem, BUT I do always wear the kilt at the top of the knee, and not halfway down the knee.

Andrew.

[Arlen]

Last summer I hiked up Ben Nevis in a kilt and I would say to those who are crying and sobbing ( Steve ), a kilt as well made as Matt's will hold up wonderfully and come out of the hike richer for the experience.
So long as you don't plan on throwing yourself into ditches full of mud I don't see a problem.

That said, I would say the best style for hiking would be a Kingussie pleated kilt.
Why?
It has a centre box pleat and, in the ones I've seen, the knife pleats surrounding it all open towards the box pleat. The flat, outer part of the pleat faces away from it and it means a lot less snagging.
I loved the Kingussie pleated kilt I had and sorely wish I still had it to hike in.

[Tartan Hiker]

Last summer I hiked up Ben Nevis in a kilt and I would say to those who are crying and sobbing ( Steve ), a kilt as well made as Matt's will hold up wonderfully and come out of the hike richer for the experience.

Yes, hiking Ben Nevis wouldn't be a problem. Been there and seen the terrain. Now use your Star Trek transporter to whisk yourself to an Appalachian Mountain rhododendron hell (that's really what they're called...and for good reason), throw in some poison ivy for humor and some cat briars with 1" recurved thorns to make things interesting. You might see a bit of open sky every now and then, but most of the time you're in the dark, thick, tangles. Even trails with regular maintenance will have blowdowns and other obstacles that you'll have to detour around or crawl through. Does everyone see why some of us are reluctant to encourage taking an expensive kilt hiking? Hillwalking in open country and hiking in a North American forest are kilts of a different color, to say the least!

[Tartan Hiker]

Tartan Hiker, when you say you raise the hem an inch on hiking kilts, I assume that puts it an inch above the knee?

BTW, I think I saw you last Sunday at Jack of the Wood, but when I got up to say hello, you were not there. Nice pub that, reminds me of pubs in Ireland and Scotland.

That was me, and the lad I was sitting with was Nelson "KiltedMusicLover". He was in town for the Dougie MacLean concert, and wasn't kilted since he had been working all morning managing his fire department which was fighting brush fires downstate. I was selling CD's for Dougie before and after the show, so I had to split early to get over to the theater. I saw you and intended to go over and say Hi, but got sidetracked and then realized we were late, so we took off. I realized after the fact that I probably seemed a bit rude...and I'm certainly not that way usually.

Darn...we had a decent kilt night going and didn't even realize it!

Next time you're in the big city I'll buy you a pint of Green Man!

Bill

[Bellfree]

Yes, hiking Ben Nevis wouldn't be a problem. Been there and seen the terrain. Now use your Star Trek transporter to whisk yourself to an Appalachian Mountain rhododendron hell (that's really what they're called...and for good reason), throw in some poison ivy for humor and some cat briars with 1" recurved thorns to make things interesting. You might see a bit of open sky every now and then, but most of the time you're in the dark, thick, tangles. Even trails with regular maintenance will have blowdowns and other obstacles that you'll have to detour around or crawl through. Does everyone see why some of us are reluctant to encourage taking an expensive kilt hiking? Hillwalking in open country and hiking in a North American forest are kilts of a different color, to day the least!

I had to laugh reading this; the laughter of recognition! Get far enough off-trail in a large Appalachian rhodie hell and you can even lose direction; it's like in the thorn forest of Walt Disney's movie Snow White. And even on some of our trails we have blowdowns of trees so large that forward progress requires a hiker to get down on her/his hands and knees. Yes, it's terrain very different from where I've hillwalked in County Donegal of Ireland and the Highlands of Scotland. But still, our woods are also made for walking. And even in well-made tailored kilts. A little care out hiking and good care cleaning at home. Having survived 4 cerebral hemmorhages has given me a bit of insouciance. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't be so foolhardy

[Bellfree]

Darn...we had a decent kilt night going and didn't even realize it!

Next time you're in the big city I'll buy you a pint of Green Man!

Bill

You're on! The porter is my favorite! I'll post under kilt night and see what happens.

...hmmm, if I can get my wife to drive, maybe I'll buy however many pints follow for however many kilted folk show!

[Andrew Breecher]

... an Appalachian Mountain rhododendron hell

At least the rhododendron along the Appalachian Trail is tamed into "tunnels" that you can walk through without worrying about snagging your kilt on.


However, when it snows, all of those slender rhody branches bow down and block your way. I found that at times I had to whack, whack, whack the whole mess with my trekking poles to loosen the snow so the branches sprung back up into place. Then I had to crawl through what holes I could make. So even groomed rhododendron can mess with a kilt (of course I was wearing a kilt when I did all this).

I also wore a tank up the rock scramble of Katahdin in Maine.


You'll see in the second photo that handholds are attached to the rock in places because you couldn't get up without them. This is a $500 kilt, and I had no qualms about wearing it out in the woods. At least the knees will never wear out!

Andrew.