SWK Nightstalker Kilt - Opinions of warmth?

[ardchoille]

I recently wore my SWK Standard Black Stewart kilt all day in 88 degree weather here in Seattle, WA. and the only thing I noticed was some slight dampness in the waist in the back. But, it was really comfy all day.

I'll be ordering more from Jerry

[Yaish]

OK, you say you have never heard a bad word about Stillwater. Here are some.

Jerry is too nice.
Jerry's service is too fast.
Jerry's product is too good for the price.

For these reasons I will only order from Stillwater Kilts 10 or 12 times this year.

And a few bad words about Steve from FK.

Steve is just too classy!! I think I need to scrape the money up for an order from him!

[Avonlea22]

Avonlea,

I'll answer this question of cutouts for Jamie because he has super secret Mod Squad stuff he must attend to.

In a Traditional Kilt the area of the Fell (The area in the back of the kilt between the waistband and the hip) is tapered and the pleats are sewn down. When you taper the pleats the overlapping fabric can get quite thick. We in the Kilt world call this "The dreaded pillow butt". So the kiltmaker cuts away the excess material on the inside of the kilt to make it thinner. They then put in a canvas interfacing or reinforcing to take the strain of strapping the kilt on and the wearer moving.
When all this is done a light cotton liner is sewn on to cover the cut-away area and hide the interfacing.

On some kilts this Fell area does not have the excess fabric cut-away and this can sometimes cause the wearer to sweat in the small of the back.

Thanks for the explanation.

[Panache]

Since The Curmudgeon of... ...err...The Wizard of BC covered Avonlea's question (and expressed it better than I could have) I'll answer RadioKen's

...Are you recommending the casual USA Kilt over the standard Stillwater because it's made with less material, or is there another reason?

I would choose Jerry's standard kilt over Rocky's casual model because:

The USA Casual Kilt has a lower rise than Jerry's traditional one
The Stillwater Standard will have more pleats than the USA Casual
Jerry has much sexier knees than Rocky*

I am a huge Stillwater fan (5 kilts) and only have one USA Kilt.

If the Stillwater's standard length works for you I'd go with it over the USA casual.

But!

My goal right now (i.e. what I'm saving my pennies for right now) is a USA Kilt semi-traditional model..

It has it all. Lots of pleats, custom fit, a decent range of tartans, and a fantastic weight for the summer heat.

The only drawback is that Rocky has a 9 week waiting list!

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Jamie





* In truth this is rumored, but uncomfirmed

[TheKiltedCoder]

Thank you all for the info. The places we'll be going average mid-90's during the day that time of year, but the humidity is very low. I was just a little worried about how effectively the manmade materials in the kilt would trap heat.

Anyway, I'd also discovered The Book last night (Mrs. Coder was in bed sick, and I had the opportunity to continue to get to know the board), and will probably end out trying my hand with an XKilt at some point in the not too distant future. I'd like to have a couple of XKilts done before we leave at the end of June, but with a 2 1/2 y.o. Baby Coder and lots of around the house tasks, my time is not my own.

I do want to get at least one XKilt done before we leave (and I will post pics), but, given the reviews here, I think I'll have to order a Nightstalker.

Thanks again to all for your opinions!

[RadioKen]

I would choose Jerry's standard kilt over Rocky's casual model because:

The USA Casual Kilt has a lower rise than Jerry's traditional one
The Stillwater Standard will have more pleats than the USA Casual
Jerry has much sexier knees than Rocky*

I am a huge Stillwater fan (5 kilts) and only have one USA Kilt.

If the Stillwater's standard length works for you I'd go with it over the USA casual.

Those are some good points to consider, thanks! It is the last thing, though, that has me a little concerned. I've measured and re-measured and re-re-measured and it looks like the standard length on the Stillwaters is just too long for me. What I really need is one in the 22" range; in order to get a 24" to fall where I want it I would have to wear the thing hiked almost up to my sternum. I absolutely love the Nightstalker look, though, and I know that most any tartan I wear besides the Black Watch (or something similarly dark) will draw sighs and pursed lips from my wife (most tartan reminds her too much of her Catholic School days, she says, and so is not a big fan).

~Ken

[TheKiltedCoder]

I ordered my Nightstalker last night.

Now, how do you all handle the happy dance of anticipation that you have do do for a couple of days between the order and the arrival?

[Panache]

... I've measured and re-measured and re-re-measured and it looks like the standard length on the Stillwaters is just too long for me. What I really need is one in the 22" range; in order to get a 24" to fall where I want it I would have to wear the thing hiked almost up to my sternum...

They can be hemmed. my lovely wife did it, see here:

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/h...x.html?t=25188

Cheers

Jamie

[Scratchy's Lass]

I ordered my Nightstalker last night.

Now, how do you all handle the happy dance of anticipation that you have do do for a couple of days between the order and the arrival?

Um, Scotch?

I LOVE the Nightstalker that my Bests Half ("Scratchy" aka Jay) got recently!
YumOH!



(Interesting, the differences in color from the image shown on at http://www.stillwaterkilts.com/Resources/SWK-NS5.jpg - my digital camera is a good 5 yrs. or more old, and wasn't a high-dollar model at the time; plus we were outside the credit union in Flagstaff, then I had him pose more in the shade by the trees and stuff, plus the differences in color display from one computer monitor to the next.....) The SWK image shows the 'purple' aspect much better than the pics from my camera taken outside.

[TheKiltedCoder]

Um, Scotch?

I LOVE the Nightstalker that my Bests Half ("Scratchy" aka Jay) got recently!
YumOH!

(Interesting, the differences in color from the image shown on at http://www.stillwaterkilts.com/Resources/SWK-NS5.jpg - my digital camera is a good 5 yrs. or more old, and wasn't a high-dollar model at the time; plus we were outside the credit union in Flagstaff, then I had him pose more in the shade by the trees and stuff, plus the differences in color display from one computer monitor to the next.....) The SWK image shows the 'purple' aspect much better than the pics from my camera taken outside.

/* Snipped the Pics */

Thanks much for posting the pictures!! And, if you can handle life in Flagstaff in the summer with a Nightstalker, that's good enough for me.

As far as the scotch goes, I've got a bottle of Glenlivet up in the cupboard, but I'm told that real Scots look upon Glenlivet with a significant level of disdain. Oh well, it tastes good to me, but then I had my had my taste buds surgically removed by Army cooking in my younger days.

The Coder