Need a Kilt for the outdoors

[Kiltman]

Welcome from Eastern Washington State. Great question. i frequently hike in a kilt, and find that I generally choose one I had made just for that purpose. Steve makes a really wonderful kilt. By the way, you get what you pay for in kilts as in life.

[Larry124]

I have two Amerikilts.
I only have pictures of the others for comparison, but I prefer the look of the Amerikilts to the alternatives.

[The Wizard of BC]

I'm going to be treading a very thin line because I am an advertiser here. I will, and cannot toot my own horn at the expense of some other manufacturer.

But because I answer questions like this every day I think I'm qualified to make a comment.

First Muffenman, Let's talk about fabrics. For your intended use I would rate the available fabrics in this order.
(from least to best)
1 Acrylic
2 100% Cotton,
3 100% Wool
4 65/35 Cotton-Poly blends
5 Poly/Viscous
6 60/40 Cotton/Poly ripstop blends.

(I'm only going to talk about the fabrics that are currently and readily available made into kilts. I am also rating these for your stated use.)
And please remember, this is only my opinion.

Now why and the pros and cons of each.

Acrylics
Cons - The Acrylics used in kilts are very light weight (in the range of 4 to 8oz.). The lightest and most flyaway of all.
They wrinkle fairly badly, and it takes an iron to remove any wrinkles. Not good in the field.
The colors are very bright, almost garish. The colors won't match any other uniform item you have.
They have a very low flash point and even if they do not catch fire they will melt and stick to your skin. Avoid Acrylics any time you will be around hi heat or flame.
Pros -
They are machine or hand washable in the field.
They are inexpensive. The least expensive of the lot.
Any wrinkling can be ironed out very easily.
When ironing, if the proper heat is used the pleat edges will hold until the next ironing.

100% Cotton fabrics
Cons - They resist wrinkling poorly. Most 100% Cotton fabrics, and especially duck canvas ones will look like they have been balled up in a corner about ten minutes after you put them on.
Avoid Denim fabrics. They shrink more warpwise than weftwise and will soon look like a rumpled girls tutu.
It is fairly hard to iron out wrinkles especially in the field.
The color fades easily. This is OK in the field but not so when you get back and want to dress up again.
Pros - Natural fibers have always been great for their properties of breathebility and insulation.
They are fairly inexpensive.
They resist flame the best. Even a hot cinder will just put a small hole in the fabric and then self-extinguish.
Increadably durable. There is a reason Carhartt uses duck canvas for their carpenter's overalls.

100% Wool
Cons - Most Wool Kilts are very expensive. Usually far too expensive to take camping where the chance of destroying it is pretty good.
Pros - One of the best insulators there is. In both hot and cold.
They resist wrinkling the best. Even after hours of sitting on your pleats the wrinkles will fall out in just minutes.
The perfect fabric for those times when you need to look sharp and dressy.

65/35 Poly/Cotton Blends
Cons
They will wrinkle, but usually only moderatly. Good quality Poly/Cotton fabrics are like those used in men's slacks for years. Think Dockers. Poor Quality Poly/Cotton is no better than 100% Cotton for wrinkling.
They will permanently stain with grease, oil, soot, tree sap, etc.
They are fairly stiff so don't swish like Wool or P/V. Extra fabric must be built into the kilt to get them to swish.
Pros
The colors will not fade easily.
They will hold an ironed pleat very well. And if edge stitched like most kilts the pleat crease is permenant.
Durable. I have kilts that are five years old and are worn two or three times a week and still look almost new. This is the biggest selling point for Poly/Cotton. Even after years of wear they can still look presentable when not in the field.

Poly/Viscous
Cons
More expensive than Acrylic, 100% Cotton or Poly/Cotton blends.
Light weight. almost all Poly/Viscous is 10.5 to 11 oz.
Pros
The colors do not fade, even after years of washings and abuse.
Pressed pleat creases are almost permanent.
They resist wrinkling almost or even better than Wool.

60/40 Poly/Cotton Ripstop
Cons
Usually only found in Camouflage colors. Unless you are really into Camo this is ripstops weakest point.
Fairly light weight. 9-11oz.
Pros
Will resist wrinkling very well.
Are hand washable in the field and line dryable.
Fairly inexpensive.

[way2fractious]

Who would have thought it necessary to inquire about outdoor usage of kilts? Isn't that how kilts were used from earliest times?

Like you, plunking down a lot of money for a traditional wool kilt at the outset of my kilting adventures didn't sit well with me. My first homemade kilts were 100% cotton fabrics, including canvas, a great option for very inexpensive garments.

I quickly moved to polyester/cotton blends, mostly with camouflage prints. Any of the military specification camos, or the knockoffs, are excellent choices for tough outdoor usage in hot or temperate weather. Pleats are usually edge-sewn for permanance. Washing and pressing are not required until the adventure ends and you return home.

My all-time favorite casual kilt is this one, done in USMC MARPAT:



It has been my clothing of choice for hiking, backpacking trips in the Sierra Nevadas and the Tetons, and off-bike wear for two-week long bicycle tours. Its one deficiency is lack of insulation on cold mountain nights and mornings, but the addition of polypropylene long johns solved that problem until the sun came up.

Nothing beats wool for its all-round perfection in the outdoors. My first wool tartan was 13 oz MacLaren Modern, done up in casual style, to use in my Scouting activities. I also use it in Clan MacLaren activities, such as running the kilted mile for the clan. Here's something Boy Scouts should not do:



For the cost of the material and supplies only, and a little sewing time, you can fashion a kilt (a box pleated X-Kilt or a knife pleated casual kilt) with all the features you want, at a price you can afford.

Welcome and good luck in your adventures.

w2f

[Joe Gondek]

[QUOTE][Since there will be boys around some type of modesty device likes UK's would be nice. I like their Survivor model, but choke on the price/QUOTE]

Although it may be more comfotable there is no law that says you have to go regimental.

It would be cheaper to buy a SWK or some other kilt and wear sometime underneath

[Andrew Breecher]

I can tell you two things about kilting in the outdoors. First is that I'd highly recommend PV as a material. I know you're in the sunny southwest, but if you do get caught hiking and camping in the rain you do NOT want cotton. Wool would be great too, but if you think UtiliKilts are expensive...hoo boy wool's going to rock your world! The second thing I can tell you is honestly, don't worry about modesty. I've logged over 5,000 miles backpacking in a lightweight kilt, from desert to tundra to snowfields to rain forests to alpine. I've forded stomach-deep raging rivers, and I've been in windstorms. I have never had an accidental exposure. The kilt just doesn't work that way. You will want to learn how to sit on the ground in a kilt, but once you've got that down, you really don't need to worry about accidentally showing your boys to the boys.

If you have any questions about kilting in the great outdoors, please feel free to ask. I've lived in the wilderness for a long time, and walked an awful lot kilted.

Andrew.

[Arlen]

get yourself a good quality standard kilt from Stillwater kilts. The price is right and they will hold up quite well.

Kilts like that work for the Scouts and scout leaders here in Scotland on all occasions.
As far as modesty, just wear boxers underneath your kilt.


Good luck and welcome!

[Colin]

Avoid the acrylic kilt sif you are going to be near a camp fire.

Go for PV kilts from companies like USA Kilts or Canadian Casual kilts.

[MuffinMan]

After listening to your guys, and seeing the fantastic sale at Alphakilts, I bought a Aberdeen in OD. Now I have to wait the manitory period of 3 weeks to report back. One thing that sold me was the free alterations if I goofed on the size. Now to find a sale on a Maclaren plaid.

MM

[MuffinMan]

After listening yall, great advise by the way on fabrics, I was amazed at the sale going on at AlphaKilts, so I ordered a Aberdeen in OD. After waiting those all so very wrong 3 weeks, I will report back. Now only if I can find a great deal on a Maclaren kilt I can truly happy.

MM