Sporran Suspenders Anyone?

[Grizzly]

Does anyone use those sporran suspender things instead of a chain or leather strap. Are they an accepted alternative to the above and if so what are the advantages or disadvantages.
Any views most welcome.
Regards
Simon

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I tend to prefer a plain leather belt, because I think the belt, in general, looks better. However, where the suspenders have an advantage is for men whose waist measurement (natural waist, above the naval) is larger than their hip measurement. Having a waist larger than your hips can make it difficult for a traditional sporran belt to "find a perch" to rest on, and often results in the sporran slipping down below the belly, causing an unsightly bunching of the front kilt apron.

Often this can be solved simply by tightening up the sporran belt, making sure it rests higher up on the belly. But the sporran suspenders also provide a good solution, suspending the sporran from the waist belt and keeping it at the proper height.

Of course when worn this way, it is imperative that the waist belt also fit snugly so that IT does not start to slip down!

[Chas]

Simon, are you talking about sporran hangers, that hang from your belt? I only ask because this being an international forum, 'suspenders' in the US are what we call braces in the UK.

I always use a strap rather than chains, so can't answer for the hangers. As to braces, I know that they used to be used quite extensively. I have a 40 year old MacDonald kilt with the buttons sewn in from new.

Regards

Chas

[Grizzly]

Chas
Yes I do mean the hangers, little leather loops hanging of the kilt belt. Just saw some on line and it made me think about whether these would be frowned upon by traditionalists.

Matt
you make an excellent point about slippage, I must get the tape out and see if I fall into the tummy larger than the hip category. I think I am pretty much the same in both so hangers would be an option. My current strap is fed through my belt loops so this prevents slippage as long as my belt is done up snugly.

Thanks chaps

[Mickey]

If I'm traveling light, I wear a strap because I think it looks better, but usually I'm carrying everything but the kitchen sink so then I wear hangars. As Matt mentioned, because of my measurements, with a lot of weight on a strap, I look like I'm in my first trimester and I'm constantly tugging the sporran up and/or unpuckering the kilt, which gets annoying after a while. Hangars are much more "convenient" for me most days.

[gpmeakin]

I have a pair. I use them with this sporran...

My only problem with it is that it hung too low.
I had to take half the links out of each side.

[ForresterModern]

For those of us who classify as "Men of Substance", the gut we have worked so hard to develop can cause the problems Matt speaks of with the sporran dropping and the aprons of your kilt bunching up in front above it, when using a standard strap or chain. I use nothing but the sporran hangers and I would not likely be considered that big by a lot of folks' standards, and my waist measurement is 2 full inches LESS than my hip measurement. More of it has to do with shape, and if you have a gut that protrudes at all significantly you can suffer the same problems. As Matt says, only problem using sporran hangers is it shifts the weight to the front of one's belt which must then stay in place to keep both the sporran and belt from drooping and causing the same problem as the sporran strap. Sporran hangers can be very plain (such as the kind of belt hanger used by janitors for their mass of keys) or very ornate with conchos and jewels and shaped leather in a variety of colors to match the rest of your kit.

If you suffer the problem of the gut causing your front aprons to bunch above your sporran then I would suggest you give sporran hangers a try----I personally stand by them and have worn nothing but them since my first outing with the kilt more than three years ago when I discovered I had the problem and also coincidentally was shown the value of sporran hangers. So far none here have commented in any of my pictures that they were not "traditional" enough for everyday or dress use.

[Cowher]

I personally don't like the look of sporran hangers. But if you wear a sporran chain or strap the belly issue is more unflattering than sporran hangers. I have developed and submitted a patent for a fix for this issue. I am trying to shop this around to a few established kilt makers/retailers but if it falls through I may attempt to advertise here.
Good luck finding something that's works for you.

[TurboKittie]

Mickey is by no means a "man of substance" and he barely even has a belly. It's just his complete and total lack of hips that make a sporran strap or chain fall to a most unflattering place on his body. In his case, I do think the hangers look better.

Just wanted to make sure that it was known that it's not only the men of substance with this problem.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Another option would be a sporran designed to hang from the waist belt. This is an option with many of the Ferguson Britt sporrans.