PK Forest MarPat

**cavscout** · 26th October 05, 08:21 AM

Got the email from Jeff This AM that my Forest MarPat is enroute. Maybe Thursday or Friday!

I'm stoked about this one as I have been having to wear shorts while doing my yardwork since selling my Survival. I opted for the narrow pleat option on this kilt

http://www.pittsburghkilts.com/Sampl...rowpleat1s.jpg

I'll post more when it arrives.

**motorman4life** · 26th October 05, 09:13 PM

Be sure to let us know. I am interested in how the narrow pleats feel compared to the standard!

**cavscout** · 28th October 05, 07:52 AM

Arrived home to a package from Jeff! Worked late so I had to put the kids to bed before I had a chance to put it on so this is a first reaction review. Will add or revise content after wearing over the weekend. Things I'll point out will be as compared to a UK Survival and USA kilt casual.

The Forest MarPat is an awesome pattern. Some photo's I've seen have too much of one color or the other but this kilt appears to be a good balance of all the colors. The material is just like what my cammies were made of while in the Corps.

The "hooks" are different than I expected and will take a bit of practice to fasten them instinctively. They are not flimsy at all and are a black finish on the MarPat. 3 hooks on the left hip and corresponding hooks on the right will hold tight.

PK's trim off the top, inside of the pleat which allows for a smoother waist band than my USAK. This is quite comfortable and is balanced nicely so the front doesn't drop or rise due to the weight of the back like my UK did.

The Narrow-Pleat option REALLY adds pleats. They are very straight and crisp. Looks quite nice. This is an area I need to think thru though. The additional pleats look great but the pleat depth is quite a bit less which means you loose virtually all of the movement in the pleats. I was aware that the pleats would be shallower when I bought the kilt but did not understand just how much movement or "swish" would be lost to gain the additoinal pleats. After washing and softening I hope it will relax a little more.

The left bottom corner of the outer apron tends to want to curl up and in, I think due to the location of the pleat stitch on the reverse pleat. Perhaps if the apron were a little wider this wouldn't occur either. Again, maybe once the fabric is washed and relaxes a little this will go away but for now a quick swipe of the hand lays it back down.

I opted against a matching sporran but requested the D-Rings be installed if I wanted to hook something there one day. The D-rings are nickle instead of a subdued color.

The under apron pocket is HUGE! Practically the size of a sporran. This will handle most basic carriage needs ( wallet, money clip, keys) due to the lack of gussets to allow expansion.

I went with the hidden side pockets which will handle anything else you would want to carry. With the MarPat the disappear neatly and are positioned perfectly to slip your hand in easily with out searching or wiggling. No rivets closing of portions of the pocket is refreshing after my UK.

There is a white liner that covers the entire rear 180 degrees of the kilt from the bottom of the waist band to just below the butt. I might would opt for a black color but this is a needed feature due to the thickness and sharpness of the MarPat material. It adds to the comfort of sitting on the pleats.

The overall construction is solid and impressive. Straight tight pleats and hems are thin and almost single ply compared to the thick hems on my UK. The shape is a great 'A'-frame.

So, my immediate reaction is this is a very nice kilt and will work very well for my rugged intentions. I'm undecided on whether the narrow pleats are worth sacrificing the pleat depth. As I wash and wear I'll hopefully come to appreciate it. The reviews of the quality are not un-substantiated. Jeff makes a great kilt that will last a very long time.

**cavscout** · 29th October 05, 06:05 PM

Spent the day in my PK to take it thru it's paces. Went to Wal-Mart to pick up some things for the wife and then over to Home Depot to grab some lumber for my deck. No comments but plenty of stares.

Anyway, I'm loving this kilt. It is pretty rigid so you won't have any sway but this also keeps it off your legs while moving around. The weight is perfect for hard labor, unlike my UK. Slight breeze in the morning but no problems with the apron rising without a kilt pin (Probably won't put one on this kilt unless I use one of my old USMC collar emblems from my Service Greens.) Managed to use all the pockets, so I'm glad I kept the side pockets.

Returned home to spend the rest of the day working on the deck and cleaning up leaves. Wouldn't have taken it off but it had saw dust all over it and I wanted to get it inthe wash to try and relax the fabric a bit.

Once out of the wash I laid it out on the table to dry and this gave me the time to really look at Jeff's construction. GREAT JOB JEFF! I guess I'd have to say that the narrow pleat option is a plus to the appearance. If you don't mind loosing the "swish" go for it, you'll look great. I'll get some pics up in a few days.

**Miah** · 30th October 05, 01:46 AM

Yeah I think the Garrison cap emblem from the service Dress would make a decent pin but I would not want to make a big hole in the fabric. unless you could get it stiched up kinda like a small button hole or something. I have thought about getting a kilt in MARPAT before, I still have a couple sets of MARPAT cammies that I wear for yard work and what not. I was thinking about try'n to get a kilt made that used the buttons off a set of my trousers to fasten them.

If you get a chance can you get a pic of the "Hooks"?

**cajunscot** · 30th October 05, 04:13 AM

Check out Don McKee's Scottish Regalia -- he sells a USMC kilt pin, as well as some Marine kilt belt buckles and a bonnet badge:

http://www.scottishregalia.com/

Cheers,

Todd