The back story (bear with me):
I've always savoured an RKilts hemp kilt and longed for a leather RKilt. I figured with my kilt budget I would eventually get a hemp but never the leather. I had resigned myself to watch Robert get all the attention in his leather at our local kilt nights. Well at the Fergus Highland games this year my first stop was at the RKilts booth to pick up my belts and sporran straps that I had ordered prior. Unfortunately due to problems with dyeing the various different pieces, Robert's heavy workload and his almost obsessive perfectionism some of my items were not yet complete.
No big deal, we're friends, if he's not happy with his work, I'm willing to wait. This was one of the few time Robert wasn't attending to customers the whole weekend I was there so we chatted. We joked (well it was more him reminding me) of the vast amount of kilt checks he gets to my nil, this in spite of him being so much older and decrepit than I. That's when the light bulb went on in his head.
"Follow me" says he. I follow him around to the side of his booth where he picks up one of his gorgeous black leather RKilts. "This should be the right size" Robert says with a smirk, "Oh, No!" I start pleading. Before I knew it this kilt was whipped around my waist. In all honesty Robert's intention was not to sell me this kilt, he knows well of my wife's complete ban on me buying anymore kilts. I believe Robert was taking pity on me, to allow me the shortest opportunity to live in a perfect world, perhaps to have me walk around the grounds for a while as sort of advertising for RKilts and who knows a chance for me to get one of those elusive kilt checks that he so often steals from me at all those kilt nights. "No Robert I can't afford it! don't make me put it on" I say as I'm slapping his hand away from the buckles so that I can do it up faster. "Actually, the price on this one is..." You see it's a consignment piece and the price was phenomenal. I knew I would be buying this baby before I had the third strap was done up.
It fit like a custom-made leather glove.
The review:
6 and a half yards of leather, that's one and a half cows. It weighs in at lbs 7oz of top quality leather and brass. It is one substantial kilt and I can notice the weight on my hips, this by no means bothers me, I enjoy being reminded that it's a leather kilt. I take comfort in knowing that a gale force won't lift this kilt but yet a Gail Force can (if anyone knows where to find her please pm me)! The slap of the apron and the swing of the pleats as I'm walking have to be felt to be believed.
I've worn leather before in the form of motorcycle jackets, pant and chaps from reputable dealers. None of them matched this kilt in thickness or in quality. The hip straps alone are ¼" thick add to that top notch chrome plated cast brass hardware. More chrome plated rivets are abundant in all stress points and more chrome in the form of an eye and a clip on either side of the front apron.
In addition two retractable beer holders complete that menacing look, oops! I meant to say two retractable "tool" holders that conveniently are the perfect size to each hold a shilled and moisture beading bottle securely yet still enabling quick and easy access in a thirsty emergency. In fact the straps alone helped prevent the Fergus beer tent from running dry by stealthily enabling repeated transport past security (they didn't even seem to thing someone would hide tools (read-beer) in plain sight.
The two cargo pockets, perfectly placed, held my assorted items; cell phone, wallet a cigarettes. In a pinch they could have easily held more (beer). They had pockets inside and outside of the pocket. Robert will custom configure these at manufacture, but me being so cheap found these pockets as is, were perfect and probably wouldn't have had them sewn any different.
Now no review is complete without touching on the negative. I would like you to know that in spite of Robert being a friend, I more than willing to speak my mind. In all honesty there are no negatives except for perhaps the price. You will end up paying a lot of money for a leather kilt but you are buying a leather kilt and they are not cheap! Robert and RKilts are legendary for quality, both in workmanship and in materials. I have seen so many of his products and it doesn't mater whether it's a canvas kilt, leather sporran strap or leather kilt. Each is made to top standards with a painstaking eye by Robert and him alone.
The hemp shirt:
When I went to Fergus I took just two kilts, my desert Camo Freedom kilt and my CCK Maple Leaf tartan. I took only khaki complimentary clothes for those two kilts. Knowing full well that I wasn't going to buy even a cheap kilt as my wife would have done blade-less surgery on me (hey let's face it we have two kids, apparently we don't want anymore. "But Honey, what if my next wife wants children?" I got one of those looks...)
So somehow I end up with a black leather kilt and no shirt. What to do? Well Robert is feeling a little guilty that I'm going to lose one of the "boys" so he allows me to make him doff the "manly" medium hemp shirt from his display mannequin.
RKilts has been the only contact I've ever had to hemp fabric. It has a wonderful feel to it not at all heavy or rough as I have imagined hemp would be. I've heard of the qualities of hemp from XMarks, comparatively cool in hot weather warm in cooler weather. Durability like iron.
If it's as tough as they say this review will take a long time to do. But I can talk about the temperature. Today was yet another hot one at work. i was dressed in this new hemp shirt and jeans (Oh, quieten down out there, no hissing). Typically I'd wear short and a poly-cotton tee shirt or 100% cotton shirt. It was hot at work as factories are, I fully believe that the cooling feel was quite prevalent. I was actually comfortable to a degree (Get it?). Whether this was the hemp material or just in my head I cannot say. I will definitely be investigating more hemp soon. Perhaps even a a khaki RKilts hemp shirt to go with my Desert Camouflage Freedom Kilt, hmmm!
Final thought:
I can fully and without hesitation recommend Robert Pel master kilt maker and RKilts for hemp or leather goods. He is, as far as I know, the only kilt maker in hemp. The premier kilt maker in leather.
As I sat here, racking my brain for some small fault of flaw in my new kilt, my beloved
wife, reading my review over my shoulder said that should write that I spent too much. I suggested that I should sum it up with "Why buy the kilt when I have the cow at home" I expect more midnight surgery tonight!
Thank Robert, I'll be limping into the next kilt night soon. And I probably will be thinking that those forth coming kilt checks are really just way overrated.
I forgot photos;
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