Looking for a Hiking Kilt

**AGHamilton13** · 31st March 16, 09:30 AM

Originally Posted by ratspike

For trail running/WOD/serious hiking and backpacking I'd lean towards Sportkilt as my first choice for the light weight and quick drying fabric. If I were going to have several to pick from based on the weather then a casual from USA Kilts would be a great #2.

Do you sew at all? If so then rolling your own with something like Supplex would be an option worth looking at.

My sewing is limited to hand sewing. I've tried to machine sew on a "bomb proof" sewing machine and I... blew it up.

I do have some friends that sew I think I may look at the DIY section of the forum.
Thanks,
Leigh

**kilted firefighter** · 1st April 16, 05:37 AM

My non tartan kilts are all homemade. If you can talk one of your friends with the ability to sew this is a great option because you can custom fit it and have an endless variety of fabric choices to suit your climate and terrain and distance/pace. For hiking my preferred kilt is carhart type cotton duck. I run/race in a light cotton flannel kilt. My son has a USA kilts casual kilt which I would not hesitate to hike or run in. In any case my biggest piece of advice for this application is if you go long distance to consider a "just above the knee " fit to prevent chafing on the back of the upper calf.

**Andrew Breecher** · 4th April 16, 09:02 AM

I've put over 5,000 backpacking miles on a poly-viscose kilt which fastens with Velcro. Something like the USA Kilts casual model. The pleats are sewn in, and it's held up through waist-deep creek fords in the Sierras, weeks of rain, knee-deep postholing in snow, thousands of miles of deserts, and palm-sweating humidity.

**AGHamilton13** · 4th April 16, 02:21 PM

Thank you all for the feedback. I have a lot to think about and look into. I like the idea of making my own.

**JiBB** · 5th April 16, 01:14 AM

To those saying that the Elkommando is too long at 24", REI claims that they're 21.5" long. Pulling out one of mine out of the laundry basket and picking up a tape measure, I get just 21", but it's currently a bit muddy and wrinkled, so that matches.

**trebor** · 13th July 16, 09:37 AM

I just got an Elkommando yesterday. I am away on vacation and don't have a tape measure, but I am 5'8", wear it at jeans' level, and it hits me mid-knee. There is no way they are 24" - at least not in 2016.

**Knight** · 13th July 16, 12:06 PM

I'm a huge fan of SportKilt. I'm no purist at heart: I'm active in my kilts. I have three SportKilts in the Loch Ness, Ancient Hunting, and Jolly Roger "tartans." (I don't think they're real tartans. Registered, anyway). I absolutely love them--enough to have bought one for my wife and two brothers. I have a friend who swears by them as well, and wears them hiking, biking, and to D&D.

All of mine are the "original" SportKilts. The microfiber lightweight material seems to me, with admittedly no firsthand experience, too flimsy and light. I use my kilts for walking, hiking, and at my most active, fencing in the HEMA German form. Because of lunges, jukes and other rapid movements, I can't afford to worry about having it "float" around me, which is my fear with the microfiber. SportKilts, with the elastic back and their design, allow for a great degree of adjustability. The concern though is that they pill, and can fray if not taken care of.

My Loch Ness kilt, my first and most-worn, now lives belted to my Camelback water backpack for long-distance rides. I get out of the saddle periodically to walk or sit for a rest, and when in public, I'm a bit ashamed of the goofy biking shorts I wear. The kilt is way more stylish, easy to put on and take off, and keeps grit and dirt off the more sensitive cycling shorts. So far, it's wrinkled, but it's held up all summer as my riding kilt. I also imagine it makes for a curious sight: a cylinder of navy and yellow plaid strapped to my camelbak, which is tiny in comparison to my enormous frame. Probably looks like a sleeping bag.

My "ancient hunting" kilt seems to have come out as my "nice kilt," which I wear to BBQs and dinners. My "jolly roger" is a catch-all, being matchable with damn near everything I own. I wear it in lieu of cargo shorts, which I find deplorable. SportKilts are my go to, except when the occasion (and/or such weather as happens) calls for my wool kilt.

However, I've also used UT Kilts for hiking and fencing, as well. They have an excellent "gravity" to them that keeps them where they should be. There WAS a video of my friend and I fencing kilted, but it was removed for a variety of reasons. I can PM it to you, should you chose. It's also on UT Kilt's media page.

You can't go wrong with either, and I have a lot of respect for both companies: they've come through on custom requests with no issues at all. ALL of my SportKilts have been tailored to fit my frame, which lies *right* between L and XL, and they did it for free each time. Brice at UT didn't tailor my gray, but he did help me select the right one. It's not perfect--the sewing is a bit rough in places, and it lacks any adjustability--but it fits, and it looks good. Very grateful.

**trebor** · 14th July 16, 09:27 PM

I got my first kilt - an Elkommando, on Wed. This is what it looks like in Washington DC on a 98F degree day with up to 91% humidity and a 72% dew point.

I think they kept me cooler than shorts would have.

**brewerpaul** · 15th July 16, 11:02 AM

You will find them much more comfortable than shorts, you just have to remember when you sit or bend over you are in a kilt. I have been wearing ElKommando kilts over 4 years and always appreciate them on hot humid Missouri days. The weak link is the cheap web belt but otherwise a great kilt. I like the new slate colour, may have to add one to my collection.

Originally Posted by trebor

I got my first kilt - an Elkommando, on Wed. This is what it looks like in Washington DC on a 98F degree day with up to 91% humidity and a 72% dew point.

I think they kept me cooler than shorts would have.

**trebor** · 15th July 16, 01:07 PM

I am happy with the belt. I think it is the same one they use on their hiking shorts.

So I wore shorts today and did an 8.2 mile run in DC where it is 96 degrees now. I think it was more like 89 when I ran. While I was very hot in general, I didn't notice my shorts making me hot - but then again, I have not tried running in the kilt yet.

I should do an experiment where I strap a data-logging thermometer to my thigh and see what it records for temps with both garments, but that may not be representative of the feeling of the wind-chill factor of direct air-flow.

I did notice that most women were in shorts and not skirts, so if skirts are so great, why were they not all wearing them when they knew it would be 96F out?