Band Kit Bag/Frequent Travel

[Terrahawk]

Hello all, forum n00bie here. I did not see any threads regarding traveling with Highland attire frequently. I play in a pipe band again after almost 20 years away. I used to hang my kilt in a garment travel bag along with shirts and jacket/vest. Being a noobie all over again, what suggestions are there for those who may travel frequently with their Highland attire kit?

I can try going back to my old way, but I've also seen rolling suitcases used. I used to use an Ogio gym box/bag thing designed to fit into a gym locker that had compartments and a shoe divider, for the hats, ties, sgian dubh, hose, ghillies, & flashes.

Looking for new ideas. Instrument will be separate, just looking for efficiency and reliabilty traveling to gigs and games without forgetting anything, while not wearing the kit during transit. Any feedback appreciated, or just point me to a thread that wasn't obvious when looked a couple days ago. Thanks in advance!

[Terrahawk]

I meant to put this under the general kilt talk. Sorry!

[Taskr]

Might a medium tower/rolling and compartmented hockey bag work?

[Father Bill]

I meant to put this under the general kilt talk. Sorry!

Want us to move it for you?

[Terrahawk]

Want us to move it for you?

Yessir, if you don't mind. I try to be compliant and sensible when able!

[Father Bill]

Moving to General Kilt Talk at request of OP.

[kingandrew]

I have a "Kilt Kit" bag from Order of the Gael (https://orderofthegael.org/). It is designed to hold your kilt, Prince Charlie jacket & vest, plus belt, hose, sporrans (up to three), and other goodies. So it should work to hold most of your band uniform items. They offer an optional bag for your horsehair sporran that attaches inside, if you have the need. It does not have room for your pipes, however.

The bag looks like a regular garment bag from the outside, but the arrangement of pockets and loops inside is really convenient for kilt accessories (wide loops for holding 3" kilt belts, pockets just right for sporrans, etc.) Included is a really good kilt hanger, which has 3 tiers of clamps, to support the front apron, inside apron, and pleated layers equally.

I've used it for about a decade, not only for travel, but also to hold a good portion of my highland gear conveniently in the closet.

I suggest taking a look at their site to see if this would work for your needs. I have also had good luck using a kilt roll for traveling, but it doesn't hold the sporran, hose, bonnet, and other accessories your band may require.

[Hirsty]

That is a nice bag!

I use a kilt roll like this one https://www.amazon.com/Kilt-Roll-Car.../dp/B01G2MQIZA

But I think I might get one of the above ones mentioned.

[The Wizard of BC]

I don't travel as much as a band but when I do travel I, of course, pack my kilts.

The basis of how I pack comes from how I hang my kilts.

Yes, you can spend a lot of money on someone's idea of a "Kilt Hanger" but I think I have found a much more cost effective alternative.

I own a kilt shop. We have all sorts of kilt hanging on our racks. Everything from 16oz wool to 12oz Poly/Rayon. We were constantly having to pick the heavy kilts off the floor and were having problems with wrinkles and pleat distortion.

One day I stumbled on the solution we use today.

This hanging method uses almost any, inexpensive clip style hanger. You can often get these for free from department stores. You can even use the wooden pants hangers you probably already have in your closet.

1) Open the kilt all the way.



2) Fold the kilt in half bringing the two aprons together.



3) Put one hanger on the aprons and another on the pleats.



4) Then fold the kilt in half again.



You can see that the kilt is fully supported wrinkle free.

Each hanger has to go over only two layers of kilt.



The kilt in these photos is a full, 8 yard, 16oz wool kilt that weighs 4 pounds. It has never fallen off the hangers when hung this way.

If I am travelling and need to pack the kilt I simply take it off the hangers, fold it in half one more time and pack it along with the hangers.



When I get where I am going I unpack the kilt, put it back on the hangers and if there are any wrinkles I hang it in the bathroom when I take my morning shower.

Wool is an incredible fabric. It is very wrinkle resistant and just the small amount of heat and vapor in the bathroom will let any wrinkles fall right back out.


The very worse thing someone can do is hang a kilt by the loops that you find sewn into the waistband of some kilts. It is my belief that these were intended for temporarily hanging a kilt like on the back of the door of a public washroom.

If you hang a kilt for any length of time by these loops the kilt fabric will become distorted. After time this distortion becomes permanent.



The second worse thing is to pack a kilt tightly. This forces wrinkles into the fabric by a method very similar to the old school "Cold Pressing" Where the pleats of a kilt were set with a board and weights, like from a couple of books, then left overnight.

I have tried rolling and have tried the Nylon stocking trick. I have tried almost every commercially available kilt bag and kilt carrier. In the end this simple hanging system has proven to be the most reliable and, by far, the least expensive.