a little uncomfortable discussion about kilts for backpacking

[Alan H]

Calgacus....my bad, yes it's a reverse kinguisse. I also completely concur with your idea of the purpose-designed hiking kilt being high-waisted with no buckles or doo-dads of any kind. My hiking kilt doesn't have pockets, I wear a bum bag slung around the front as a pseudo-sporran. However, I could see the utility of a SMALL pair of side pockets...not enormous things to flap around and thud on the outside of your thighs.....not something to pack a couple of water bottles in, but something that would hold a folded-up map, a compass and that's about it.

McElmurry, the wind on Rockbound pass was easily 60 mph. Now, that's only the second or third time in 30+ years of backpacking that I've come across such a hurricane, but I opted for shorts that day! It would have been interesting to see how it worked out with the cotton/poly kilt.

ratspike, I am looking forward to seeing your kilt, the fabric is new to me and I'm seriously curious about it!~

[ChuckTN]

Did my first backpack trip in a kilt last week on the AT in a Mountain Hardware Elkomando kilt. Wore it the first half-day and the second day. Was comfortable with no chafing. By the end of the second day, it was soaked with sweat that would not dry out in the high humidity, so I switched to shorts for the third day and the last half-day.

I have day hiked in the Elkomando and in a Sport Kilt Hiking Kilt. I like the weight of both.

I found out on this backpack trip that the wool shirts and undergarments were much more comfortable when sweat soaked that the synthetic materials were. That has me thinking about a lightweight wool hiking kilt!

[Lodrorigdzin]

Did my first backpack trip in a kilt last week on the AT in a Mountain Hardware Elkomando kilt. Wore it the first half-day and the second day. Was comfortable with no chafing. By the end of the second day, it was soaked with sweat that would not dry out in the high humidity, so I switched to shorts for the third day and the last half-day.

I have day hiked in the Elkomando and in a Sport Kilt Hiking Kilt. I like the weight of both.

I found out on this backpack trip that the wool shirts and undergarments were much more comfortable when sweat soaked that the synthetic materials were. That has me thinking about a lightweight wool hiking kilt!

I invested in merino underclothes and never regretted it. greatest thing: they never stink.

[Calgacus]

Another vote for Merino wool base layer/undergarments. For the Scottish climate at least, they are unbeatable.
Warm and comfortable even when wet, and can be worn for days without developing a bad smell.

[Alan H]

Since the nifty polypropylene undergarments that the Luminous Joan got me for Scotland were a wretched failure, I may have to try the merino wool stuff. Got a brand name? Smartwool??

[Calgacus]

Since the nifty polypropylene undergarments that the Luminous Joan got me for Scotland were a wretched failure, I may have to try the merino wool stuff. Got a brand name? Smartwool??

Mine are all Smartwool or Icebreaker.

[Benning Boy]

AlanH, back beyond the memory of many bicycling shorts were uniformly black and made of wool jersey fabric. The were cool and comfortable in warm weather. The wool wicks perspiration away from the skin, where it evaporates and cools. Wearing jersey shorts on a hot, low humidity Kansas day was almost like wearing nothing at all. You never felt sweaty. Wool cycling shirts were also available. Given your sewing skills, you ought to be able to whip out some wool jersey shorts in very little time. I've not found wool jersey in any fabric store lately, but have found plenty available online. The fancy lycra cycling clothing doesn't cool like wool. It was adopted by high level racers to reduce drag, and give them a tiny margin of speed that might be critical in a close race. It became fad gear for recreational cyclists, and wool shorts and shirts died out. I used be be a darned serious cyclist and always wore wool, never did like the lycra stuff. I'm kinda getting back into it again, and will be making wool jersey shorts for next summer, it's going to be too cool for shorts soon here.

A reenactor/guide at the Fort Larned historic site, along the Sate Fe Trail in south central Kansas, told me his wool uniform was quite comfortable outdoors, where the evaporative cooling effect could work. Indoors, where he wasn't exposed to the wind, the wool uniform cold become uncomfortable in the un-air conditioned buildings.

[tpa]

I invested in merino underclothes and never regretted it. greatest thing: they never stink.

Too right, wear them for cycling; not much more expensive than overpriced smelly lycra "purpose made" cycling clothes, but definitely worth it.

[Standard]

I've always used the compression shorts when hiking and backpacking either kilted or not. The Body Glide is good, or more commonly in my kit is the Gold Bond version of it. I don't generally mix the compression shorts and the glide, but alternate them as the weather dictates. I'll have to try to get my hands on a good pair of the woollies that you lads are talking about.

[hoosier8]

I will swear by Under Armour heatgear compression shorts for hiking (and running). It would help if I weighed what I did when I was 25 but that is so long ago my thighs have forgotten.