Soon to be kilted newbie

[Jimmy the Celt]

Thanks for the warm welcome! I am from southern California in Riverside County.

Are Stillwater Kilts any good? They look nice on the internet, but I am leary of "poly-viscose," whatever that is. I would think poly blends would be too warm to wear in the summer, and I would also hate to end up with a costume-quality novelty instead of a practical everyday garment. I have a feeling I may adopt the kilt for good, as everyday wear, once I wear one, so practicality is important, especially with the high cost of kilts across the board.

Regards,
James

[auld argonian]

Stillwater's standard kilts are quite all right...they are the "entry level" kilt for many of the forum participants...a quick search of the forum will turn up a lot of discussion on Stillwater standards. Their Wool Heavyweights have quite a few adherents as well.

Poly Viscose has also been the subject of a lot of discussion here and the general consensus seems to be that it is a good thing. Again, the subject has been discussed at great length; search and ye shall find. I've been wearing my USA Kilts casual, which is poly viscose, a lot in these past few way-too warm days.

Welcome aboard.

Best

AA

[Tattoo Bradley]

I own the Stillwater Standard "Nightstalker" w/ matching hose flashes and some of their accessories. For $80, it's a really great value. It's definately a practical garment, and doesn't feel "costumey" or anything. They're fully lined (at least the Standard model, I haven't tried their economy model.) The only real disadvantage of their kilts is they only come in a 24" length. It just barely works out for me. I wear it pretty high up to compensate, but it works out for me. If you're under 6', you may have some problems with it. You can, however, have a blind hem put in to bring it up.

Another thing to look at from them is the "nightstalker" nylon, cargo sporran. It's definately a functional and absolutely PRICELESS sporran.

[Rex_Tremende]

You can, however, have a blind hem put in to bring it up.

Uh-huh, I caught that. It was all I could do to sit on my hands!

:rolleyes:
R.

[smaughazard]

Welcome, dragoninterrupted, from western NC.

Can't tell you much about the SWKs except that my wool heavyweight Black Shadow is VERY nice. The 24" length is only a little too short so I just wear it a little lower on my waist. The Shadow Tartan only shows up in the proper lighting.

[pdcorlis]

Welcome from the hills and streams of northern Idaho!

I'm sure others will chime in - or you can search the forum for acrylic and/or polyviscous. My experience has been that acrylic (Stillwater Standard) is warm - polyviscous (USA Kilts) is just fine in warm weather. Its a very durable material and breathes well - in fact I've been taking my usual 3 mile walk in a USAK lately - and its no problem in our mid to upper 80's weather. Funny enough, my 13 oz wool is also dandy in our warm weather!

Anyway - welcome to our fine little rabble of kilts!

[billmcc]

Dragoninterrupted, welcome to Xmarks.

Pdcorlis is correct. Stillwater standard kilts are acrylic, not polyviscous, and are hot during the summer. USA Kilts are made of 11oz. polyviscous and is the best material I have found for hot weather.

There are numerous threads about Stillwater kilts. Just do a search.

[beloitpiper]

Greetings from south Wisconsin!

Stillwaters are nice, but I'd get a wool one. They're very cheap, as far as a wool kilt goes, and still good quality. But I'm sure that whatever you decide on will be right for you!

[Valencian Kilted]

Welcome from the sunny coasts of Valencia! I never tested any of them, UK or SK, but I never heard a bad comment at all about both of them. Being myself somewhat more on the side of the tartaned kilts, I'd go for a SK, and if it's possible, one of the heavyweights!

¡Salud!

T O N O