Yaish, Nice comparison between a non-traditional and traditional style kilt. I have 1 UK's in every material and model except the Survival and the Spartan. The rest of my kilts are all traditional wool.

The acrylics can be problematic in that they are subject to pilling (and snagging). I sold all of mine because of this. Any acrylic kilt will do this not just SWK's. Consequently, any traditional style kilts that I buy will always be wool. Wool is simply a matter of drycleaning once or twice a year. I do mine with Dryel at home and use spot remover if needed.

Certainly the advantage of the UK's is the tremendous amount of storage you have with the pockets. They are my favorites for casual wear. However, when the weather turns cold, my traditional wools see most of the action. When I wear a sporran, I limit what I carry to bare essentials to minimize digging around to find stuff. I have also found that using a money clip for your driver's license, a credit card or two, and some cash (rather than carrying the entire wallet) reduces weight and minimizes digging. When it's cold enough for a jacket outside, the sporran stays home - I have a black leather aviator's bomber jacket with ample pockets for my stuff. However, without the sporran, you absolutely need to remember to do a tuck because of the wide apron. This is especially true with wool kilts - that apron will tend to stay up even more so with wool than it will with acrylic.

I love both my traditional wools and my UK's. They both have their advantages and disadvantages. My favorite time of year is when the weather lets me wear either a UK or one of my traditionals depending on my mood.

Darrell