Kilts and Humidity / Heat

[gilmore]

Come to Savannah. There's not a men's store worth its salt that doesn't carry seersucker. In fact, it's such a common item here, that I bet it wouldn't be too hard to find in the local thrift stores. PM me your size and I'll keep an eye out for a jacket if you like.

Thanks for your kind offer, but in just three weeks I will be leaving the country for two years, and where I am going will be wearing the same thing as everyone else there, and it's not seersucker. Perhaps when I return, a trip to Savannah would be in order.

[Jimmy]

Sorry guys, much as I love wearing the kilt, in hot weather even although we do not get too much of it in Scotland, there is nothing to beat wearing shorts,
How do you guys survive in hot weather with even a lightweight kilt

[fluter]

Sorry guys, much as I love wearing the kilt, in hot weather even although we do not get too much of it in Scotland, there is nothing to beat wearing shorts,
How do you guys survive in hot weather with even a lightweight kilt

Sorry, Jimmy but in real heat, shorts are too hot. I like the extra air circulation. Today our forecast is for 94 (35C) with a heat index of 101, indicating that the relative humidity is pretty oppressive!

If it were really hot day, a well made kilt in Marton Mills poly-viscose is the ticket! Add a big hat, delete the kilt belt which keeps my belly damp, and I'm ready to go. Slowly.

[Swampthing]

Sorry guys, much as I love wearing the kilt, in hot weather even although we do not get too much of it in Scotland, there is nothing to beat wearing shorts,
How do you guys survive in hot weather with even a lightweight kilt

Ah, but do you get it like we do?
Humidity makes a big difference.

[JRB]

Sorry guys, much as I love wearing the kilt, in hot weather even although we do not get too much of it in Scotland, there is nothing to beat wearing shorts,
How do you guys survive in hot weather with even a lightweight kilt

I happen to agree with you. I don't enjoy wearing my kilts in the hot, humid days of summer. I only do it to attend summer highland games or various kilt gatherings. I don't own anything other than 16oz. wool traditional kilts so I don't know how low slung canvas kilts feel, but for me, shorts are way more comfy during the dog days.

[lasrl]

Sorry guys, much as I love wearing the kilt, in hot weather even although we do not get too much of it in Scotland, there is nothing to beat wearing shorts,
How do you guys survive in hot weather with even a lightweight kilt

I'd like to get on my soap box.....give my take on this topic....and ask some questions/make a few points. :

1.
I agree. I don't understand how a man can wear a kilt in such hot weather. Of course, to me, hot weather is anything that is at or above 25 degrees celcius/77 F (measured in the shade of course.). I have enough difficulty wearing my 16 oz kilt in anything 20 degrees C as it is. Just a few weeks ago I was wearing my kilt in the heat at a picnic and I almost died. Had to get into my swimming trunks and jump into the ocean to cool down. I'm much more comfortable wearing my kilt in -20 degrees Celcius/-4 F.

2.
My instincts tell me that I'd rather have just one kilt made of 100% wool from Scotland (which I do), than have 20 kilts made out of anything but wool...or any combination of wool and anything else, for that matter. In my mind, it just isn't a kilt otherwise. Although, to be fair, perhaps that is the sacrifice that one would have to make to wear a kilt in a warm climate...so I shall consider this an educational moment. For me though, cotton shorts make the most sense on a hot day. Unless it is a special occasion, I'm prepared to sacrifice looking good (Wearing a kilt is about the only way that I can accomplish this), for a comfortable body temperature.

3.
Perhaps I'm too traditional, but I'm also a bit mystified about these various posts that suggest that one should wear various types of high tech underwear underneath a kilt to stay cooler. Firstly, let's forget the fact that I've never considered the possibility of wearing underwear under my kilt, since the culture I was brought up in considered it to be "very poor form" (Nova Scotia) to commit such a "dastardly" act. Secondly, I do not understand how adding more fabric can make things cooler. I've competed in the sprints in track and field until the end of high school, and I've played Canadian Football at the University level (Running Back), and I've never known even lycra (which I have worn while competing in both sports) to make things any "cooler" for me. Although lycra it is supposed to be one of the best fabrics for making things cooler and taking heat away from the body...I find it makes me warmer regardless (As a Canadian I've played football under some frigid temperatures as well as hot ones). My logic is as follows: If even lycra makes one(me) warmer, I don't understand how any space age undies could do any better (at keeping me cooler), unless they are lined with some kind of cold pack, or "smart cooling nanofibre". I must sound like I'm 100 years old. Can anyone enlighten me on this topic?

[sanddog28]

I'd like to get on my soap box.....give my take on this topic....and ask some questions/make a few points. :
3.
Perhaps I'm too traditional, but I'm also a bit mystified about these various posts that suggest that one should wear various types of high tech underwear underneath a kilt to stay cooler. Firstly, let's forget the fact that I've never considered the possibility of wearing underwear under my kilt, since the culture I was brought up in considered it to be "very poor form" (Nova Scotia) to commit such a "dastardly" act. Secondly, I do not understand how adding more fabric can make things cooler. I've competed in the sprints in track and field until the end of high school, and I've played Canadian Football at the University level (Running Back), and I've never known even lycra (which I have worn while competing in both sports) to make things any "cooler" for me. Although lycra it is supposed to be one of the best fabrics for making things cooler and taking heat away from the body...I find it makes me warmer regardless (As a Canadian I've played football under some frigid temperatures as well as hot ones). My logic is as follows: If even lycra makes one(me) warmer, I don't understand how any space age undies could do any better (at keeping me cooler), unless they are lined with some kind of cold pack, or "smart cooling nanofibre". I must sound like I'm 100 years old. Can anyone enlighten me on this topic?

lasrl let me see if i can help just a bit, while i agree with you i would never think of adding anything under my kilt; the concept of aditional fabric to keep you cool is very real these days, living in a place where 8 months a year see 85+ F temps and humidity always on the north side of 50 you learn how to stay cool. The moisture wicking fabrics used in most of the golf shirts i own as well as the under armour heat gear boxer breafs work in a specific way they lift the moisture off your skin and help it evaporate better, basically improving the way your sweat works... over the last couple of years as these fabrics have come more mainstream i have definitely noticed a difference.... But Ted definitely hit the nail on the head, genetics genetics genetics... both sides of my family settled in the south when they left England/Scottland so 200 years of living no further north than Atlanta Ga helps a body deal with the heat better than anything else.

[O'Callaghan]

The best kilt for me in a Maryland summer is my Sport Kilt. It's quite thin and made of a blend of polyester and something unknown, but you can machine wash it and the pleats stay where they are supposed to be (although it has sewn down pleats, which are an optional extra). I also have a Frugal Corner "13oz" kilt that is made of very thin acryllic and is almost as cool, but their customer service is not too good.

However, not all of my kilts are suitable for 90 degrees F combined with 90 percent humidity, which is what you have to deal with here. If I wear anything made of 16oz weight material, even if its only a 4 yd kilt, in these conditions it is too hot, period. Mind you, even then, jeans are worse than that, so it's all relative.

[KFCarter]

However, not all of my kilts are suitable for 90 degrees F combined with 90 percent humidity, which is what you have to deal with here. If I wear anything made of 16oz weight material, even if its only a 4 yd kilt, in these conditions it is too hot, period. Mind you, even then, jeans are worse than that, so it's all relative.

I think it has a lot to do with what you're acclimated to. And in Savannah, from June through September, business men are accustomed to sweating through their suits if they half to walk much more than a block downtown. It's just part of the culture. You do see a lot of seersucker, cotton poplin and linen, and even so, with a jacket, shirt, tie and pants...you sweat. There's nothing more uncomfortable to me than pants that are literally soaked, adhering to my legs and the kilt totally solves that problem. VENTILATION is the saving grace. My 16 oz. tanks are simply not as uncomfortable as my full business suits... yes, there is a patch around the true waist, where the kilt is the most snug that does get a bit warm and I do not wear a belt when it is really hot for that reason... that said, I'd be in kilts more often for work if I had business-appropriate jackets that weren't tweed... and I'm working on that right now, having a kilt-cut jacket made in tropical weight cloth. Probably about a month away from having pics of it.

[O'Callaghan]

I think it has a lot to do with what you're acclimated to. And in Savannah, from June through September, business men are accustomed to sweating through their suits if they half to walk much more than a block downtown. It's just part of the culture. You do see a lot of seersucker, cotton poplin and linen, and even so, with a jacket, shirt, tie and pants...you sweat. There's nothing more uncomfortable to me than pants that are literally soaked, adhering to my legs and the kilt totally solves that problem. VENTILATION is the saving grace. My 16 oz. tanks are simply not as uncomfortable as my full business suits... yes, there is a patch around the true waist, where the kilt is the most snug that does get a bit warm and I do not wear a belt when it is really hot for that reason... that said, I'd be in kilts more often for work if I had business-appropriate jackets that weren't tweed... and I'm working on that right now, having a kilt-cut jacket made in tropical weight cloth. Probably about a month away from having pics of it.

You're first comment hit the nail on the head. I'm not from Maryland, and even after 20 years I still suffer because it is both hotter in summer and colder in winter than London. God only knows how I could cope with summer in Georgia atall.

You are also probably right that any kilt is better than a pair of trousers in the heat, even if made of ridiculously warm fabric, but why suffer more than you have to? Nobody makes shorts out of 16oz wool, after all!

16oz wool kilts were designed for the Scottish highlands, where the temperatures are all appreciably cooler than in my native London, and thus their summers are very much cooler (and shorter) than here in Maryland, although their winters may be comparable. A 16oz weight kilt is about right for winter weather here, although your knees freeze with the gap between the kilt and the hose, which would be why kilties are called redshanks!

For office attire here in the summer I currently wear an undyed Irish linen jacket with the sort of khaki trousers that are ubiquitous around here. The dress code does not allow kilts, but thankfully doesn't require a tie either.