I am going to wreck it, I'm sure...so I need help!

[Burly Brute]

Well, here is my question...

I love to hike, camp, fish, etc...and I want to do it all while wearing a great kilt. The question being, how do I obtain a great kilt that will be both durable and not too expensive? I mean, historically, these items where worn in some pretty crazy terrain. I just don't know where to start, I searched throughout the threads on here and couldnt find an answer.

Also...I am 6'4", 44 inch waist...so I need a lot of material.

Thanks, if you need more info just let me know!

-Zach


EDIT: I also plan to use the kilt as my sleeping bag on the hikes/camps.

[Burly Brute]

The ultimate hiking/camping kilt: the belted plaid ("great kilt"). The upper portion acts as an extra layer - and even a hood - for warmth or to ward off rain, and it functions as a blanket when night comes on!

Back in the 18th C., highlanders had to deal with N. American underbrush and adopted military gaitors or Indian-style leggings to protect their hose. I own a pair of these (heavy canvas) and just love 'em:

http://www.flyingcanoetraders.com/co...oque=4&Prod=65

I would love to do this! I have, however, run into some difficulty in that these kilts (in my research) cost like 600 bucks! What is the best fabric to get the B.P. in for hiking? Also, its hard for me because I am a big fella. I am 6'3", 44 inch waist.

[BoldHighlander]

I would love to do this! I have, however, run into some difficulty in that these kilts (in my research) cost like 600 bucks! What is the best fabric to get the B.P. in for hiking? Also, its hard for me because I am a big fella. I am 6'3", 44 inch waist.

Have you looked at Celtic Croft? Depending on tartan weight & yardage you can get them for much less.

[Burly Brute]

Have you looked at Celtic Croft? Depending on tartan weight & yardage you can get them for much less.

It look to me to still be about 500 dollars. I dont know, maybe I am not being realistic.

[wildrover]

It look to me to still be about 500 dollars. I dont know, maybe I am not being realistic.

I gotta tell ya, it sounds cool and all, but unless you need this stuff for reenacting or something, you're better off just getting a regular trad kilt in 16oz wool for 500-600 bucks, plus some Gore-Tex, a nice bag & pad, etc...

[Burly Brute]

I gotta tell ya, it sounds cool and all, but unless you need this stuff for reenacting or something, you're better off just getting a regular trad kilt in 16oz wool for 500-600 bucks, plus some Gore-Tex, a nice bag & pad, etc...

I guess I will just have to look more into it. thanks!

[NewEnglander]

If I were you (and this does sound like a rather interesting idea), I'd find some the most inexpensive piece of wool you can get your hands on and do a trial run with that. I'm thinking of the olive drab wool Army blanket I keep in my Jeep. That way you can see if the whole great kilt thing is actually practical for you before you drop the cash to make one in your family tartan.
Good luck!

[Jock Scot]

Just something for you to consider, the climate in Scotland is harsh on occasion, for sure.BUT our highest mountain is just over 4000 ft and no one lives at that height, yours are regularly much higher than that. In Scotland we have the help of the Gulf Stream to keep up our temperatures more than a bit. Your weather is far, far more extreme. Yes we can easily do hypothermia, wind chill, exposure, torrential rain, severe Atlantic storms, snow(4ft is unusual), sleet and death on the hill. We have below freezing temperatures, but rarely does it get below -15C and -20c is a once or twice a year event.But no one in their right mind goes out in the great kilt in those conditions!Remember, no Scot has ever had to suffer your type of climate in Scotland. And you want to go out in even more severe weather wearing a great kilt? I admire your thoughts,but with the greatest of respect, don't do it! If nothing else think of the poor devils that have to sort out the mess as it will inevitably turn out to be. Sorry laddie, I have to be honest.

[Jock Scot]

No I am not a ranger, just a countryman who has seen too many ill prepared souls who have unrealistic expectations of their equipment and their abilities-----if they have any of either----- and have heard far too often, the cries of anguish from those left behind.

I am not at all sure where our friend is going and I am sure that he has more than a fair idea what he is doing, but-----------.

[wildrover]

Reading between the lines a bit...

Don't get overly caught up in the romantic idea of kilting up and striding over the heather with the sound of pipes at a comfortable & picturesque distance and an impossible stag outlined on a nearby hilltop or however Jock put it a while back, I'm paraphrasing.. Wool is a durable material, and kilts are comfortable, however a kilt is not necessarily the best clothing for every job.

There is nothing more uncomfortable than wrapping up in a wet bedroll at night. You are likely to freeze your *** off, nothing less...or to put it another way, if there's bad weather, be smart and get out of it. Abandon the idea of wild shaggy Scotsmen stoically tramping over the moors through all manner of hell in their great kilts...if they had to do it, they probably weren't any more comfortable than anyone else would be in the same situation, and were probably thinking "only three more miles to the house!", which is what most people caught hiking in bad weather are thinking.

With that in mind, the army blanket idea is perfect. Get a few, sew them up as necessary, pleat them if desired, and give it a try. Just don't blame us if you come back with monkeybutt and hypothermia .

Spend your money on a nice 16x8 in your family tartan, get your regular hiking kit, and get out the door. I have hiked in my kilt, I have clambered over rocks while wearing it, gone up and down ladders, walked through rain storms and hail, and forded small creeks. If chafing is addressed, you will be fine, also, you will be much more comfortable if you have something to change in to, post-hike. I recommend the old standby, loose sweatpants, or the other classic, Carharrts...then you can BS around the campfire without smoking or torching your kilt, and without accidentally showing your goods to all your buddies while you're kicking back on the ultralight camp chair you packed in. The kicker here is that in all the aforementioned conditions, the upper half is covered in either a vented Gore-Tex hardshell, or a quick-drying "race shirt", or both. Water is not an issue. Regarding the kilt and water, you have to work to soak the inner apron and the insides of the pleats. If the inside of your kilt is soaked, you either just forded a creek or you were standing on your head in the rain.

...Spoken from experience, BTW. I actually just brought some surf shorts, but in colder weather, a larger pack with foul-weather clothing is a requirement to avoid becoming a statistic. Try a great kilt from surplus army blankets, pack additional gear according to your local weather patterns, and see how it goes.

As regards cost, kilts are a niche market, and are now viewed and treated by most as a luxury item, and the price reflects that as well as the quality and hand labor that goes in to a niche market item.

The bottom line? Hike in your kilt. Once you do, if you ever go without it again, you'll be wishing you had it! But abandon romantic ideas and be appropriately prepared for your climate and terrain.