Third Buckle/Strap

[Ian.MacAllan]

. . . With the internal style, though, there's nothing to support the outer apron while I'm putting it on. . . .

Buckling that strap doesn't take a full minute, and it's easy to use the fingers of my left hand to keep the outer apron's weight off the strap's stitching.

. . . But also, if for some reason I want to adjust the left hip strap a notch tighter or looser at some point, I have to undo everything to get to it. An external strap is much easier to get to for adjustment. . . .

Granted, but this is a rare need.

. . . And lastly, by moving it inside, there's less fabric between your hip and the buckle itself, which means less padding. I'm not going to say it's uncomfortable with it inside (I haven't noticed any discomfort), but I could see potential for it being less comfortable having the buckle inside rather than outside.

This might indeed be a consideration if the buckle were directly over the point of the hip, but on Matt's kilts at least it's not---it's more to the right, where it rests on inner apron and flesh.

. . .I just don't understand the purpose of putting it inside. . . .

My principal reason for preferring this arrangement is that my engineering background disposes me to oppose unnecessary holes in fabric. The only advantage I see in having a third strap is that it can provide a matching replacement if one of the important two should break. Such breaks are blessedly rare, but as one of the McAuslan stories testifies, they can happen.

. . . As for the "third" buckle on the right hip, I apparently am in the minority. I like it. . . .

I sincerely believe that nothing worthwhile can be accomplished by arguing about taste. Different horses are indeed appropriate for different courses.

. . . But to each his own!

Amen, Matt, amen.

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