Hiking Kilt -- by Sportkilt -- perfect Kilt IMHO

[JRMILLER]

Guys,
I have been searching for the perfect summer kilt and believe I have discovered it. Sportkilt.com makes an item called a Hiking Kilt -- see http://www.sportkilt.com/category/52/Hiking-Kilt.html

It is made of lightweight microfiber and it is really light and thin. It has the typical Sportkilt velcro waistband that they use on their "original" Sportkilts. Thus, it's very adjustable.

In terms of "look", it looks pretty good, but of course, only a facsimile of a wool "tank". However, the average person on the street doesn't know the difference! To the average person, it is plaid and short like a kilt, therefore, it must be a kilt.

I removed the yellow "Sportkilt" shield on the waistband -- pretty easy to do, just get a thread ripper.

I also added a little more Velcro on the waistband cause the sizing was a little off. I ordered for a 38" waist and was shipped a "large" which is actually about 2.5" too big. However, a little strip of Velcro fixed it right up.

I wore it last night to a party for my local singing group, good mix of men and women aged from mid 20's - 60's. The kilt was well received, people were polite, nobody asked me what I wore underneath.

Overall, I like the kilt and will probably buy another one in a different tartan, it's unfortunate there are only 3 tartan's available and frankly, I think only one is a real tartan (Black Stewart) and the other two are just nice plaids. Again, the average guy on the street isn't going to do a "thread count", so tell them anything you want. Mine is "Pacific Blue" and looks kinda like the Miller tartan, so when asked, I called it an original Miller (double meaning, I didn't explain it).

If you are looking for an inexpensive, really comfortable kilt, this is the best I have found to date.

BTW -- there is a sale on right now, you can get 10% off if you use the code "FATHERSDAY09". It's only good until June 22.

Cheers,

[Mipi]

It's still rather high price. I believe Stillwater has even cheaper to offer. You can have Thrifty for less then $30, Economy for $52 and Standard for $80....

[JRMILLER]

I have 2 Stillwater kilts and they are nice, but this SK is much lighter. Also, the SK is hung from just about your hips like a pair of jeans, the SWK is hung from your natural waist. For summer, the SK wins hands down. For Fall, Winter, the SWK. In fact the SK feels more like a light skirt than a kilt, but looks like a kilt.

[Mipi]

Thanks for good difference description. But for me the only option is DIY, for now. Even the cheapest SWK after you add shipping cost to Europe and import duties, taxes ceased to be cheap!!!! For mail orders coming into our country, everything over 30EUR (including shipping!) is the matter of custom review and extra $$$

I must admit, I like to do the things on my own (speakers, beer, swords, kilts, skirts....). So I don't suffer much.

[kiltsrawesome]

I think it's strange that they would cost so much, but I guess not too many companies supply kilts so they can charge whatever they want.

Fabric wise, I think microfiber would be incredibly comfortable and soft, yet I've read that it tends to get static electicity built up in it. Though with these it may not. Overall these look pretty nice.

[Mipi]

Actually there's quite some fabric used in kilt, therefore kilt can't be really so cheap as skirt. But in the way you're right. If there would be more kilt vendors, then the kilt price would drop, too.

[JRMILLER]

Sportkilts cost so much cause they are made by people who are paid a normal wage and it takes hours to make one. I have made two kilts based on the Sportkilt pattern and each one took several hours. Add in the cost of the fabric and a little profit and it's not hard to see how they end up at $100. In fact, when you consider the cost of making one, $100 is a bargain.

Most women's skirts are made of lightweight material, there's not much effort required from a sewing perspective to make one and they are made by people who are paid pennies per hour. It would not surprise me if the net profit is greater than what the person who made it was paid for the entire day!

[AMM]

Sportkilts cost so much cause they are made by people who are paid a normal wage and it takes hours to make one....

You've left out what is probably the biggest issue:

Economy of scale.

How many Utilikilts do you think UK, Inc. sells in my size? And how many pairs of chinos [trousers] do you think L.L. Bean sells in my size? Design costs and set-up costs can be amortized over far more units, and quantity can justify buying tools (sewing machines, jigs, etc.) that are specialized to a particular design of clothing. That alone is enough to account for a factor of 5x to 10x.

Kilts and skirts are actually fairly simple garments, compared with shirts and trousers. A "pleating machine", complete with hidden-stitch sewing machine, would probably be simpler than a knitting machine. The only problem is that there's essentially no market for one. If Sportkilts were selling hundreds of thousands of kilts per year, they could probably afford to have machines that would make almost-finished kilts directly from rolls of fabric in a matter of minutes. And they'd cost $10-$20 a piece.