kilts for bushcraft

[Draven]

I wore a kilt from time to time when I was a kid - far too bloody warm for summer though, autumn-spring only. My teacher (native gaelic speaker, one of the most frightening women I've ever known but lovely lady deep down!) was thrilled that I sometimes wore a kilt.

I personally don't consider it an issue of practicality in the UK: if we had rattlers then trousers and calf-high boots might make more sense The main issue is one of comfort. If you like you freedom then a kilt's for you!

Warning with regards to climbing the barbed wire though. Luckily I haven't removed myself from the gene pool but gotten some nasty cuts on my legs from climbing fences in a kilt!

Pete

 

[British Red]

Purely from interest, what is the actual difference between a kilt and a skirt? Is there a feature than marks a kilt from a tartan skirt ?

Or is it like the difference between train spotter and railway enthusiast? Just a name change to avoid embarassment?

Red

 

[pwb]

Purely from interest, what is the actual difference between a kilt and a skirt? Is there a feature than marks a kilt from a tartan skirt ?

Or is it like the difference between train spotter and railway enthusiast? Just a name change to avoid embarassment?

Red

 

[maddave]

I have 2 or 3 kilts... Quality is different though. The one in the pic is £500 but I have another that was £40

A man in a kilt is a man and a half !!


The true bushcrafters kilt sould be the Great Kilt or Feilidh Mor in my opinion

http://www.theweebsite.com/greatkilt/index.html

 

[Toddy]

Depends which *kilt*.
Technically a short kilt is an intense bit of tailoring. It's a two year apprenticeship to learn to make one properly.
Ladies pleated skirts don't come close.

The great kilt has been worn in one fashion or other all over the world. The Scots just took it to a different level with their finespun, tightly woven, colourful cloths.

Thing is, the kilt is only part of the clothing. The basic garment is actually the linen sark.

Ladies wore sark and skirts and arisaid.
While the menfolk kept the kilt since the military decided to use their clan/area/ regiment affiliations to their advantage. women gave up their arisaids since the ministers fulminated agin them in the kirk. A woman with her arisaid pulled up over her head and shoulders 'could' be feeding a baby, or sleeping through his sermon.
Eventually, if respectable women could afford it, they wore a cloak instead. Women are reclaiming it though
It is comfortable to wear, woods or hillsides, even in Summer.

Menfolks often do wear the kilt on the hills, but they come in different weights. Dancers don't wear great plaid or heavy army style kilts.

I have friends who wear the kilt all year round, others who will only wear the great kilt.

The influx of cheap ones means that the lads don't fret if they wear them to something like a rugby match and the pub afterwards.
Hand made, properly tailored ones in Scottish woven wool don't come cheap.
For many it's a 21st birthday present since it's such an expense.
Jamie's kilt, belt, sporran, sgian dubh, hose, etc., cost me nearly £1,000, and that was even with his great uncle buying his jacket and waistcoat and me making his linen sarks.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[British Red]

It was a genuine question - I genuinely don't know if there is any actual design difference between a kilt and a skirt.

But thats okay - I think I follow that logic

Kilt?

Red

 

[Toddy]

Put it this way BR, a good quality tweed jacket takes less than a couple of hours to make, and can be done in a factory.

A proper kilt can't be made in a factory and takes at least two days of hand sewing.

A properly tailored and stitch-pleated skirt takes about as long as a tweed jacket.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Bodge]

This is all very interesting, but.....has anyone actually worn a kilt to go walking or bushcrafting and, if so, what's it like?

I wore one at my 40th birthday party last year. I have Scottish friends and they gave it to me for a gift. I love it but need a sporan to keep my bits and bobs in
I'm not sure I'd wear it for bushcraft though due to biters.okenest:

 

[Miyagi]

Don't be tempted to sit anywhere near a spark with one of those cheap internet Kilts.

There's been some very nasty incidents with these.

Liam

 

[British Red]

Put it this way BR, a good quality tweed jacket takes less than a couple of hours to make, and can be done in a factory.

A proper kilt can't be made in a factory and takes at least two days of hand sewing.

A properly tailored and stitch-pleated skirt takes about as long as a tweed jacket.

cheers,
Toddy

Interesting - thanks for that (think I over posted before). What is it though that makes a kilt a kilt (and I mean the short kilt - the great kilt I understand). My (Scottish born) missus when asked said "course its a type of skirt - just one worn by blokes normally - and no less manly for that". Which makes sense to me. I just wondered if there is a technical distinction?

Red

 

[Toddy]

Just the tailoring, the cloth, and the culture tbh.

I once heard it described as a kilted skirt.........the opinion was that the kilting, the specialised pleating, made it a different kind of skirt.
Think on it though, at it's heaviest, it's eight yards of fabric neatly tailored around your loins

cheers,
Toddy

 

[iano]

To all our kilt afficianados:

Any provenance for the kilt being a wider Celtic thing, or is it Scot particularly?

I ask because it seems to be about in Ireland too... Don't know if that is due to Scottish families who emigrated to Ireland back in the day or if its a genuinely pan-Celtic thing?

I googled this a while back and found some weird Galician blokes I think wearing kilts, but again, not sure if it was a genuine pan-Celt thing or if they just decided recently to adopt it and 'invent a tradition'...

Welsh (and quarter Scottish by blood, with a dash of Irish in there somewhere!) here wondering if he can get away with a 'cilt'

 

[Toddy]

We know of pre kilted wraps called brat and leine. Basically cloak and shirt. What we don't know is exactly how they fastened those cloaks in the wet and windy British Isles. A brooch is very good, but a belt around the waist makes for a much more practical garment.
Pan celtic ? no idea, I do know that the sark, the leine, is the same garment that was worn right across Western Europe. A tunic that came almost to the knees. Take a patterned cloth and wrap it around you and sooner or later it becomes the great kilt.
The short kilt is very practical, but it's always going to be a kilt, whereas the great kilt is a cloak, a blanket, a shelter....

A lot of the tied up in 'correctness' rules are total mince. All they do is reflect the culture of the times in which they were laid down.

Victorian military glamour added so much bling to the sporrans and sgian dubhs that they are damned near useless
Similarly the photos of the nobility wearing tartan hose and kilts, with gold braid and buttons........ordinary folks could never afford to spend that much on their clothing. It gives an unbalanced view of the past, unrepresentative of the reality of everyday clothing for the majority of the population.

If you want to wear a kilt, it's up to yourself.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Barn Owl]

Let's face it, the kilt or tunic is just nicely functional.

Easy to spread the legs in walking,running or climbing.
Easy to go to the toilet in same,good body temperature regulator.

In modern times maybe it's just age that makes you appreciate such things.

 

[Grooveski]

I like kilts. We had country dancing at school though, that kind of dulled the "men in skirts" edge.
Most guys I know think nothing of wearing a kilt but they are awfy hot in the summer and you can't go into getting-wet mode the same as you can with breeks or shorts.

 

[treadlightly]

The eight yard kilts do seem as if they would be too hot for summer. Is there a lighter kilt that is worn in the hotter months and if so what is it called?

 

[SMARTY]

Saw lots of Kilts at the WG last year, or it could have been the latest bushcraft fashion accessory as sold by ........ who knows. I didn't see too many being worn when the sun went down, I suppose no one can see you then. If works for you go for it I say. I prefer a pair of shorts.

 

[MartinK9]

Its funny that MartinK9 was only saying last week that he likes to wear a dress and would we mind if he wears one to a meet?
I think he has something like this in mind ,

Twodogs

You Loved it

 

[Toddy]

The eight yard kilts do seem as if they would be too hot for summer. Is there a lighter kilt that is worn in the hotter months and if so what is it called?

The kilts worn by dancers are made from lightweight tartan.
It usually comes in three weights, occasionally a fourth uber lightweight one is specially woven for dresses and the like.
Just now tartan is popular for furnishings, but often they aren't twill woven so they're technically not tartan but checked fabric.

The more muted, ancient, weathered (the colours that natural dyes fade out to over time) and the like cost more since they aren't woven in huge quantities.

If you are buying tartan for a great plaid make sure you have double width or enough single width to sew end to end to make a wide enough cloth.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Matt.S]

Its funny that MartinK9 was only saying last week that he likes to wear a dress and would we mind if he wears one to a meet?
I think he has something like this in mind ,

Twodogs

Yes but in his defence, it was all in the best possible taste.