For those of us who classify as "Men of Substance", the gut we have worked so hard to develop can cause the problems Matt speaks of with the sporran dropping and the aprons of your kilt bunching up in front above it, when using a standard strap or chain. I use nothing but the sporran hangers and I would not likely be considered that big by a lot of folks' standards, and my waist measurement is 2 full inches LESS than my hip measurement. More of it has to do with shape, and if you have a gut that protrudes at all significantly you can suffer the same problems. As Matt says, only problem using sporran hangers is it shifts the weight to the front of one's belt which must then stay in place to keep both the sporran and belt from drooping and causing the same problem as the sporran strap. Sporran hangers can be very plain (such as the kind of belt hanger used by janitors for their mass of keys) or very ornate with conchos and jewels and shaped leather in a variety of colors to match the rest of your kit.

If you suffer the problem of the gut causing your front aprons to bunch above your sporran then I would suggest you give sporran hangers a try----I personally stand by them and have worn nothing but them since my first outing with the kilt more than three years ago when I discovered I had the problem and also coincidentally was shown the value of sporran hangers. So far none here have commented in any of my pictures that they were not "traditional" enough for everyday or dress use.