opinion on a "knockabout" kilt?

[Newfoundlander]

Good day,

I would like to get a few opinions/feedback on a couple kilt options I am entertaining at the moment please.

I'm currently in grad school and after I finish up in about a year or so me and the missus are thinking about taking a bit of time off and taking a trip somewhere, possibly Scotland/Ireland, or Aus/NZ, and likely with a tour company. When you do these things there are always organized evenings out and nice diners and such. My thinking is I'll bring a kilt for these events because, well, why not =)

I don't hoever, wish to bring my nice hand-made heavyweight kilt, just in case I spill beer at a pub, or sleep "rough" in it, or otherwise wreck my good kilt. So I'm thinking of picking up a cheaper poly-vis kilt that I can spill away at and toss in a washer. Has anyone here bought a knockabout kilt like this and gone through a similar thought process? If so, can you please point me in a good direction?

I've checked out the "Heritage of Scotland" website and they have some really good and cheap poly-vis 8 yard kilts for about $60CAD, which is great even if you tack on 20-30% for tariff. Plus they have the MacDonald Tartan (I have MacDonald on one side of the family). Has anyone ordered from them? Feedback?

Though most of the stuff on ebay seems a bit dodgy there do seem to be two ok ebay stores "MacDonald Sporrans" and "Edinburgh Kilt Company" that seems to have decently priced and decently made poly-vis kilts. Of course with these companies I'd have to go with a Royal Stewart tartan, but that's ok, the missus is Stewart on one side (Anderson on the other), so I don't feel too unjustified, haha. Is anyone familiar with these companies?

Thanks very much in advance, any of your thoughts and experiences will certainly be helpful and appreciated!

Cheers!

[chrisupyonder]

http://stores.channeladvisor.com/Sti...FREE%20Flashes

Chris.

[NorCalPiper]

I've actually owned a couple of the HoS "PV". They are very heavy, almost Carhardt like material. They are fantastic for knocking about if you're a daily wearer. The major con is the material is stiff and boxy.

I highly suggest that you choose a maker who uses PV from Marton Mills. The difference in hand and comfort with the "PV" sold by HoS and the others on eBay is night and day.

[CMcG]

Those kilts are actually poly-acetate, not poly-viscose, and NorCalPiper is correct, they have a thick, stiff feel. I don't own one but have handled them... I've heard that they loosen up a bit once washed.

As for price, I'd say get one from The Scotland Kilt Company. Same kilt but lower total price because they have free shipping to Canada while Heritage of Scotland makes you pay. I've purchase from both companies and they have provided efficient service... just don't expect a top quality item at their discount prices!

http://www.thescotlandkiltcompany.co...ual-kilts.html

[Grizzly]

Have used the Scotland Kilt Company and from my experience they offer excellent customer service. I did ring them to place my order and I received it less than 24 hours later. Will definitely use them again.
regards

[Mickey]

We have a few HoS/Gold Bros kilts in this house and I really have nothing bad to say about them. They do loosen up with time/cleaning. Maybe I've just been lucky, but I really enjoy them. They feel close enough to my wool ones that they don't feel "wrong" on me, and for the price, I really don't care if I mess one up. If you get one that is on special, (like I did) you really get a carefree attitude about it and don't run away from a bowl of chili.

[MacMillans son]

I'll second (3rd 4th 5th?) the utility of the Asian PV kilts. They advertise as Poly Viscose, and I have not done, nor seen, any tests to prove them to be otherwise. I have one from buyakilt.com which is a sister company to MacDonald sporrans. They provided prompt service with good email follow up through the process. They have a good offering of tartans, both clan and universal. I have one in Scottish National tartan that I wear for rugged use, and it serves me just fine for that purpose.

As others have said, they are coarser to the hand than Marton Mills PV, and they tend to be pleated to the "whatever" but at the prices offered, and for their intended use, they are hard to beat.

I also have two Marton Mills PV kilts from USAKilts and Skye Highland Outfitters, both of which charge accordingly for the higher quality material and labor, but are excellent values as well

Good luck in what ever you choose!

[CMcG]

They advertise as Poly Viscose, and I have not done, nor seen, any tests to prove them to be otherwise. <snip>

I emailed the Scotland Kilt Co a while back and they said that the material is 60% polyester and 40% acetate. Those numbers might not be exactly correct but they are NOT poly-viscose.

[seanachie]

I also have two Marton Mills PV kilts from USAKilts and Skye Highland Outfitters, both of which charge accordingly for the higher quality material and labor, but are excellent values as well

Good luck in what ever you choose!

I also have PV Kilts from both SHO and USAK, (actually I have multiple from SHO and a Firefighters Memorial from USAK I am wearing now and wore to my city 9/11 memorial service today.) Brooke is correct about the higher quality etc but they are also pretty durable as well. I have traveled with them, participated in lots of activities and they require nominal care. I do recommend you keep the straps conditioned with mink oil, it works well. Josh and Rocky are also excellent with customer service.

[MacMillans son]

I emailed the Scotland Kilt Co a while back and they said that the material is 60% polyester and 40% acetate. Those numbers might not be exactly correct but they are NOT poly-viscose.

Not that it matters all that much but, according to this source (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-viscose.htm) "Viscose" is Cellulose Acetate. Also, according to another page of this same source ( http://www.wisegeek.com/topics/viscose.htm ) Viscose is not a fabric in itself, but rather, a material that is used as the base for making other materials...like Rayon.

So, according to how I understand this source, Poly Viscose may be synonymous with Poly Cellulose Acetate. I may not have that right, but that's what I get from it. Therefore, we may just have an issue of different ways of saying the same thing.

Again, not that it matters all that much, but the fact that numerous businesses openly market the material in their kilts as Poly Viscose makes me think that perhaps they really are. Albeit, a courser version than that produced and marketed by Marton Mills. I'm not a fabric specialist at all, but perhaps PV does not lend itself to larger thread diameters, and when it gets too large, 16 oz for instance, it becomes noticeably stiffer ? Maybe that is why Marton Mills only makes it in a lighter weight? Just speculation of course.

However, I'm not sure why we would assume that Marton Mills is the true and accurate version and anything else must be falsely advertised? Well, actually, I have a suspicion as to why we would, but that's a whole other issue.

Cordially,
Brooke