Hiking in a wool kilt

[Corrie Fee]

I find hiking in my wool kilt the best means of getting around the Glens and mountains near my home in Scotland.Fording rivers jumping streams and scrambling up steep slopes the kilt is at home in this enviroment I do not wear a sporran when hiking and moving quickly cross country. Wool is a natural fibre and part of my heritage. A long wax drovers coat protects the kilt in adverse conditions, and you can still carry your pack wearing it.I am not adverse to gortex and other more modern fabrics, but for me I feel more comfortable and more in tune with nature when I am wearing the kilt.

I am 66years old and have been a runner for 32 years and this year I am planning a 10mile run in my kilt through the mountains, carrying only a lightweight mountain running pack and wearing my trail running shoes and kilt.

I will let everyone know how it goes and most the photos.

[Bugbear]

Welcome to the forum. Hope you enjoy it here.

[celt72]

Welcome from Seattle. I also love to hike in my kilt!

[Oddern]

I also like hiking kilted. It's very practical, warm at the same time airy so you don't work up a sweat as easily as in p@nts.
Skål!

[Blubbi]

Welcom to this exclusive forum

Being in Scotland it is a great pleasure to hike kilted through the glens in autum and spring. In summer I prefere pants in scotland. I don´t like photographing tourists and the midges. Last year in summer the wool kilt was too warm for hiking. 26 dregrees celsius was no fun so I changed to light pants.

Light PV Kilts may be a solution for the global warming but I don´t like the look of the material when it is stretched by a beer cut.

What kind of wheater and season do you prefere to hike through scotland?

[Tobus]

but for me I feel more comfortable and more in tune with nature when I am wearing the kilt.

I agree wholeheartedly. For me, hiking in a kilt (versus trousers or even shorts) is like the difference between experiencing a journey on a motorcycle versus being inside a car. I just feel closer to nature, and more a part of it.

As for hill-climbing in a kilt versus trousers, I think the Captain of Knockdunder said it best in Sir Walter Scott's The Heart of Mid-Lothian:

...and pesides, how is the lads to climb the praes wi' thae tamn'd breekens on them? It makes me sick to see them.

[Riverkilt]

A Goretex kilt - now there's a concept. Imagine someone's tried it by now and I missed it.

And, welcome.

[ForresterModern]

Have not specifically gone hiking kilted yet, but that is in the offing for the spring adventures. One thing I discovered about playing golf in the kilt (which if you saw my golf game you might consider it a similar wilderness experience but carrying golf clubs) is that you can just about go through anything in the way of weeds and not many "stickers" will cling to your kilt due to the extremely tight weave, and those that do are easily removed. During the Scottish Golf Odyssey of 2009 I cannot count the number of times I had to back my kilted **** into a thicket of gorse to make a shot, then only a moment was required to brush off the foliage remnants before moving on with my game. Kilt hose are a different issue, as they tend to have a much more open weave and are a magnet for all manner of attachable seed pods from various foliage. My recommendation would be either regular hiking socks or inexpensive (read replaceable) kilt hose with hiking boots and a pair of high gaiters that pretty much cover your exposed hose and lower legs, if you are hiking in thick brush, optional if in open trail or rock scrambling. Enjoy, and let us know your experience and anything you may have learned.

[ForresterModern]

A Goretex kilt - now there's a concept. Imagine someone's tried it by now and I missed it.

And, welcome.

Actually not goretex necessarily, but House of Edgar Nevis 16 oz tartan comes with a teflon coating. Between it and the natural repellancy of the tightly woven wool it is practically bulletproof from all but the heaviest of downpours. I have goretex jackets and golfpants and personally I think the wool kilt sheds water better while obviously remaining far more breathable (FREEDOM) than the encasing goretex pants below the waist. I have actually gotten away from goretex lined "waterproof" boots as they do not breathe moisture away from my feet fast enough to keep me from soaking my own feet and socks with my own sweat, compared to regular non-goretex hiking boots of similar leather construction. I just do my best to waterproof my non-goretex boots with appropriate treatments and avoid stepping in puddles or running water to keep overflow from being an issue.