Is there no such thing as a roomy full dress sporran?

[Zardoz]

Well, I have a fat little bi-fold wallet, full of cards and papers etc..but honestly I've never really needed 99% of the stuff in there. Lately I've been using a Storus 'smart money' clip in the sporran; http://www.storus.com/listing.php?ca...op-money-clips about 15 bucks for a stainless one on Amazon.



It'll hold all I need for most any event, ID and a couple other cards, and some bills, and it frees up a lot of room in the sporran.

[OC Richard]

It just seems that dress sporrans in general, with their shallow gussets and generally small dimensions, are not very deep, and not very roomy.
...a full dress sporran with a capacity more like a basic day sporran...

I'm a little puzzled by the way you worded that, because, at least with the traditional canon of sporran styles made by the large Scottish sporranmakers since the 1920s, Day and Evening sporrans have exactly the same body dimensions and gusset design. (The exception being the "Rob Roy" design which has a huge pleated pouch.)

So, I have a fur Evening sporran and a leather Hunting sporran by the longstanding maker Nichol Bros Bankfoot, and both share the same body design, with wide gussets, and both are quite roomy. Ditto with various sporrans from Scott & Son, another longstanding maker. (I believe both makers are now gone, but there sporrans show up on Ebay all the time.)

For even more room, there's a style being made in Scotland today with a somewhat oversized pouch, around 6 1/2" wide and 10 1/2" long. It's the style introduced c1980 for the OR sporrans for the kilted Scottish regiments. You can pick these up all the time on Ebay for $200 or less, because with the creation of The Royal Regiment of Scotland these sporrans are obsolete in the military.

Here is one on Ebay right now; note that these sporrans always have that curved plain chrome cantle, and come in black hair (Queens Own Highlanders, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, HLI, Lovat Scouts) and white hair (Black Watch, Gordon Highlanders)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Scottish-ARG...item2324d023a4

You can also pick up the current Royal Regiment of Scotland sporrans, some of which have that same big gussetted body, while some do not.

This style is also being made with a goathair front for a nice Edwardian look. Here's a rather pricey one on Ebay right now. I've seen similar goathair sporrans, with the same big roomy body, go on Ebay in the $200-300 range

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SUPERB-Scott...item232572ce9b

And here's the same style, huge roomy body, with a fox full mask, also quite pricey

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SPECTACULAR-...item2322d59e28

Anyhow I bought one of those goathair sporrans on Ebay for around $200, took off the ugly modern cantle and put on a lovely vintage Edwardian cantle. This is the sporran I wear whenever I put on the kilt. It can hold wallet, keys, phone, camera, and even a bottled water. Here it is

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I have to agree with Jock on this one. How much do you really need to carry with you, especially to a formal event? You say you can fit your wallet, keys and cell phone in your sporran. What else do you need? A good question to ask is what you would expect to be carrying in the pockets of your formal trousers if you were wearing a tux to the same event. I imagine the answer would be wallet, keys, and cell phone.

Jock's point about only taking your car key (and not every key you own) in your sporran is another good point. I decided years ago that it was not necessary for me to take every key I owned with me everywhere I went. I now have a key ring with only two keys on it -- my car key and my house key. This goes with me whenever I am out and about, and takes up virtually no room in my sporran or pocket. If I am going to work, then I have a second key ring with necessary work keys on it. But for other forays, they stay home.

For formal occasions, one can expect to sometimes sacrifice function for fashion. This is why you don't see cargo pockets on dress trousers, or rubber boot soles on dress shoes. I think a big, bulky (though roomy) sporran would fall into that same category.

This is helped somewhat by the fact that formal occasions will also necessitate a jacket, and jackets have pockets. I have used the pockets in my jacket at various times for keys, wallet, event tickets, lip balm, check book, etc. In fact, I can recall some events where I had everything I needed in my jacket and my sporran was empty.

That all being said, some dress sporrans are roomier than others. If you are looking for a sporran that will serve you well at a formal event and still have quite a bit of carrying capacity, I would recommend one of the larger Ferguson Britt sporrans, made with black leather, in the fur of your choice. These won't have the silver cantle you might be used to seeing in a dress sporran, but they certainly look nice enough and have quite a holding capacity.

For some of the larger ones, I recommend the Glen Shire Mor model, the Inverarnan, or the Inverlochy.

[OC Richard]

Good gracious me how much sundry kit do you need for a formal event?

Your point is well taken, but with my Nichol Bros Bankfoot Evening sporran I have plenty of room for wallet, keys, phone (ringer always off), and camera.

With my goathair thing I have loads of room, and when out at a Highland Games I can carry all of that stuff plus a bottle of water, small purchases, and so forth.

For yucks I just checked and I can put a fullsize 750ml bottle of wine in my goathair sporran; just the top of the bottle shows.

[English Bloke]

Might I suggest that if we are off to a formal function where assortments of "Scottish Wine" and other such "wreck the hoose juice" beverages are to be imbibed, we might consider leaving our car keys at home.

Edit: OC, I love that goat sporran of yours.

[unixken]

Perhaps it all boils down to the fact that with a hard flat rear panel, a hard flat front panel, and a gusset that seems only an inch deep at times, there's no way to comfortably get a hand in the sporran, sort through whatever is in there, grab the desired item, and remove it from the sporran (think monkey with his hand in the apple jar.) If I cant get my hand in, make a fist around my cell phone, and remove it without feeling like I've reached through the crack at the bottom of a closed door, then my perception is that the sporran is too small, regardless of whether a single key was at the bottom, and that's what I had to reach deep down to retrieve.

[Llama]

it's just that there's no way to comfortably get a hand in the sporran

Agreed! The problem for me isn't of carrying thing, it's of being able to get them out of the sporran without too much jiggery-pokery.

[Geoff Withnell]

Jock, I don't know about Scottish ladies and their evening bags, but here in the States, the gentleman is much more likely to be carrying things for the lady. Most lady's evening bags make formal sporrans seem like rucksacks by comparison.

Good gracious me how much sundry kit do you need for a formal event? Handkerchief? In a jacket pocket. Car key? Note, NOT keys, they can stay in the car and the car key can go in a pocket. Money? How much do you need? A few neatly folded notes can fit in a jacket pocket. Credit card? In the sporran. Mobile phone? Switched off I hope! Do you really need it for a formal occasion? Camera? A wee one could easily and unobtrusively fit in a jacket pocket and of course these days your mobile phone will probably have a camera. Should you be accompanied by a lady then her hand bag(purse) can be used to advantage too!

[RockyR]

Agreed with most of what others have said as well...

1. When I go to a formal event, I leave all of my keys at home as we have a garage door which closes from the car. The only key brought with me is my 1 car key.
2. I keep a money clip, license and maybe 2 credit cards (in case the place doesn't take Amex).
3. That leaves plenty of room in my sporran for phone (ringer off) and camera, though I typically keep my phone (which also doubles as my camera with a decent quality picture) in my vest pocket.

That being said, different companies have different sized gussets for their sporrans. L & M's sporrans... day, semi dress AND dress typically have a 1.75" gusset which several of our customers have commented on being too small, where other manufacturers typically have a 2.25" gusset. Most companies who retail high quality sporrans CAN have one made special for you with a deeper gusset if needed (for a gent with large hands for instance), but I have never really found a need, especially on dress sporrans.

[unixken]

The consensus appears to be not that dress sporrans are too small, but that I carry too much. It strikes me that by carrying just a single key, a few folded bills of cash, and a cellphone (all of which would fit into the pockets of the waistcoat and jacket), it is in fact the sporran that is totally unnecessary, and should be left at home. (Good gawd, man... why do you need that?!?!?)