Greetings. I am new to the forum and admittedly still learning, but I bought and Amerikilt at the PA Celtic fling this past summer and he had the hiker's kilts with him. Both my oldest son and I are avid backpackers, so we were eying the hiker's kilt but both of opted for the traditional (absolutely great on the hikes we went on and when the rest of the group were moaning about we shorts the morning after hiking in the rain all day, he and I were comfortable and dry). I'm tempted to eventually get the hiker's model, I just liked the traditional style better. Same with my son. The hiker style looks to be very versatile with being able to move the sporran around and all, and the built in belt was a nice feature. But, in the end, I liked the traditional better and have loved it ever since.