So you want to be an athlete?

[HeathBar]

OK...What would be the perfect kilt for throwing. Please consider the rise, the material weight, the amount of material (4yd, 5yd, 6yd....) and fasteners. Or does any of this even matter?

[Alan H]

OK...What would be the perfect kilt for throwing. Please consider the rise, the material weight, the amount of material (4yd, 5yd, 6yd....) and fasteners. Or does any of this even matter?

I've seen everything from what are clearly *very* nice 16 ounce, custom-made kilts, to wraparound plaid material with a belt on it from Joanne's fabric. The upshot is, nobody really cares.

I happen to wear a Scottish National casual 5 yard, that's from one of those distributors around here that everybody loves to hate. I've also worn my USA Kilts casual, since it's often pretty hot out there on the field, here in California.

One guy wears a nicely made 8-yard kilt made out of black and white cow print material! I"ve seen a couple of utilikilts on the field, too. One guy (who happens to be Chinese!) wears a What Price Glory military kilt! Notice that Yaish is wearing a utilikilt in some of his videos. However, by far and away the most popualr manufacturer at the Novice and Intermediate levels here in California is SportKilt.

I would say that you shouldn't wear your gorgeous 16 ounce tank. I'd hate to have one on and drop a stone on the apron and mess it up, you know? I personally think that the USA Kilts casual is just about perfect for a kilt to throw in, especially when it's hot.

Footwear is important. You want ankle support and you want traction on the grass. High-top cleats are great. The only time they're not is during the open stone throw. That's becasue if you do a South African spin, you need to rotate on your forward foot, when it's planted. Most guys actually take off the cleated shoe on that foot and replace it with a basketball shoe or other rubber-soled, but not cleated shoe.

[Yaish]

Alan has good advice on the footwear. I wear regular soccer cleats, but I have high ankles so high tops dont fit me. I really only need the cleats for the caber and hammer, I like good boots for the remaining events. They provide the ankle support I need and usually more than enough traction.
Wearing cleats for eight hours can also be extremely tiring on your feet, which slows you down by the end of the day.

As for kilts, I really like the Utilikilts because they fit snugly on my hips (no shifting) and the narrow apron means I have just that little bit more freedom of movement for my legs.
Be aware that many people use an extremely sticky sort of tacky on some of the events, and it will likely get all over your hands and clothes even if you don't use it yourself.

I usually wind up with a bit of tacky on my shoulder from the caber, my hands, and then to my kilt from transfer. I don't mind this on my UK or my Stillwaters, but I would be upset if it was a tank.

If you dont like the UK idea, then it's hard to go wrong with a Stillwater Kilt. All the good looks of a traditional, but at a price you don't mind getting dirty.
Sportkilt also makes a fantastic product for this purpose, especially as this is what it was designed to do. Lightweight, elastic waist, and relatively cheap are hard to beat.