Improved Mountain Hardware Kilt

[OftKilted]

Thoughts on kilted travel to New Zealand:

I've just come back from a 10 day trip to New Zealand and back, and had the chance to pack one of the 2nd Gen El Kommando kilts, along with one of the Utilikilt Standard kilts for the trip. (Actually didn't pack pants for the entire trip, except for the surf shorts/bathing togs for the bungy jump from the Auckland Bridge.)

My initial plan was to take two of my Utilikilts on the trip, but just before leaving I happened accross the El Kommando Kilt in the REI online catalogue and had them ship it to me for a trial run. While it isn't listing in the Mountain Hardware site at all, it happened to be back in stock in REI.

Having traveled nearly 30,000km and back, I'd say the El Kommando held up rather well, and I'm glad that I brought it along. The El Kommando fits slightly loose on my waist, so I'd say the small is reasonably accurate for a 30" waist. (This is measured at the hips, not at the navel.) The length on it meant that I had it right on the hips to get reasonable kilt length (i.e. just about the top of the knee cap). For reference, I'm 5'7" with a ~30" waist and a ~31" inseam.

The material is a lightweight nylon (about typical shirt weight), with a waistband made of soft microfiber cloth. (If you're familiar with microfiber camping towels, that would be a reasonable match.) A 1" belt is included, and slides through an enclosed waistband fabric waistband, but it can be removed if necessary. The material is lightweight enough that the front edge it flaps readily in the wind, and the design is a simple double layer full apron. I didn't end up using a kilt pin with it to give it more weight, but that would have been handy, though I did end up wearing a sporran as the two side cargo pockets are tacked at the bottom corners to the actual kilt body didn't give me quite as much space as I might have liked. (And 'She who must be Obeyed' decided that it "looked better" with the brown leather Buzz Kidder ribbed highland sporran with a leather strap.)

The kilt itself is a wrap around affair, with no additional material for modesty (i.e. no additional pleat at the sides) at the other than the two layers of the apron. When going to a sitting position, I found that spreading the knees wide did allow the material to fall into position from a seated modesty situation, however the modesty snap doesn't work well when doing that maneuver. (And you get to do a re-adjust when you stand up.) The addition of a sporran when wearing the kilt did make it feel 'more kilt like' and assisted holding down the front apron.

From a comfort standpoint it was quite comfortable and didn't behave in an irritating fashion while walking. It was less 'fussy' than the Utilikilt when getting up from a seated position (the Utilikilt pleats to the right and left of the front apron 'poof out' and need to be constantly smoothed down after getting up from a seated position), a quick brush down the apron and the sporran kilt are ready to go., the pleats at the back are sewn down, however the pleats don't have much 'swish' as they are less than 2" deep each.

From a packing standpoint it is extremely lightweight, rolls nicely into a tube for packing and runs through both the washer and dryer without complaint and comes out without any need of iron and is ready to wear. (The Utilikilt, on the other hand, will run through the washer no problem ... however as has been mentioned previously the instructions say to 'hang dry' which wasn't quite as helpful while on travel.) The material dries quickly when wet, and I could have worn it on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing (don't forget folks, cotton kills...) and as the Utilikilt is a cotton base, that would not have been recommended .... however, I decided to participate in another set of walks instead.

I used my Utilikilt as a traveling garment (it worked rather well on the 16+ hours worth of flying in and out of New Zealand) and when going out for dinner. As a counterpoint to the Mountain Hardware El Kommando, the Utilikilt has 'more swish' (a 'feature' much appreciated by 'She Who Must Be Obeyed') pockets that aren't attached at the bottom (i.e. tacked to the kilt, a feature which I appreciated ), it has enough extra material that it lays better when seated and is made of a cotton/cotton blend, which is slightly heavier and not QUITE as likely to flip in a breeze. (Though not by much it seems.) Given that I don't have a tank yet ... (mmmmm ... tank ....) it was a viable set of options. Though ... I would probably say that a tank, combined with the El Kommando would work quite nicely as a travel combination. Potentially better than the El Kommando and Utilikilt combination as the tank would work nicely with the cooler weather, and mountain hiking/crossings when it is slightly cooler.

(I'll see if I can get some pictures posted with me in my kilts as soon as I've gone through my trip photos.)

[Monkey@Arms]

Great post, Oftkilted.

I am curious, what kind of reaction did your modern kilts receive?

Best regards,

Jake

[OftKilted]

I would say that the response was neutral to positive overall. We met one lady in the 3% group, but it was awesome overall. It brought some nice conversations with locals that I would likely not have had otherwise.

I met two gentlemen of Scottish decent, a busdriver in Auckland and a gentleman outside Rotorua in a coffee shop and a large number of women who thought it was very nice and didn't mind saying so. And some younger folks as well. And a lot of questions as to "why" (it is much more comfortable)

The sporran helped I think. It ties the kilt back to the traditional roots, more as a kilt than a man wearing a skirt.

And people recognized the sporran/kilt combo. Even without it being a tartan kilt.

I did have two not quite as positive experiences, but not bad. One TSA agent who felt the modern kilt was "too short" because he had a number of kilts o his own and a twenty something girl who thought I should be kissing men ... "Because you're wearing a skirt." (We were traveling with an group, and for a travel game, if you happened upon roadwork and were stopped by a "lollipop man/woman" [the person with a stop/go sign] if you hopped off and kissed them you won a drink.)

By the end of the trip to Wellington (from Auckland) There was the question of whether I wore pants at all. All in all very accepting though and nothing other than the typical "what do you wear under the kilt."

Even leaving and returning to the USA and having to clear security it was pretty positive. (Cleared in Washington Dulles and Los Angeles) The TSA experience wasn't bad. And

[CMcG]

Thanks OftKilted, for that in-depth and thoughtful review.

[OftKilted]

Ahh i just remembered one absolute standout positive experience was at the Living Maori Geothermal Village in Rotorua. I was asked by one of the Maori working in the gift shop if she could take a picture of me, as her uncle from Scotland was coming to visit and she wanted to show him a picture of the traveler who came to visit them in a kilt.

All in all it was great :-)

[david30101]

I have one of those "Elk" Kilts in a Med size. I to have a 30 waist. Its a little big on me, but i have to pull the belt tighter. I got this size because I also have one of the older styles with no pleats. The small in that size was to small for me so i got the med. I was thinking this one was made the same way, so I stayed with the Med. Im going to order another in a size small. I mostly wear mine when doing things around the house and when on road trips driving. Also wear it to the gym.

[Larry124]

Good story.
I have an EK and used it more than I thought I would while camping at a half dozen Music Festivals last summer. Story: More than one friend did a double-take because at midnight campfires (yes beer involved) the kilt can be mistaken at first glance for baggy cargo shorts.
I wore it a few days ago on the (apparently only) warm night in March in my local. Waist shrunk a little. Couldn't possibly be winter weight gain. No no. Sigh. A reminder for me to go into spring training.
Here's hoping that they are offered in other colors by late spring.