New Stillwater Kilt arrived!

[ardchoille]

When I returned home from shopping today I was greeted by two boxes from Stillwater Kilts. Here is my review.

Standard Kilt- Nightstalker Tartan
1. Tack down stitching was still in the kilt. I feel that the customer shouldn't have to deal with this. I have received several kilts from The Scotland Yard and they always remove the tacking before shipping the kilt.. and the pleats don't suffer from this.

2. Upon putting the kilt on I found that the buckles are misaligned. The lower buckle, in the first hole, leaves some of the material bunched up between the buckle and the strap. The other two buckles are strapped to the same hole and don't bunch up the material.

3. About a half inch of the under apron is visible below the outer apron (sag?) and I see no way to fix this other than hemming the under apron.

4. The back of the waist area seems to have double the amount of material in it and it became very hot in the hour I wore the kilt.

5. This kilt needs to be hemmed two inches before I can wear it but I'm not going to bother because I will never wear this kilt.

6. The Economy Kilt Pin I received was already tarnished and some buffing did not fix this. I can't use this pin.

Customer service: A+
Product quality: F
Would I buy this again: No

I'm sorry to say this, but I can't believe xmarks members settle for this kind of junk.

The Buzz Kidder Ribbed Sporran I received, on the other hand, is excellent. It's roomy and I like the belt loops on the back. I would definitely buy this item again.

[Big Homestead]

Thanks for the heads up. I was going to buy my next from him. Guess not.

Greatly appreciated.

[mbhandy]

You just might email or call Jerry at SWK and see what he can do for you. As far as the hemming goes he can take care of that or have it hemmed locally. You knew when you bought the kilt it was 24" drop. Are you trying to wear it on your hips or above your belly button?

MrBill

[ccga3359]

When I returned home from shopping today I was greeted by two boxes from Stillwater Kilts. Here is my review.

Standard Kilt- Nightstalker Tartan
1. Tack down stitching was still in the kilt. I feel that the customer shouldn't have to deal with this. I have received several kilts from The Scotland Yard and they always remove the tacking before shipping the kilt.. and the pleats don't suffer from this.

2. Upon putting the kilt on I found that the buckles are misaligned. The lower buckle, in the first hole, leaves some of the material bunched up between the buckle and the strap. The other two buckles are strapped to the same hole and don't bunch up the material.

3. About a half inch of the under apron is visible below the outer apron (sag?) and I see no way to fix this other than hemming the under apron.

4. The back of the waist area seems to have double the amount of material in it and it became very hot in the hour I wore the kilt.

5. This kilt needs to be hemmed two inches before I can wear it but I'm not going to bother because I will never wear this kilt.

6. The Economy Kilt Pin I received was already tarnished and some buffing did not fix this. I can't use this pin.

Customer service: A+
Product quality: F
Would I buy this again: No

I'm sorry to say this, but I can't believe this kilt got rave reviews from xmarks members. I wonder if I ended up with a lemon.

The Buzz Kidder Ribbed Sporran I received, on the other hand, is excellent. It's roomy and I like the belt loops on the back. I would definitely buy this item again.

Ouch! I'll see if I can address each (or some of these).

1. Pleat basting stitches are common on all kilts, I'm actually surprised that you have received kilts through the mail without such. I would prefer that they remain in for shipping.

2. The third buckle is superfluous and should actually be bucked loose not at all tight (or buckle removed all together). This should prevent the bunching.

3. Be sure that the length is indeed longer at this pont than the outer apron at this point. Can or is the inner apron pulled up eaqual to the outer apron. granted 1/2" is a lot.

4. I assum that this is where the pleats are tapered and excess material not removed.

5. can this kilt not be worn higher on the waist (2" above navel)? Would you not wear it as a hackaround kilt saving your best in case of accidental damage.

6. Won't even touch this one.

If you aren't happy with this purchase contact Jerry. A kilt should be able to be returned if the basting stiches are not removed.

[Kid Cossack]

Seriatem observations.

1. Shipping kilts with basting stitches in place is not unusual, even on custom tailored worsted wool kilts.

2. I almost think that's "just how SWK does it." The first wool kilt I owned was a SWK, so maybe that "trained me up wrong" but it's what I'm used to. I also wear the lower strap one notch looser on my USAK five yard woolen kilt. This could be a case of operator error (me, here, I'm talking about).

3. That doesn't sound right to me!

4. On the SWKs, the pleats are not cut out above the fell. This DOES give a fairly thick cushion along the back between fell and waistband. I think Tattoobradley referred to is as "pillow butt."

5. and 6. No real comments.

I got a solid year's worth of wear out of my Hunting McLeod standard before I shrunk down out of it. Based on some reading, I've tended to prefer a two strap (vice three strap) system, completely eliminating the lower strap on the right hip.

I'm sorry to hear about your dissatisfaction with your purchase.

[jmercier]

When I returned home from shopping today I was greeted by two boxes from Stillwater Kilts. Here is my review.

Standard Kilt- Nightstalker Tartan
1. Tack down stitching was still in the kilt. I feel that the customer shouldn't have to deal with this. I have received several kilts from The Scotland Yard and they always remove the tacking before shipping the kilt.. and the pleats don't suffer from this.

2. Upon putting the kilt on I found that the buckles are misaligned. The lower buckle, in the first hole, leaves some of the material bunched up between the buckle and the strap. The other two buckles are strapped to the same hole and don't bunch up the material.

3. About a half inch of the under apron is visible below the outer apron (sag?) and I see no way to fix this other than hemming the under apron.

4. The back of the waist area seems to have double the amount of material in it and it became very hot in the hour I wore the kilt.

5. This kilt needs to be hemmed two inches before I can wear it but I'm not going to bother because I will never wear this kilt.

6. The Economy Kilt Pin I received was already tarnished and some buffing did not fix this. I can't use this pin.

Customer service: A+
Product quality: F
Would I buy this again: No

I'm sorry to say this, but I can't believe xmarks members settle for this kind of junk.

The Buzz Kidder Ribbed Sporran I received, on the other hand, is excellent. It's roomy and I like the belt loops on the back. I would definitely buy this item again.

I recieved this same exact kilt today myself, so let me give my own review with my own view to your points.

1: I liked very much that the basting stitches were still in the kilt, this is usualy something that you only get from the top end kilt manufacturers, this certainly helps keep the pleats sharper out of the box, and with a synthetic fiber kilt the pleats tend to flaten out a lot more than a worsted wool kilt. I was very impressed when not only did my standard night stalker, but also my thrifty kilt I ordered at the same time had basting stitches.

2: The kilt, while not custom fitted, is still tapered out at the hip. I put on my SWK nightstalker standard and my top buckle on the right and the left buckle I had on the close in hole, but the bottom buckle further down on the hip was on the 2nd hole, as expected because the hip is wider than the waist. If I cinched the kilt in all the way to the same hole as the top buckle, sure, there was some material bunching, however this isnt how it would be worn, as it would make it too tight at the hip.

3: You will have this problem with 100% of kilts not hand tailored. You cant expect this in the price range of the SWK standard. I only own one kilt that has ever had the under apron hemmed to prevent droopage. I paid over $350 for this kilt. (and it's not even a full-sized kilt, it's a tailored filde-beg style, 4 yard knife pleated kilt)



my new nightstalker standard SWK does hang down about half an inch, for what I paid, i'll put a slight under apron hem in it myself and be very happy.

4: The SWK standard is a full size knife pleated kilt, it WILL have almost 2/3rd of the total tartan in the back side of it, every "full" kilt (non 4-yarder) will be like this. This is why some people like box-pleated kilts, as they are more half and half with material in the front and back. Many people dont like box pleated kilts because they WANT all that material in the back. Kilts are a very warm garmet, getting hot while wearing a full length knife pleated kilt is expected, thus why a lot of people like light weight 4 yarders as a 'casual kilt' or 'every day wear' kilt

5: Are you wearing the kilt at the right height? the top of the kilt should be between 1 and 2 inches above your bellybutton. I'm 6'1" myself and i wear it just a little bit over my belly button and it fits perfect. Unless you're quite short lenght shouldnt be too much of an issue, SWK states that all their kilts are 24"


I for one can not be happier with the standard nightstalker which I just bought. For what I paid for it, it's the best value I've ever recieved for a kilt. In all seriousness, what's your waist size Ardchollie, if you're similar to me (38") and you're not going to be returning it i'll seriously consdier trying to work something out with you.

[ardchoille]

Ouch! I'll see if I can address each (or some of these).

1. Pleat basting stitches are common on all kilts, I'm actually surprised that you have received kilts through the mail without such. I would prefer that they remain in for shipping.

2. The third buckle is superfluous and should actually be bucked loose not at all tight (or buckle removed all together). This should prevent the bunching.

3. Be sure that the length is indeed longer at this pont than the outer apron at this point. Can or is the inner apron pulled up eaqual to the outer apron. granted 1/2" is a lot.

4. I assum that this is where the pleats are tapered and excess material not removed.

5. can this kilt not be worn higher on the waist (2" above navel)? Would you not wear it as a hackaround kilt saving your best in case of accidental damage.

6. Won't even touch this one.

If you aren't happy with this purchase contact Jerry. A kilt should be able to be returned if the basting stiches are not removed.

2. The third buckle is buckled at it's last (outer) hole.. no more holes left to buckle. If I pull it in one notch, it bunches up more.

3. Both aprons are pulled up equal.

4. Maybe removing this excess material would make this kilt a bit cooler. But, I don't know how to do it correctly.

5. I'm 5'6" and stocky, I wear my kilts at 2" above the navel.. any higher and they would cover the lower portion of my ribs.

[ChromeScholar]

I received my SWK Standard in Weathered MacKenzie today, and can honestly say that I have none of the problems you have mentioned. I think I'd send it back and give Jerry another try.

[majdan]

I have a SWK nightstalker standard and don't have the problem with the back apron droop but as I wear a 23 inch drop I have to hike it up an inch. I'm 5' 9" and rather short coupled. At 5' 6" a 24 inch drop in no doubt too long. I'm sure that if you drop Jerry a line he'll set you to rights. SWK has excellent customer service.

[demobud]

By all means contact Jerry, he is most concerned with having happy customers. I am sure he can work ou tany issues you have.