kilt hose vs. shooting socks

[sailortats]

Could someone tell me the differences between kilt hose and shooting socks?
Are shooting socks heavier, lighter, shorter, longer?
The website "shootingsocks.co.uk" has a wonderful selection of various styles but before purchasing any I would like to know how they differ from kilt hose.
Thanks for any input.

[Jock Scot]

As a regular shooter who wears plus 4's several times a week in the shooting season and as you know a regular kilt-wearer too, I find them interchangeable between one use and another. However I think perhaps "shooting hose" might be made a tad longer than kilt hose. Thickness and length varies from make to make, but by only a tad.

[Domehead]

As a regular shooter who wears plus 4's several times a week in the shooting season and as you know a regular kilt-wearer too, I find them interchangeable between one use and another. However I think perhaps "shooting hose" might be made a tad longer than kilt hose. Thickness and length varies from make to make, but by only a tad.

***

I own House of Cheviot Lewis Kilt Hose (Navy) and House of Cheviot Grampian Chessboard Shooting Socks (Brick & Mustard: pic on Shootingsocks.co.uk). To me, the differences are virtually imperceptible.

[unixken]

Sounds to me like if the kilt wearing community can't find an obvious, significant difference, the non-kilt-wearing public wont, either. If shopping for "shooting hose" opens up the selection of colors, styles (and prices?) available to the kilt wearer, it sounds like a good option to explore. I suspect you'd find cabling patterns or dicing patterns or color combinations that aren't so commonly found in hose that are specifically marketed to kilt wearers.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Jock's got it in one. Shooting socks are just a tad longer, as they are meant to be worn with Plus 4's and Plus 2's, but that does not prevent them from being worn as kilt hose with relative ease.

[brewerpaul]

I own and wear both. By both I mean breeks or plus 2s and plus 4s as well as shooting socks. They are quite interchangeable with kilt hose. Most of the time you will find me in a kilt wearing what is sold as "kilt hose" but eventually I came across some sites showing the hunting or shooting socks. These seemed quite the same as kilt hose so I began to explore the various outlets. Most seem to be from the UK, The Sporting Lodge is one I buy from the most. From them I had found some brown tweed with a blue upper stripe, copper tweed with brown upper stripe and a red marl and olive green upper stripe. They fit as well as kilt hose and are of good quality wool. I usually use my hand made garter ties with them. With the weather dipping below 20s F I dig out my wool breeks and wear them with either kilt hose or hunting socks. Ive even converted a pair of couduroy and twill pants to plus 2s to add to my "pants" wardrobe. I think you will be happy with either type sock/hose and you may find some variety in design with the shooting socks.

[Tobus]

Overall, they do seem very similar. Especially between the HoC lines of kilt hose and shooting socks.

But it occurs to me that when compared with other brands of kilt hose (not HoC), the turndowns on shooting socks tend to be much longer than regular traditional kilt hose. For a visual example, here is a photo from the thread about the Duke of Edinburgh attending a Highland Games with the Queen and the Duke of Rothesay. Note the difference between the turndowns on their hose. The Duke of Edinburgh's hose are more like traditional standard kilt hose, where the Duke of Rothesay tends to wear checkered-top hose that are more like shooting socks.



What I've noticed is that HoC's turndowns on their kilt hose tend to be longer like shooting socks, where other makers tend to stick with a shorter turndown. I love the quality of HoC hose, and they are by far my favourite brand of kilt hose (aside from my custom hand-knit hose), but I rather dislike the fact that the turndowns are so long, because they look like shooting socks to me.

And on the same line of thinking, I believe shooting socks are intended to be worn a little higher than kilt hose (as others have mentioned). The top of a shooting sock comes up to just below the knee, where kilt hose should be a couple of inches below the knee (or three finger widths, as a general rule). Again, HoC makes their kilt hose more like shooting socks, making it difficult to stick with this general rule.

So for me, that's usually the glaringly obvious difference. Overall height and the length of the turndown. Does it work? Yes. But I do notice the difference.

[Domehead]

Tobus is spot on.
All my hose are HoC: Lewis, Chessboard, New Diamond, Rannoch - the only traditional "kilt" hose I have are HoC military diced.
Tobus assertion that the turn-over is longer and the height is higher must be correct. Point of fact: images I've posted of me in Highland attire garnered that very comment (not negative), just a comment re: my hose could be a notch lower below my knee. As well, my turn-over's a tad long related to my garters.
However, having only ever worn the diced "kilt" hose (not that often) I never noticed the difference until this thread. Interesting.

[Jock Scot]

I think we really are in danger of over-thinking all this. If the turnover is really too long then all that is needed is a nifty fold and the problem is solved. In truth though, so what if the fold is a wee tad too large, the world is hardly going to stop spinning, now is it? The benefit of a large(long) turnover is that the flashes usually only stick out a wee tad which is better, by far, than the "wind-sock" effect.

[Phil]

I think we really are in danger of over-thinking all this. If the turnover is really too long then all that is needed is a nifty fold and the problem is solved. In truth though, so what if the fold is a wee tad too large, the world is hardly going to stop spinning, now is it? The benefit of a large(long) turnover is that the flashes usually only stick out a wee tad which is better, by far, than the "wind-sock" effect.

A very sensible summation about what, after all, is just a pair of socks. Perhaps if you are not really used to wearing longer woollen hose it may seem strange but there really is nothing remarkable about them.