rain chaps or rain “skirt”?

[Nick Gatel]

I’m a skirt guy.  Good ventilation.  Light. Simple. Easy on and off. Seems durable. A little restriction if climbing. Not the most manly look ;)

Ben and I agree!! (you have to be a frequent Chaff person to understand the implications).

Grow a beard to deal with the “manly look” if that is a concern :)

[Graham F]

Kilt not skirt. Viva Scotia!

[Geoff Caplan]

Scot here. Only a kilt if it’s kilted – ie if it has vertical pleats at the back for freedom of movement. No-one seems to offer this in a rain skirt, but for a few grams of extra weight, some back or side pleats would produce a more functional garment than a simple wrap-around.

Turns out that a Hiking Kilt is a thing.

You can get a microfiber hiking kilt for around 330 grams, or for a few more grams you could get one from Mountain Hardwear in a technical DWR fabric!

https://www.mountainhardwear.com/mens-elkommando-utility-kilt-OM3417.html

Seems that people have thru-hiked in them – it’s a genuine option for shorts wearers, with the ultimate in ventilation. Though as someone who had to wear a kilt at school, I’d be a bit concerned about chafing my thighs at the hem.

Robert Service, who was raised in Scotland, promoted the use of the kilt in a verse that contains the following immoral lines (I’m not making this up):

Imagine how it’s braw and clean
As in the wind it flutters free;
And so conducive to hygiene
In its sublime simplicity.

[Graham F]

I have been wearing my “flap” at the back, I am going with kilt!  Scots wha hae.

It’s just the Scots/Welsh Celt in me.

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