Well, I think the 'sex thing' is getting a little carried away, and approaching being offensive, to be honest. If you think wearing a kilt is a "girly thing", and that it's somehow related to "sex", you belong at an adult video store and not on the Trail.

A kilt is merely the Scots variant of the age-old "wrap" that was commonly worn by men in a variety of cultures, from First Dynasty Egypt through much of Southeast Asia (the "sarong", for instance), as well as Greece and Latin Europe; the word "kilt" is, in fact of Scandinavian origin. In Scotland - where much of my family comes from - they were functional in a variety of ways. Of wool, and generally a length below the knee, they were warm, easily made (once the weaving was done), and, by their pattern, at least in "formal" kilts, a way of describing the clan one belonged to. They could be used as a blanket at night, and were comfortable and less likely to be 'soiled' than were pants, in an era where undergarments were simply uncommon for any but the noble classes. Men wore them because they were what men wore. In much of rural Scotland today, a kilt is not uncommon, simply because it is practical clothing for those who work out-of-doors. One of the most hated edicts of the still-loathed English was, in the 1700s, to forbid the wearing of clan patterns, or "tartans". Not only did this seek to destroy family strengths - a source of opposition to English domination - but it had a practical effect, as well: Rough wool isn't suitable for pants, as most men know, but cotton IS. English cotton mills found a very nice new source of business in selling cotton clothing to the Scots and, conversely from wool, cotton doesn't function well as a kilting material in a damp climate such as Scotland. ("Cotton kills" was known then, as well as it is now on the AT.) But cotton DOES hold some warmth value when made as pants. So English cotton mill owners thought the prohibition against tartans to be a VERY useful "marketing" technique. So to those who think a kilt is a "girly thing", I suppose my Scots heritage says, "Ach, ye Sassenach just love to prove your money-grubbing colonial prejudices, don't ye?" Neither is true. So let's drop the insults, cute or otherwise.

Functionally, I find a kilt to be good trail clothing from Spring through early fall: My primary one is a Mountain Hardwear kilt, because I like the styling, but I have used simple wool sheets, 36" wide by about 4'long, and wrap it towel-fashion around me and secure it with (yes, it's the best way, probably because it's the SCOTS way!) a large safety pin at the top and half way down. I don't like pockets much in my other clothing, since I always seem to lose things from going in and out of them as I walk, so I just use a small pouch on one shoulder strap of my pack; a sporran would be uncomfortable for serious walking. The kilt minimizes upper thigh sweating, due to the increased ventilation, while minimizes chafing for me, which - given my size - is a serious problem and one I almost never have when I'm wearing a kilt. It's also more comfortable, once I get used to it - about a day of transition.

Against the question - which is as invasive for me as it would be if one asked (or wondered) about a woman - whether I wear underwear, I will say that there are two schools of thought, and that there is no need to be exclusively one or the other: One school, for wearing, is that one can keep a bit cleaner, and there is less risk of accidental exposure. The other, for not wearing, is that it saves a bit of weight, it's more comfortable, and a "short kilt" that exposes genitals is as inappropriate on the trail for a man as a miniskirt is as for a woman (which is why you don't see them), as well as the fact that cleanliness is not a hard thing to maintain if one cares about oneself.

You can agree, or you can disagree. But hey, Rock! Still sounds a little girly to you? Did you see "Gladiator"? Sergeants - and generals -like YOU conquered pretty damn much the entire Western world - from Britain to Persia, Germany to Egypt with "that girly look".

I like my kilt.