Field Report: Macabi Skirt for Men

Biographical Information:

Name: Chuck Carnes

Age: 34

Gender: Male

Height: 6’0” (1.83 m)

Weight: 175 lbs (79 kg)

Email address: ctcarnes1(at)yahoo(dot)com

City, State, Country: Taylors, South Carolina, United States

Date: July 8, 2004

Backpacking Background:

I have been influenced to go camping and backpacking all my life. Every summer for the first 5 years of my life, my parents took me camping. I was in the Boy Scouts at the age of 12 and have been backpacking, on and off, ever since. Needless to say, I love the outdoors. I enjoy taking a lot of STUFF in my pack and can’t seem to get my total pack weight down - I wonder why. I usually hike around Pisgah National Forest and The Great Smoky Mountains. I go at any time of the year and try to hit the trails when there is no rain. If it does rain, it’s okay. Trail terrain, such as rocky trails or muddy trails, is not that big of an issue with me. I just like getting out and enjoying nature.

Product Information:

Manufacturer: Macabi Skirt

Style of Garment: Skirt

Fabric: Supplex Nylon

Size: Regular

Color: Charcoal

Length: 35 in (89 cm)

Year of Manufacture: 2004

URL: www.macabiskirt.com

MSRP: $76.95 (US)

Listed weight: No weight listed

Weight as delivered: 9 oz (255 g)

Taken from the web site:

“The Macabi Skirt® is made of Supplex®, a hi-tech nylon that resists

abrasions, punctures and tears and is odor-, wind- and water-resistant.

Strong is good, yet this cottony soft fabric drapes beautifully, resists

wrinkles, dries quickly and loves hot weather because it breathes. It

boasts an Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) rating of 25+ (that means

93.3%-95.8% of Ultraviolet light doesn't get through to your skin).

It's the perfect fabric to keep you looking and feeling good in the city and

on the trail.”

Field Information (Weather and Temperature) :

            The Macabi Skirt parka has been worn on several occasions during this test period. I have worn it around the house, to the pool, and on a weekend trip to Jones Gap for a weekend get-a-way with some friends.

            Around the house and at the pool, during the times that I wore the skirt, the temperatures ranged from 70 F (21 C) to 95 F (35 C). During these times the weather was very nice, no rain and not much wind. At this portion of the test I was unable to test how well the material dried if it were to get wet by rain and to know if it had any insulation factor against cold wind.

On the weekend trip to Jones Gap the weather was nice except for an occasional rain shower. The temperatures were 90s F (30s C) during the day and 70s F (20s C) at night. 

Field Use of the Skirt:

             This has been an interesting month and a half for testing this skirt. After all the laughs, the comments, more laughter, more comments I was able to wear this skirt with some sort of dignity. I have to say right now that the skirt was mostly worn in the shorts option. Meaning I had it pulled up and buckled in the front and snapped on the sides so that it looks more like a pair of blousy shorts. So far I have had fun wearing the skirt; it makes for a great conversation piece. It’s just very unusual to see a man in America in this kind of attire.

            On the occasions that I wore the skirt around the house and to the pool, I had the skirt pulled up in the middle and snapped on the sides. The problem that I started to notice is that the skirt becomes very blousy in this position. It makes it very easy to catch the loose material on an object that might be protruding in the path that I am walking. I tried unsnapping the sides to let the material hang down my legs but I found this to feel awkward. The way that it hung made my legs feel a little constricted with the middle part of the skirt pulled up and buckled. I think I would like the skirt a little bit more if it were shorter, preventing the extra material.

            The weekend trip to Jones Gap was the true test for the skirt. I knew I was going to get laughed at but I didn’t know how much. The skirt gave us interesting trail conversations. During the day while hiking I tried the skirt in different appearance options. The first option is all of the snaps and buckles undone and it hangs like a normal skirt. The second option is for the center pant clip to be brought up underneath on the back and clipped in the front. The third option is to wearing it like the second option but also pulling the side of the material up and snapping them to the wading snaps. This gives the appearance of shorts. I was not very fond of hiking in the first option. I am just not used to hiking in skirt type apparel. Although, I was able to feel the breeze a little bit better than the other options. I really like the deep pockets that are provided. I was able to keep my camera and snacks in one side and my GPS in the other. While hiking, I mainly wore the skirt with all of the material pulled up and snapped as described in the third option. As I said before, I found that the material kept snagging on limbs and objects that protruded into the path of walking. The material does have a few snags that have not started unraveling yet, but this will be monitored closely. At one point during the hike I was able to stop at the rivers edge, take my boots off and wade around at the side of the river. It was sort of nice to pull the skirt up and be able to wade in at almost waist deep and not get any of my clothes wet. I will not say what I was wearing underneath. After getting out and drying my feet, I left my legs wet and stayed cool for a few more miles.

            I wore the skirt at night while doing camp chores, eating and sleeping. At this point I did let all of the material down in a full skirt fashion. This really didn’t bother me to bad after my friends laughed and giggled for a few minutes. I can see now why women are sometimes comfortable in a light fabric skirt. I found myself hitching it up a few times but other than that the material never got in my way. I liked wearing it during the night. The temperatures were warm enough to sleep on top of the sleeping bag. It was nice to be able to pull it up if I got really hot and pull it down if it got a little cool. The morning dew had fallen on me and the skirt but it dried very quickly after I got out of the tent and walked around a bit.

            Overall I am sort of embarrassed to wear it but now that my hiking buddies have seen me in it and also my family, it’s not so bad. I really like the way the fabric feels and how quickly it dries. I realize the Scottish has been doing it for centuries but it’s new to me and it will take some getting used to.

Future Test Plan:

I plan to continue wearing the Macabi Skirt during most of my hikes and backpacking trips. I will be going on a day hike to Mount Mitchell where the weather is very unpredictable. I suspect that I will encounter some rain if not all day rain. This will give me the opportunity to test the skirt for water and wind resistant. I plan to come up with another option to keep the material from catching on objects while the material is pulled up in the short fashion. I will also continue to monitor the fabric for wear and durability.

Likes and Dislikes So Far:

Likes:

Very airy

Comfortable

Deep pockets to put stuff in and it won’t fall out

Dislikes:

            Still not comfortable about wearing a skirt

            Loose material seems to snag on objects

Thank you Macabi and BGT for the opportunity to test this skirt (never thought I could bring myself to say that)