MACABI SKIRT
The Original Adventure Travel Skirt ^TM for Men
report review hiking skirt
Field Test Report - July 12, 2004

"Doesn't strangle my dangle, isn't a drag on my bag, and leaves plenty of slack in my sack."
- Shane Steinkamp, explaining the benefits of the Macabi in relation to the male anatomy.

SPECIFICATIONS

The Macabi Skirt is manufactured by Macabi Skirt.  (Imagine that!)

Web: http://www.macabiskirt.com

Year of Manufacture: 2004
MSRP: U.S. $76.95

LISTED WEIGHT:   None Listed
LISTED SIZE:          Varies.  Available in men's and women's sizes and cuts.  Waist sizes range from 20 to 42 inches (51 to 107 cm).  Lengths range from 30.5 to 38 inches (77.5 to 96.5 cm).
TESTED WEIGHT:  10.1 oz (285 g)
TESTED SIZE:         Men's size XL, regular length.  40-42 in (101.6-107 cm) waist, 35 in (89 cm) long.

Length is measured from the top of the waistband to the bottom edge of the skirt.  The waistband on the XL I received starts at 31 in (78.7 cm) and stretches maximally to 47 in (119.4 cm).

FIELD NOTES - MATERIALS, CONSTRUCTION, AND FEATURES

The Macabi Skirt is made from Supplex, and I have been very pleased with the material.  It is soft and comfortable, washes well, does not retain odors, and is colorfast.  I have also not managed to stain it, despite smearing various things all over it during use.  While the Macabi may be wrinkled when it comes out of the pocket/stuff sack, once I wear it for a little while - 20 minutes or so - all the wrinkles fall out of it.  When wet, the Supplex dries relatively quickly.  The waistband, being thicker, takes longer than the rest of the skirt to dry.

The Macabi Skirt has three pockets.  Two are rather large hip pockets, and there is also a zippered security pocket inside the right hip pocket.  This pocket doubles as a built in stuff sack for the Macabi Skirt.  I absolutely love the pockets.  The lower portion of the pocket is nylon mesh, which means that the pockets can't fill with water, sand, or other trail dirt.  In addition, this improves ventilation when walking, because a little air can escape up through the pockets.  Did I mention that I love the pockets?  

The Macabi Skirt has belt loops, but I have finally decided that they are a little small.  I'd like them to be just a little larger, and possibly a little beefier, although I haven't torn any of them yet.  It would be very useful to me to have belt loops that fit my wider belts - especially some of the webbing belts I use in the field.

The Macabi Skirt has a Pant Clip^TM, pictured at left and above, that allows the skirt to be configured in various ways.  I have been satisfied with the performance of the Pant Clip^TM in all respects.

There is some additional furniture connected to the skirt.  The Macabi Skirt has a 3/4 inch (1.9 cm) d-ring on the left side, right under the 9:30 belt loop.  It is secured to the skirt by a short piece of 3/4 inch (1.9 cm) nylon webbing.  This is evidently to secure the free end of the Pant Clip when not in actual use.  There is an identical d-ring, secured with an identical piece of nylon webbing, 1" (2.5 cm) from the bottom hem on the inside rear center of the skirt.  There is a 1" (2.5 cm) loop of 1/4 in (6.4 mm) nylon ribbon attached to the inside front center of the skirt 7.5 in (19 cm) from the bottom hem.  This d-ring and ribbon loop are used to configure the Macabi in various ways, as pictured in the Initial Report.  The Macabi Skirt has side snaps (Baby Durable type).  The male snaps double as the bottom pocket seam attachment rivets - very clever!  The female end of the snap is connected 1.5 in (3.8 cm) from the bottom edge of the hem on each side of the skirt.  When snapped, these serve to shorten the skirt as pictured below.  I have experienced complete satisfaction with all the furniture.

FIELD USE

I will have to confess that I have worn the Macabi Skirt almost daily since I first got it.  I'm starting to drive my wife crazy.  "Did you wash my skirt?" isn't a question I ask anymore.  I just wash it myself...  I have worn the skirt on all my trips, and for all my daily walks.  I've worn it to the store, to the movies, to restaurants, to parties, to doctor's visits, and to many other places.  My boss won't let me wear it to work if I'm going to see clients, though.  The Macabi Skirt is, by far, the best piece of gear that I have had the privilege to test for BGT.  Once the test is over, I'm going to order several of them.  

I used the Macabi Skirt on a few overnight trips and several day hikes.  Terrain was variable, and included sandy beaches, river sandbars, bottomland hardwoods, and rolling hills.  I used the Macabi Skirt in weather conditions ranging from clear and hot, to very hot and stormy.  I never wear underwear in the backcountry, and I have never worn underwear when wearing the Macabi.

As I noted in my Initial Report, in modern Western Civilization, the appearance of a man in a skirt - unless that skirt is part of some kind of costume - engenders a range of response from total disregard to curious inquiry to obstinate denouncement. Despite being always at the ready with the provided Macabi Skirt information cards, NOT ONE stranger ever seemed to notice that I was wearing a skirt.  Not a single person commented on it, except my immediate friends and family.  The response from my immediate friends and family was the usual mix from resigned acceptance of my 'strange ideas' to good natured teasing.  Several people are likely to get one as a Christmas gift this year or next...  I attribute this lack of response by the general public to a few factors.  One, of course, is my own self confidence.  Second is the generally unobservant nature of Southerners.  A third might be that some people think I'm scary looking.

When a person wears clothing, that clothing has a bearing on that person's mindset and attitude.  When I am in a tuxedo, I'm all dressed up, and I feel all dressed up.  When I'm wearing the Macabi, I feel confident, and free.   

It's difficult not to turn this report into a long series of mini trip reports during which I wore the skirt, but I will avoid this for the most part by discussing the Macabi's various configurations.  Images of these configurations are available in the Initial Report.  

The Macabi Skirt is, after all, a skirt, and that is the way I have worn it most of the time.  I find that it is comfortable, airy, quick to dry, and cooler than pants or shorts in the swampy heat of the deep south.  When walking, I have found that the Macabi performs very well as outdoor clothing.  It moves with me, is not restrictive, and allows full range of motion - even greater than my loose hiking shorts.  No matter how loose my pants are, they still bind at the knee when I take big steps up, and this is not the case with the Macabi.  The Macabi does not snag on underbrush like I thought it might, although very sharp thorns will catch the material from time to time.  The Macabi provides sun protection, provides some wind protection, and is wonderful to sit down in.  I don't have to pull out my sit pad, I just sit down on the ground in the Macabi.  I can sit cross-legged and pull my legs into the skirt and they are almost completely covered, and therefore protected from sun and bugs.  I don't end up with sand in my crevice, or in other places where sand can be irritating.  I don't have dirt creeping up my shorts and getting trapped in places where the material turns into sandpaper and strips away layer after layer of my delicate flesh. 

Wearing the skirt allows the ventilation necessary to allow this sweat to evaporate normally. Wearing loose hiking shorts with no drawers will generally have the same benefit, but it isn't as good as a skirt-like garment.  It interesting that equatorial tribe members who live their lives nearly nude have few skin ailments and no problems with chafing. Once they adopt clothing, brought to them by well intentioned missionaries, they have all kinds of skin problems. Your skin is designed NOT to be clothed, and when it isn't it functions normally.  

Some people might fear thigh rub causing thigh chafing.  From long experience I can say that thigh chafing is only an issue after the second day on the trail, and that my thighs get used to it by the fourth or fifth day.  As the saying goes, Your Mileage May Vary (YMMV).  For persons who experience trouble in this area, some kind of lubricant like Body Glide may be used, but I have never found a need for it.  

Using the Pant Clip, an adjustable nylon strap with two clip hooks on the each end, the Macabi Skirt can be turned into what I would call genie pants.  This is accomplished by unclipping the Pant Clip from the left side, reaching under the skirt and finding the nylon d-ring on the inside rear of the skirt and the nylon ribbon loop on the inside front and clipping the Pant Clip hook through both.  I almost never wore the Macabi in this configuration.  Maybe it sounds silly coming from a man in a skirt, but the Macabi in this configuration looks kind of goofy on a man.  If I really need to keep the bottom of the skirt together, I just pass the Pant Clip through the D-ring and clip both clips to the nylon ribbon loop.  I haven't had call for this yet, however.  

Using the built in side snaps, the Macabi Skirt can be hitched up to make it a little shorter.  That's about knee length - proper kilt length, even if it looks a little baggy.  It's still very cool and comfortable.  I often switched into this configuration while walking.  The side snap straps on the bottom of the skirt snap up to snaps at the base of the pockets.  I found myself wishing that there was also an additional snap at the waistband so that I could shorten it up a little more if desired.  When I wanted this, though, I found that I could just tuck the hem of the skirt into the waist band a little bit and my wish was granted, even if it was a little inelegant.  

Using the Pant Clip and the side snaps, the Macabi Skirt transforms into baggy shorts.  Not terribly attractive, but quite comfortable.  I found this configuration to be VERY useful on several occasions.  One, it is quite comfortable, and still very airy.  These 'shorts' can be further improved by threading the Pant Clip through the d-ring and clipping both clips to the waist loop and rolling the 'legs' under a little to tighten things up.  This is very useful for wading - both in water and in potentially cumbersome situations with less worldly members of society.  This configuration allows a very clever 'disguise' to be donned for those occasions when a man in a skirt might frighten the children or something.  I had to stop for supplies in a little town in Mississippi.  I spent many weekends in this little town as a teenager because it is near my grandfather's old farm.  (Although the word 'farm' is used very loosely in this context.)  It is a town of God Fearing, Gun Toting, Fun Loving, Rednecks.  I like the town, and I've never had a problem, although I do understand that the local constabulatory's common question when stopping motorists is, "What 'cha doin' on mah road, boy?"  So, there I was, in Bible Belt America, about to go into the supermarket (another term used very loosely in this context) wearing the Macabi.  Realizing that this may upset the sensibilities of one or more of the other patrons - who may or may not have heard about Mr. Lincoln's address at Gettysburg yet - I converted the Macabi into shorts.  I did all my shopping and nobody batted an eye.  

Rolling the legs all the way, and tucking the back of the skirt under the front waist band (and tying the waistband string to the d-ring) makes a swimsuit in the tradition of the tucked loincloth.  Quite comfortable, really, but it does look quite like a diaper.  I haven't had much call for this configuration, preferring to swim au natural when possible, but the Macabi does do surprising well for swimming.  The Macabi really is an all terrain garment.  

There is another configuration of the Macabi that I really enjoy.  In the hottest months of the year, any clothing is often too much clothing, and I will hike without clothing when circumstances allow.  Not very many people are insane enough to brave heat indexes of 110 F (43.3 C) and humidity levels reaching 70%, so I normally have my usual trails all to myself in July and August.  On some trails, though, hiking naked isn't always advisable because of the negative reaction of persons that may be met along the way.  The Macabi is a very modest garment, and provides a feeling and a coolness that approaches being totally exposed to the air.  Once the heat of the day settles in, however, even the Macabi - which is still cooler than any pair of shorts I have worn - saturates with sweat and cannot provide evaporative cooling in the swampy heat of the Gulf South.  In these circumstances, I have found that I can gather the front of the skirt - including the pockets - and tuck it into my hipbelt, leaving about 2 inches (5 cm) of the hem sticking out.  I then grab the back hem and pull it up between the small of my back and my pack.  Next I gather the sides and tuck them into the hipbelt.  In this manner, I can walk along and enjoy all the benefits of nude walking.  Should I suddenly encounter someone coming down the trail, a quick tug on the hem sticking out of the hipbelt deploys the Macabi as a full skirt again, and I am in no risk of frightening a group of Girl Scouts or something.  I am using this 'configuration' to its maximum benefit, but one could tuck the Macabi into a hipbelt to make it as short or as long as desired.  Since the material is soft and fine, there is no danger of chafing under the hipbelt.

FIELD NOTES - ADDITIONAL NOTES

I had believed that mosquitoes could not bite through Supplex, but I did receive one mosquito bite through the garment when the material was stretched against my knee.  Tick checks proved very easy.  There aren't any folds or tucks where the little bloodsuckers can hide.  

The Macabi launders easily, and I frequently rinse it and hang it to dry overnight when hiking.  It is always dry in the morning, although some moisture may be retained by the waistband at times.  The Supplex does not retain odors like some synthetics.

I have been asked by one or two people about the value of the Macabi skirt.  At US$77 for a garment that some men aren't sure that they are going to like, I suppose that this is a fair question.  I can only answer by saying that I would definitely pay full retail for a Macabi, and I intend to own several of them as soon as I finish this test and can generate the funds.  I feel that the Macabi is an excellent value, and while I am inclined to project that the Macabi will be long lasting and durable, I will have to reserve that judgment for the Long-Term Report.

I will continue to wear the Macabi Skirt at every opportunity.  

SUMMARY

I find that the Macabi Skirt has several advantages over pant or shorts.  I have compiled a brief summary below.

THINGS I LIKE

1.  Light, airy, and comfortable.
2.  Good fit.  If I put it on backwards, I don't have to take it off, I just turn it around.
3.  Very versatile.

THINGS I DON'T LIKE

1.  I could go for slightly larger belt loops.
2.  A larger range of sizes would be desirable.  I know there are a lot of big people out there (I being one of them) that have a hard time finding outdoor gear designed for them.  When my daughter is five or six, I imagine she's going to want one of these as well.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

I have prepared a list of additional resources for those wishing to learn more about the benefits of hiking, backpacking, and generally wearing skirts, the coverage of which is a little beyond the scope of this review.  Men in skirts is something that seems to be coming back into fashion, if slowly.  This is hosted on my own hiking website and is not a part of this report.

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Thank you for your time.

Shane Steinkamp
shane@theplacewithnoname.com  
www.theplacewithnoname.com/hiking