Name:	Thomas Peltier II
Age:	31
Gender:	Male
Height:	6' 0" (1.8 M)
Weight:	155 (70.3 k)g
E-mail Address:	Thomas@Goldenautomotive.com
City, State, Country:	Bakersfield, California, U.S.A.
Date:	04/12/2004

Backpacking Background:

I have been in the outdoors since I was a toddler. My mother introduced me to backpacking when I was in the backpack. I in good turn joined the Boy Scouts to get away from Mom on the weekend hikes. My first backpack trip with the Boy Scouts was down a dirt road to a park and campsite. That was my last trip with the Boy Scouts. Since then I have been backpacking mostly in the Sierra Nevada.

I have been a professional river guide and kayak instructor for the last 11 years; however, I currently work at a family establishment in Bakersfield, California. Working a "Real Job" keeps me away from the outdoors a bit more than I would like. My summers are busy between city work and river guiding. Much of my packing is done on the river in the summer. This has driven me to long winter trips and short summer trips for the last several years. I took up snowshoeing to help get into winter backpacking. I have found that less is often more in my backpacking. I find myself just as happy in a pair of Chacos carrying my pocketknife as I do with a heavy pack and big boots.

Product Information:

Manufacture	Date Manufactured	Manufacture URL	MSRP:	Model	Size	Color	Material
Macabi	2004	www.macabiskirt.com	$76.95 plus $5.00 Priority Mail	Men's Skirt	Small	Claret	Nylon

Color and Sizing Charts

Color Options

Charcoal	Spruce	Stone
Caribbean	Bark	Claret

Sizing Charts

Men's Skirt Sizes
	XS	S	M	L	XL
Size	26	28-30	32-34	36-38	40-42
Elastic Waist	22"-33"	24"-34"	26"-36"	28"-40"	30"-42"
Length	33"	35"	35"	35"	35"

Men's Long Skirt Sizes
	S	M	L	XL
Size	28-30	32-34	36-38	40-42
Elastic Waist	24"-34"	26"-36"	28"-40"	30"-42"
Length	38"	38"	38"	38"

A men's skirt? Sure, men have been wearing skirts for centuries. I personally started wearing a sarong several years ago and I regularly were a sarong while backpacking. The comfort, convenience and versatility of the sarong have made it my favorite hiking garment. The Macabi Skirt is not a sarong, it is a full-blown skirt and there is no doubt when I put this on that I am wearing a skirt.

I received the Macabi Skirt USPS Priority Mail, in a soft tyvek envelope and enclosed in a clear plastic bag. My Macabi Skirt is Claret, which is a deep red wine color. I held the skirt up in front of me and inspected the skirt from several angles. I then put the skirt on to see how I looked. the Macabi Skirt looks nothing like a sarong. It has an elastic waistband with a drawstring and belt loops. The skirt is pleated in the front, two pleats on each side and has four seams; front, back, left and right. There are two large front pockets on either side and no back pockets. The left pocket has a smaller zippered pocket set inside it while the left side sports a small plastic D-ring just behind and above the pocket. Right in the front, on the belt line a horizontal loop has been sewn in. There is a webbing strap clipped to the loop with a small plastic quick clip. This strap is adjustable from 11 to 17 inches ( 28 - 43 cm). If I reach between my legs to the back seam of the skirt I find a small plastic D ring. I can clip the opposite end of the webbing strap to the D-ring and I have pants. If I reach down to either side and pull the bottom of the skirt up I find stapes sewn in, just above the hem on the inside of the skirt. The other half of the snap is sewn on either hemline, just below the pocket lips. By securing the snaps and the pants clip the Macabi Skirt hangs down to just above my knees.

I played around with the wading snaps on the side and the pants clip up front. As a skirt it hangs around my ankles and is very easy to walk around in. It is cool and makes a wonderful sun block for my legs. If I reach down and find the plastic D-ring attached to the back of the skirt and clip the pants clip I have a pair of baggy clam diggers; these pantaloon looking leggings that hang loose about my calves. I can then reach underneath each side of the skirt and find a piece of webbing with a button sewn into the fabric. I can snap the button to it's other half just below the pocket on either side. Now I have a very baggy pair of shorts or a dress that I can wade in. With the pants clip and the sides pulled up the Macabi Skirt does not really look like a pair of shorts to me. However the skirt is above my knees and it is quite comfortable to wear.

There is no doubt I'm wearing a skirt and I expect to turn some heads while walking down the trail. So what, I turn heads when I wear a sarong but this feels different to me. This is a skirt, and there is no getting around that. Men in my culture in the United States don't wear skirts very often. Again I say, So What, I think that the Macabi Skirt is going to serve my needs very well this summer. I believe that it will be cool to wear in the summer heat and still protect my skin from the intense summer sun. The Macabi Skirt is made from Dupont Suplex. Suplex is advertised to be windproof, water resistant, cottony soft and lightweight. I can easily role the skirt up when I need to wade out into water or pull it up high, I can let it down to protect myself from the wind. I have to admit I feel a little bit funny walking around in a skirt, but the more I wear the Macabi Skirt the more comfortable I become, and the skirt is downright comfortable to wear. I can't wait for my first chance to put the Macabi Skirt to the test.

I plan use the Macabi Adventure Travel Skirt for all of my backpacking and most of my day hiking trips during the next six months. I had hoped to use the skirt during river guiding as well. After seeing the skirt I am not sure how well this will work out, there is a lot of fabric here to be running whitewater, however I plan it to take the Macabi Skirt for a swim and see how it does. I'm very curious to see how the skirt performs in the water and what happens when the pant clip is engaged. I see many possible pitfalls such as my legs getting tangled in the fabric. I also want to know how well the material sheds water and how much water it will retain when immersed. How quickly will the Macabi Skirt dry? What if there is no sun out? These are important questions to me when guiding or spending time in the backcountry. I will test this very carefully and in controlled setting for the first several attempts. If things go well I will begin to wear the skirt while river rafting. If things don't go so well I will limit my use of the skirt to camp and trail hiking.

I am not sure what the comfort range of the skirt will be. I plan to test the skirt on backpacking trips were the temperatures will get down to freezing at night and day time temperatures will reach above the 100 F degree mark (38 C). I do not expect the skirt to keep me warm on the cold spring nights in the mountains, but I will test how well it acts as a windproof layer. I will also be looking to see how comfortable the skirt is when the mercury rises.

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Initial Report

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