review – When you’re too Scottish to wear an apron, you need a GRILLKILT to keep you clean and organized while cooking outdoors. As a connoisseur of traditional and modern kilts, I was interested in reviewing GRILLKILT’s proposal.
what is it?
GRILLKILT is an alternative to traditional grilling aprons, including options for full coverage of the inevitable grease and grime associated with grilling, frying and other outdoor cooking activities. In addition to keeping you clean, GRILLKILT offers 10 pockets (on the front and side panels) and three D-rings (two on the front and one on the back) to help you hold and organize your of cooking tools and your favorite beverage.
What’s in the box?
My GRILLKILT (the capital letters they love) comes in a funky red box adorned with the company logo.
Inside the box, I found
- A GRILLKILT FRONT PANEL
- Expansion boards on both sides
- a rear panel
- two carabiner
- toasted towel
- Trifold Introduction and Try-On Guide
- Welcome message from the founder of the company
Hardware Specifications
Sewn in the USA, GRILLKILT is made from 100% ripstop cotton fabric with polymer webbing, metal D-rings and composite buckle.
Design and Features
GRILLKILT can work by just using the GRILLKILT front panel as a basic apron. This of course makes you look more like wearing breeches than a skirt. For the full GRILLKILT experience, you must connect the side and rear panels to the front panel. Out of the box, the GRILLKILT can be set to fit waists from 30″ to 46″. Additional side panels can be purchased separately to extend full coverage to a 60″ waist. Length is 20 inches.
GRILLKILT is available in a range of colours, including some limited edition colours such as Black Watch Tartan (polyester, not cotton) and Cayenne (red). Standard colors include camel (khaki), olive (green), camo, classic camo, navy camo, charcoal (medium grey), black, navy, blue denim and slate (light grey).
GRILLKILTS can be hand washed or machine washed in cold water, then tumble dry low or hang dry.
Front view
Rear view
set up
Assembling the GRILLKILT involves first adjusting the waist belt and buckle, then adding the side and back panels. It takes some trial and error to get everything even and looking good. I’m not going to leave the reader confused with setting everything up, but overall it took me about 15 minutes to get everything I wanted. GRILLKILT has a video tutorial It walks the user through the process and does a better job explaining the process than I can in a reasonable space..
The panels are interconnected by hook and loop strips on the inside and outside of the waist.
Performance
I wore my GRILLKILT over pants (photo), shorts and one of my modern skirts (utility skirts by Utilikilt) for a couple of BBQs. During the grilling, I use my kilt to hold my various tools – tongs, spatula, thermometer and a bottle of perry (a pear similar to English cider). I’m so happy to have all my tools in one place and a place to store my drinks. I also appreciate the towel attached to my buttocks. GRILLKILT is more useful than my traditional apron (more pockets and better coverage) or the chef jacket I often wear while grilling.
Dressed in my GRILLKILT and ready to grill sausages (a mix of my Scottish and German heritage).
GRILLKILT is long enough to cover my knees when worn on my hips. This covers most of the areas I end up messy when grilling.
My main complaint about using GRILLKILT is that it’s a bit stiff and doesn’t flow like a traditional kilt. This is more akin to a pencil skirt, while a traditional kilt is more of a full skirt. This made the two steps from the main level of our house to the deck a little tricky at times. I think this can be solved by using more but narrower side panels or side panels with pleats.
Another complaint I have is a problem with the BBQ apron: the problem of storing dirty/greasy tools in the pockets between uses. Fortunately, the black fabric of this GRILLKILT hides the soot, but grease is still an issue. I find myself washing my GRILLKILT after every cooking.
what do I like
- modeling
- lots of pockets
- easy care
Areas for improvement
- more flexibility (possibly with additional wear)
- More but narrower panels (or side panels with pleats)
final thoughts
GRILLKILT is a stylistic improvement on the traditional short apron that only covers below the waist. It offers a variety of pockets to store drinks and tools, but some changes can be made to make it easier to wear. I also think the company missed out on not calling the product “GRILLT”.
price: $98.00
where to buy (this: BBQ skirt
resource: This product sample is provided by BBQ skirt.
