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Post by bohe on Mar 10, 2019 17:51:06 GMT
I want to get into armored combat so i need some cheap armor.
to be honest i am not sure with to start and with my budget for armor falling around 550 usd i would love some basic kit recommendations just for the bare minimum until i can purchase more.
thank you for your time
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Post by csills2313 on Mar 10, 2019 18:14:38 GMT
Do you want to purchase mail armor or plate armor?
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christain
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It's the steel on the inside that counts.
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Post by christain on Mar 10, 2019 19:34:14 GMT
When you say 'armored combat', are you referring to LARP-style combat or full-contact steel-on-steel SCA-type combat? There's a BIG difference in the armor and the $$$.  And welcome to SBG...  |
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Post by strigoil on Mar 10, 2019 19:55:25 GMT
What Christain says, if you want to actually start beating people and get beaten with blunt steel weapons, 550 USD won't really get you anywhere, sadly...It would barely cover your soft kit.
So tell us exactly what type of armored combat we're talking about and we might be able to help a bit, where are you from? US?
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christain
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It's the steel on the inside that counts.
Posts: 2,835
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Post by christain on Mar 10, 2019 20:26:37 GMT
What Christain says, if you want to actually start beating people and get beaten with blunt steel weapons, 550 USD won't really get you anywhere, sadly...It would barely cover your soft kit.
So tell us exactly what type of armored combat we're talking about and we might be able to help a bit, where are you from? US?
I was going to say something to that effect, but I didn't want to scare you off the notion. But, yes, $550 US would do well to get you the padding and *maybe* a decent helmet to meet SCA guidelines and rules. Now, if you are looking at something more for show than go, let's talk. In the past several years I've been into armor, but mainly just for the Ren-fests, etc. For the money you are talking, I can dress you like a warlord straight from LOTR'S.  Just depends on what you want...... |
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Post by bohe on Mar 10, 2019 20:48:17 GMT
first off thanks for all the replies
I was looking at full contact so it just seems like i will have to save a bit longer, so what do you think is the cheapest i could go for armor.
really thank you guys for your time
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Post by bohe on Mar 10, 2019 20:52:30 GMT
What Christain says, if you want to actually start beating people and get beaten with blunt steel weapons, 550 USD won't really get you anywhere, sadly...It would barely cover your soft kit.
So tell us exactly what type of armored combat we're talking about and we might be able to help a bit, where are you from? US?
I was looking for armor to do some local full contact (not as brutal as the acl) also i live in canada
Thanks for your time
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christain
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It's the steel on the inside that counts.
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Post by christain on Mar 10, 2019 21:14:26 GMT
I'd say check with Kult of Athena. They deliver to Canada. My suggestion is to go for the padded stuff first. They have some fairly new full-contact padded armor by 'Age of Craft'---helmet liner, gambeson, chausses, ---in the 'Padded Armor' section. Looks like good stuff, and the prices aren't bad.  www.kultofathena.com |
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Post by bohe on Mar 11, 2019 1:59:12 GMT
I'd say check with Kult of Athena. They deliver to Canada. My suggestion is to go for the padded stuff first. They have some fairly new full-contact padded armor by 'Age of Craft'---helmet liner, gambeson, chausses, ---in the 'Padded Armor' section. Looks like good stuff, and the prices aren't bad. www.kultofathena.com Age of craft seemed to be sold out of medium so i ended up putting this together imgur.com/a/8pnJO6h
just on the side i wanted to see if you think this could work as a temporary thing imgur.com/a/FzYWmtA
thank you for your time
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christain
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It's the steel on the inside that counts.
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Post by christain on Mar 11, 2019 7:59:38 GMT
That all looks fine and dandy, but I don't think you'll like that helmet. I've looked at it several times, and the more I look, the less I like. Your noggin is the main part of your body that you want to protect. For a helmet, go for 14ga., or at least 16ga. It may cost a little more and be a little heavier, but the first good hit you get upside the head....it'll pay for its self.
I'll make one more suggestion...actually two: Check out the 'Mytholon'-brand armor at Medieval Collectibles. I have some of their armor and it's good stuff. Also check out 'Stahlgilde'. They are based in the Ukraine. I don't have anything of theirs, but they have padded armor and combat-ready plate. Good luck!
www.medievalcollectibles.com
www.stahlgilde.com |
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Post by strigoil on Mar 11, 2019 10:46:48 GMT
I'm gonna assume you are in the US, so shipping armor from europe could be very expensive.
Also I would contact a group near you and ask about their rules and regulations, I have a feeling a lot of this off the shelf stuff won't meet safety regulations, when it comes to armor a custom fit is actually quite important, especially if you are going to fight in it.
I don't really know much about US custom makers of armor or soft kits, since I'm EU based, but any fighting group should be able to help.
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christain
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It's the steel on the inside that counts.
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Post by christain on Mar 11, 2019 11:35:00 GMT
Actually, I just came from the Stahlgilde site and shipping is a bit pricey, but not terrible. As with most Euro companies I've investigated, there are price and weight limits on products and they all differ between what countries they are being shipped to and from. Stahlgilde's shipping method goes by weight with a limit of 30 kilo per package. For instance: I was looking at a set of cuisses. Just two steel plates for the thighs with strapping for wear. The cost in USD was about $44.00 +or- , at a weight of about 1.5 kilo. Not too shabby! With shipping to the US, the total price was about $75.00....so about $30.00 shipping. Not too awfully bad for having to cross the ocean.  But, the more you buy, the cheaper the shipping. The first kilo is the most expensive and the rest get cheaper. I have no idea if it's the same throughout Europe.
I'll tell you now....I've never bought anything from directly overseas. Only imports. I've always been scared of import taxes and whatnot....afraid a $25.00 product will wind up costing $250.00.  I may buy the cuisses....just because they're cool looking and pretty well match the rest of my armor.
This just goes to prove my theory on purchases of *anything*: Spend five hours studying before you spend five seconds buying.
And yes, by all means, do check with your local fighting leagues to get the lowdown on rules and reg's.  |
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pgandy
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Post by pgandy on Mar 11, 2019 12:42:55 GMT
Go 14 ga. on the helmet.
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Post by Sir Thorfinn on Mar 11, 2019 13:31:24 GMT
What group are you planning to do armored combat with?
This is important so we can guide you into not wasting money on stuff that won't work, or may get you injured...
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Post by csills2313 on Mar 11, 2019 22:38:12 GMT
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Post by strigoil on Mar 11, 2019 23:05:11 GMT
No offence to csills here, but don't buy anything off of amazon, not for fighting, not for anything really. For starting off your soft kit you will want a gambeson, if you can't have anyone local custom make you one to your measurements you have some places to chose from when it comes to a custom, all I know are within europe however, the few american medieval cloth makers I know of don't do gambesons. medieval-market.com/goods.php?kategoria=5&sex=1&kat2=Arming%20Garmentssteel-mastery.com/gambesonsI have personal experience with medieval market, they have great customer service and you can email them for any alterations, customization, whatever you want they will sort you out. if you entertain them as an option, consider their various wool thicknesses, their thickest is veeeery thick, it's not too comfortable to move in. As for armor, there are things you want to consider, and this is a place where a lot of historical examples are modified or almost entirely disregarded in the name of safety. Gauntlets: Do not buy gauntlets with fingers, I know it's tempting, I know it's cool, but you won't be cool when your fingers are broken, and if you have fingered gauntlets they -will- break once someone smacks you on the fingers, some people at events like BOTN will deliberately aim for fingers if they see people with fingered gauntlets. There are some very popular gauntlet designs out there that are used in these kinds of fights, but I'm sad to say that a pair of gauntlets alone will eat almost your entire $550 dollar budget, good armor, that you can safely fight in is expensive. Helmet is also very important, you will have to check rules and regulations of any group you are considering but the one you showed in your shopping cart there could probably get you seriously hurt or killed if it's not properly made and fit. You will need serious padding under it, likely more than historical, so a good fit is important, don't leave your brain in the hands of a random indian who hammered together some pot metal. Torso and leg protection you can go fairly standard armor wise, historical or semi historical, it will work for you as long as it's well made, but gauntlets and head are -very- important to get right, these are all things that are likely to get hit and parts that easily take permanent damage. I would not expect to be able to put the armor together for less than $2000, I'm not trying to kill your hopes and dreams but the reality of it is, if you're gonna fight in it, it needs to be well made, and well made armor is -expensive-..I am being conservative and assuming you find very affordable and decent makers at that price. |
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christain
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It's the steel on the inside that counts.
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Post by christain on Mar 12, 2019 0:29:12 GMT
I agree with all of the above....especially the part about Amazon. Lots of scammers, thieves, and outright liars there. Ebay too. I've been bitten a couple of times. Don't worry so much with the kit right now, but instead, do your homework and leg work. Get all the info you can before you spend a dime. |
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Post by csills2313 on Mar 12, 2019 0:54:45 GMT
Thanks. I often wondered if any of the armor listings were suitable for anything other than costumes. I am not physically able to participate in combat using larp swords so I don’t have to worry. 😁
If you guys can provide links to other reliable sources we would all greatly appreciate it. I am curious and would like to see some really good gear
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Post by csills2313 on Mar 12, 2019 1:09:20 GMT
Come to think of it I think you would be better off using gear similar to the listings on this website. It is designed to be used while sparring with swords www.thehemashop.com |
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Post by strigoil on Mar 12, 2019 1:16:42 GMT
If you guys can provide links to other reliable sources we would all greatly appreciate it. I am curious and would like to see some really good gear Sure thing, I can throw out a few I know of, a lot of armorers deal through facebook and don't have websites, so they can actually be really difficult to find by google searches or anything than word of mouth.
As with anything custom expect about a years wait time.
For historical stuff:
AD1410 is great for historical custom gambesons and arming garments, but he's not cheap.
Tom Biliter makes some amazing mail, but it's not cheap, labor intensive as heck.
Really good brigandines from the UK, also makes some armor.
And then we have more SCA and that style of armor, often you can buy fairly priced stuff from ukranian armorers, they're good at what they are doing, just aren't fully historical at all, it's cheaper for a reason but fully functional for fighting, you don't want to use a $20k armor for SCA anyway. (Yes, properly made, fully historical armors really do cost that, and more.)
Armorysmith I have personal experience with, communication can be a bit slow (About 2 weeks between emails) but the products are good and fit is very nice, at least on my items. They have some very fairly priced items as well as more expensive ones, these guys participate in BOTN and similar events themselves so you can trust that it works.
Do what Christain said and do your homework before you order anything, I thought I had when I ordered, but during the year of waiting I learned a lot more and wish I had gone more historical, I mixed and matched a bit with my timeframes.
You have to think of the clothes and armor you wear as one big article of clothing that has to work together, everything matters. If your clothing is badly fit it does not matter how well the armor is fit, if the armor is badly fit it does not matter how well the clothes fit.
Plan your entire getup from the ground up, ALWAYS start with soft kit, you -need- it to take measurements for your actual armor, and you must know where your arming points are, you should also learn to put in your own arming points, because you will possibly have to for perfect fit.
then for armor you work legs up or breastplate and out. Arms always have to be made to fit with whatever torso armor you plan to use so it is imperative to have it made first or at the same time, I bought arms first when I should not have, learned this later.
And lastly I'm shamelessly gonna put in my own video of the pieces I got from Armorysmith, it's a nice kit but the gauntlets are about 80 years earlier than the arm harness, and I kind of regret that. Gambeson is from medieval-market, I ordered mine without a closure and made my own.
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And welcome to SBG... 
Just depends on what you want...... 
But, the more you buy, the cheaper the shipping. The first kilo is the most expensive and the rest get cheaper. I have no idea if it's the same throughout Europe.
I may buy the cuisses....just because they're cool looking and pretty well match the rest of my armor. 
