Which lame?

[chop]

My teenage son and I started fencing foil almost one year ago. While we have most of the equipment, we have yet to purchase lames. Normally, I would ask the people in the club which ones are best, however, one of club's member is associated with a particular brand and their selection may be somehat biased. I am looking for something that will last. Your input is appreciated.

[neevel]

Either a good stainless steel lame or one of the Infinity metallized mesh lames will likely be the most durable choice. Allstar, Uhlmann, and Santelli lames all use the same kind of stainless fabric, which I like the best of all I've seen-- high metal strand density and the strands are the most robust. Stainless lames will eventually develop dead spots due to the strands getting stressed and broken with use-- keeping the lame wadded up in a bag greatly accelerates this.

Infinity lames use a metallized mesh fabric which will hold it's conductivity much longer than any conventional lame fabric, and will stand up to poor storage (like being scrunched up and kept in a sweaty bag). The limiting factor with them is that the loose-weave mesh is much more vulnerable to getting snagged and torn (every Infinity I've failed at check in has been due to holes or rips, not resistance).

-Dave

[Stryder]

You forgot TCA's Ultralite lame'
They are not as exciting as Infinity lames, but they don't rip either.
My experience has been that they last slightly longer that the best stainless stell lame' and there are huge differnces in quality of stainless steel lame's

Metal lame's ruin your jacket and mask lining too.

Go with either Infinity or Ultralite. Definately.

[belligerent_sorceress]

Where can one find information about the Infinity lames? I've heard people talking about them before...is there a website to check out?

------------------
Melissa

"You can beat me, you can bind me, but you can't touch me!

[Link14]

Their webpage is http://www.infinityelectronics.com/products.html

I've heard that Blue Gauntlet carries the lames also, but I think you have to ask for it. Several years ago I had my FIE sabre mask bib rebuilt by Bill Hall with the Infinity material and so far it works great.