Best starting package?

[thecoldroom]

What do you think the best starting package for a foil fencer is? I have seen several on the web, and am having a difficult time choosing between them. Do you even think a "kit" is the best way to go for a beginner? I want something decent, but would rather not spend a million dollars here.

[FoilyGeezer]

Starter packages can be a good value. But they do represent a bit of a compromise. You need to look out for things like whether it has a back closing jacket (can be used for both right and left handed people), and quality of components. Most often this stuff is good, but not the most high quality stuff you can find out there. If your intention is to dabble in the sport, a package should serve you well. If you intend to prosecute the sport with any frequency and cometitive interest, chances are you're going to wear the equipment out fairly quickly...or end up hating the stuff. IMO Best bet is, if possible, to use club gear until you figure out what you like then buy your kit piece by piece.

Otherwise, you'll see a lot of reference made to 350N vs 800N gear and just for your medical situation, I'd think you'd tend to want to go with the 800N stuff (less give) and I'm not aware of anyone who has a 800N starter kit.

[D'Artagnan1673]

Foily Geezer makes some good points.

I started fencing in Feb of 00 and bought a starter set from Blade in May. That was a big mistake for me. I replaced everything in the kit by September. The mask had overly thick, heavey padding that nearly suffocated me. The blade broke. The glove was rotting from my sweat in a few months and the jacket was very stiff.

Use club gear as long as you can to make sure you really like fencing. If electrical gear is short, I do recommend the Triplette foil kit. Just make sure you upgrade the lame' and blade and it will last you for years.

As far as uniforms, the FIE gear will last longer, provide excellent protection from whips and fits best. As to masks, the FIE masks protect your neck better and tend to have more padding than non FIE masks. Uhlmann and Allstar tend to be very popular from my experience.

[rtran]

I'm an epee fencer with an all FIE kit. However my coach recently suggested I do a little foil to help me improve my stamina and technique so I've also have been looking at starting electric foil kits for a while and just for the heck of it I looked at quite a few sabre electric kits also. Since I didn't plan on being competitive in either foil or saber I looked at the quality and prices for all ranges of equipment. I found that Blue Gauntlet offered some good deals if you already have the basic uniform and just want electric equipment. They have some electric kits with their cheaper homebrand stuff. I think the foil set (lame, foil, cord) was around 100 and the sabre set (mask, lame, sabre, body cord, mask cord, cuff) was around 200. However I noticed instead of buying the kit you can try putting the gear together separately at Blue Gauntlet using the items in their "specials" page (especially the coloured lames) and having a little extra cash leftover to upgrade an item or two. I actually picked out what I wanted to quite a while ago but for some reason my order never goes through at work and I've never gotten around to ordering it when I'm at home. So with around 115 dollars I get everything I need for foil and that's without getting the cheapest equipment possible.

[D'Artagnan1673]

to each his own, but as for a foil starter kit, the TCA kit is of such good quality that it could last you years. I only broke my 4 year-old blade 2 days ago, and the lame probably would still pass the test.

[achilleus]

I seem to be an anomaly. I loved fencing from the get go, and knew I wanted to compete. I didn't have a lot of money, so I bought an FIE mask, a cheap jacket, pants, and an OK glove. It was US competition legal and was all I needed.

I used these for at least 2 years (changed the glove a little more often). I didn't move to FIE equipment until years later, when I could justify the cost.

I remember going to national competitions being jealous of all the people in their expensive FIE uniforms, and there I was in my tighty-whitey US made uniform.

It didn't look great, if didn't fit as well as my Allstar FIE stretch uniform, but it was cheap, usable, competition worthy, and lasted for a couple of years.

The more expensive US companies make pretty good jackets. American Fencers and Santelli make durable comfortable stuff that is cheaper than the FIE stuff. The Fencing Post, BG, and Blade tend to be cheaper but the quality hasn't been as good. And just ignore Triplette if you like quality merchandise.

That said, I believe The Fencing Post has a great mix and match beginner's kit. I don't know if they still do, but they allowed you to pick your brands, and they just gave a kit discount.

[thecoldroom]

Thanks guys, really helpful stuff.

[Foilboy]

The TCA uniform starter package is by far the best deal around. The back zip jacket maybe a pain, but it's made of good tough denim, and it's better than their front zip velcro. The blade and mask are the best you'll find in a starter package.