Quality, comfort, and price?

[telkanuru]

I'm doing the "fencing on the budget" thing, and I'm looking to buy a FIE mask. I don't have enough for an Allstar/Uhlmann/whatever mask (fence epee, not sabre, and my wallet thanks me). BG/SG has one for $100, which is significantly cheaper. I'm heasitant to get it because of quality concerns. Has anyone had a problem with the BG Foil/Epee FIE mask? If so, what? Good stories are allowed to

[noodle]

fencing post has uhlmann fie mask on sale for 139.

i can only vouch for the quality of a BG fie sabre mask, the only BG fie mask i've seen. one of my roomies has it and he likes it, so maybe that means something to ya. other than that you're on your own.

[D'Artagnan1673]

I have never seen a BG FIE mask. However, I have seen one of their higher end Non-FIE masks and as to the question of comfort, the padding was quite plush. This also goes with Physical Chess's Deluxe 3-weapon. As to quality, I remember someone far more knowledgeable than myself explain what the FIE looks for when they certify a mask. I think the basic gist of it was that if the FIE certifies the mask, a certain level of quality has been achieved in the production of the mask. In other words, the FIE doesn't just check for 1600 nw bib and stainless steel mesh before okaying a mask. Therefore, I would have to assume that if BG has an FIE mask, the padding is probably plush and the mask is strong and durable.

That said, I've owned an Allstar mask and an Uhlmann FIE mask. From what I've seen a fellow clubmate's Allstar FIE mask and my own non-FIE mask, I prefer the padding in the Allstar. The padding is a little softer; more plush. My Uhlmann's padding is still firm after over 2 years of use. My final thought on Uhlmann vs. Allstar comes from watching the Men's epee WC 2002. Of the 7 different fencers shown, 5 wear an Allstar mask, Janvier wears a Preiur, and I am unsure what Fabrice Jennet wears, but it is neither Allstar nor Uhlmann. Frabrice's mask has white trim and a white interior. Other than Santelli, I am un-aware of any other mask that has a white interior. However, it certainly is not a Santelli because per my conversation with them and their website, Santelli no longer manufacterers an FIE mask.

I must reiterate that the Fencing Post has some great deals on Uhlmann masks, and I think they may just have an Allstar mask if you ask them

[Inquartata]

I can't imagine that the FIE inspects and certifies every mask sold under their rubric. It must be something like certifying the process each manufacturer uses, maybe checking some examples. Thus you can still get flawed FIE masks, quality is implied to certain. ( And I have seen some flawed BG masks, including one with a broken wire. Though I'm not sure it was an FIE version. )

Some inexpensive fencing equipment is fine, but I would hesitate to trust anything as important as my eyes to an "economy" mask. That's the one thing I'd splurge on....doesn't necessarily mean Allstar or Uhlmann, though, Negrini makes a sturdy mask and there is Santelli as well.

[DHCJr]

Inquartata, your right, they must have some masks tested by a certified test facility and then 3 masks must be sent to SEMI, one is taken apart to see how it is put together, one is used for testing and one is kept in a vault as a control, to compare if there is a question the manufacturer has changed things.

It appears a certain US manufacturer, whose web site went down, did have their masks tested, but did not also send samples to SEMI.

As far as the BG FIE masks. I have seen a mask where the wire was to short to finish the weave, leaving a hole at the top of the front mask. I also saw one that weaved in, out, in, out, in, out, out, in, out, in, out. Both of them I rejected.

[akaiyuki]

I have one of the non-FIE BG mask. I actually got a bunch of stuff from BG, I have to say I like my mask best. It's not the most comfortable mask, but it is good enough. Unlike my school's non-FIE Negrini masks (which are actually more expensive), my BG mask gets no dents at all after a year of rough training and competition.

[telkanuru]

Yeah, I have the BG 3-weapon mask, too, and like it, but I'm thinking that 3 years into my fencing career, it's time to get myself a FIE kit.

Donald- Aside from obvious physical defects which I assume I can spot and return, have you noticed a higher failure rate or some such which would signify greatly diminished quality?

Oh, and it looks like BG is releasing a complete FIE kit in October. They seem to be moving up

[telkanuru]

So, I purchased the SG mask from "The little man who likes to give stuff away" (to quote swordmaster, I think ). I will review shortly, but my first impression is that I like it lots.