Competition gear

[silentoutcry]

I was looking at some gear for competitions and i was wondering what you experienced fencers all have. Blades jackets knickers anything that you have.

[Purple Fencer]

I was looking at some gear for competitions and i was wondering what you experienced fencers all have. Blades jackets knickers anything that you have.

If you're talking about required equipment for a USFA competition, go to http://www.homfencing.com and click on the link under the logo about going to your first tournament...among the rest of the info I wrote is a list of required gear.

[silentoutcry]

yeah thanks i did need the required gear link. But i was just wondering what was quality and what was crap. So what brand or blades do you prefer?

[CvilleFencer]

Just for the record this kind of thing is an Armory section issue and if you look through the past posts there I am sure you will find several discussions about this. You can also check out the excellent product review section of this website. Having said all of that in the interests of helping out a fellow fencer I will give you my list of what I recommend to my fencers as a generic list and then what I use. Note that when I say cheap I mean that they are the best for their price range IMHO not the cheapest thing you can get.

Mask
Cheap: Blue Gauntlet 3 weapon & 3 weapon "Olympic" models.
Good: Uhlmann/Allstar FIE with the removable lining.
Don't buy: Triplette model 183. It seems to dent very easy and the bib is cotton/canvas so it takes forever to dry, discolors, and rusts the mask.
What I use: Uhlmann (I am hoping it will break eventually so I can get a new one like that mentioned above but in blue...)

Jacket/Pants
Cheap: Blue Gauntlet or Fencing post stretch nylon or cotton/nylon blend.
Good: Uhlmann/Allstar or Leon Paul
Don't Buy: Back zip cotton jackets. This is the first thing you will replace, more likely than not. Buy a front zip nylon or blend that you can wash and dry in a machine.
What I use: Blue Gauntlet Nylon Front Zip.

Gloves
Cheap: Blue Gauntlet basic glove.
Good: Uhlmann/Allstar supergrip gloves or Leon Paul's top line gloves.
Don't buy: Physical Chess Econo glove. It will last maybe 3 months.
What I use: Allstar for foil/epee and Leon Paul with a built in cuff for saber.

Foils
Cheap: Fleche blades from Swordmasters/Blade/Fencesmart or the Dynamo line from Triplette
Good: Vniti FIE if you don’t mind the weight. Otherwise go with a Uhlmann/Allstar BF FIE or a Leon Paul FIE. You will save money in the long run buy getting a better FIE blade. Triplettes house brand are also BF blades and are cheaper than anywhere else but I have had better luck with the Uhlmann marked blades.
Don't buy: Blue Gauntlet house brand blades. They snap like toothpicks...
What I use: 3 Vniti's with an Uhlmann BF blue FIE and a Blue Prier as backups.

Epees
Cheap: Prieur but I would go for the Leon Paul for a bit more money.
Good: Uhlmann/Allstar Blue BF FIE blades. They are just the best but the Vniti and the Prieur are much cheaper even in FIE form and are not bad options. The Prieur FIE's are whippy and not super durable for an FIE blade and the Vnitis are heavy but will almost never break!
Don't buy: No name Chinese or Blue gauntlet blades.
What I use: BF FIE Blues with a Vniti and an Leon Paul non FIE as backups

Saber... You should probably ask someone else although I like the colored StM blades mainly because the are very pretty!


Shoes
Cheap: Buy a good pair of wrestling/boxing shoes from Adidas or Asics.
Good: Adidas Dartagan or Asymmetric fencing shoes.
Don't buy: Anything that is over $80 bucks that is not Adidas. Otherwise you are probably just wasting your money and could have gotten the best.
What I use: Adidas Hightops with ankle supports that are not made anymore. If you take care of them they last that long!

Bodycords
Cheap: Prieur/French style orange cords
Good: Uhlmann or Leon Paul
Don't buy: anything that is a cheap body cord. All bodycords break, but the cheap ones break a lot and are just a waste of money and time trying to keep them working.
What I use: Uhlmann, although I keep hearing go things about the LP cords...

Keep in mind that opinions will vary a great deal on what is the best thing to use and what is junk and what is not. The above represent my on experience and that of my club and its members. Do check out the product review section for other points of view.

Good luck and good shopping!

[DangerMouse]

CvilleFencer has a great list. Here are a few more suggestions to fill out gaps in his list or to add items he didn't mention:

Masks: The FIE Leon Paul masks are as good as the Uhlmann/Allstar and, in my opinion, fit better.

Jackets/Pants: PBT makes some clothing that fits quite well for a little bit more than the BG or Post Sport, but much cheaper than the Uhlmann or Leon Paul. The durability isn't as good, but it's a viable midrange.

Shoes: Indoor court shoes (racketball/tennis/etc.) offer better traction and more cushioning than boxing/wrestling shoes.

Body cords: For epee, the PBT body cords are great and relatively inexpensive. They may even be better than the newer Uhlmann ones.

What I use: Allstar FIE knickers (non-stretch). Spend the extra money for stretch knickers. Your manhood will thank you (if applicable).
PBT Jacket (I'm poor)
Leon Paul FIE Contour Fit mask (by far the most comfortable I've owned)
Leon Paul non-maraging epee blades
Older Uhlmann body cords (before they put the little spinning things on the pins)
A mix of Uhlmann and Leon Paul sockets
Uhlmann pistol grips
PBT French grips
Uhlmann standard bell guards
Leon Paul ultralight bell guards (seem stronger than the Uhlmann ultralight guards)
Leon Paul Super Glide epee tips
PBT wires

Was that enough to confuse you?

[hpfencing]

This link says a lot!
http://www.homfencing.com/Prep_Package.pdf

[silentoutcry]

I'm sure i sound totally ignorant here but what exactly is a lame? What is the difference between a lame and just a practice jacket. And also how come when i search for lames some time blades come up?

[Wraith]

A Lame is the conductive vest that is worn over the jacket for use in electric Foil fencing.

[silentoutcry]

So you wear a jacket of any kind and then buy the lame to go over it?

[Wraith]

Mostly correct. The jacket still has to be competition legal (i.e. 350 N puncture resistance), but otherwise yes, that's how it works in foil.

[silentoutcry]

ty very much my friend. You helped me alot.

[Purple Fencer]

Mostly correct. The jacket still has to be competition legal (i.e. 350 N puncture resistance), but otherwise yes, that's how it works in foil.

Sabre too...

There's no lame for epee because there's no need to define a specific target area...the entire body's valid target

[Purple Fencer]

This link says a lot!
http://www.homfencing.com/Prep_Package.pdf

Thanks for the props! Any suggestions for improvement greatly appreciated...

[noodle]

just to throw in my $0.02:

1) if you fence epee, almost any body cord is good. in my experience, they rarely break. not put under the same stress as foil/sabre cords.
2) a good cheap glove, in my opinion is the acg glove (from bg).
3) i use uhlmann fie jacket/knickers/mask/body cords/gripstar glove, adidas asymetric shoes, maraging bf blue blades w/ vniti bell with old blades (1 old vniti, 2 hostin pluses) for extreme backup.
4) move this thread to the armoury section?

[cowpaste]

"Lame" means "blade" in French. Lamé is a metallic vest you poke.

[Inquartata]

How do you get the accent over the terminal 'e'?

[Musketeer]

Hold down "alt" and type 0233

é é

[fencerontheline]

Blades(foil)-Personally, I wouldn't particularly reccomend the Vniti blades for foil (unless BF blades are out of the picture because of cost), because their balance is a little off, and it makes it very difficult to do any finesse actions with them. Much better to use a BF (I like the uhlman BFs, but my friends use the Priur), because it gives you a balanced blade, that 'feels' nice. They seem less heavy than the Vnitis, but I think it's the balance of a Vniti throws the weight off. I started with France lames blades, and they were good for how I fenced then(I was a terrible 'fencer' though, all I could do was sweeping-flick resposts), but your best bet is to use a stiffer blade(making sure it isn't too stiff, and the tang is bent properly), and building up the muscle memory with something heavier- you get better control, and your fencing is more sound and 'firmer'.

Uniform- I started with all BG stuff, and their stretch equipment treated me well when I began, but now I use higher end stuff(allstar). I stopped getting bruised when I made the switch. If you do go for the high end uniform, definately go for the stretch knickers- they'll last longer than the three-panel, especially if you build any leg muscle mass.

Shoes- Go for fencing shoes over non-fencing shoes if it is at all an option. I began with wrestling shoes, and it was terrible, but then, I switched to the BG shoes, and they were servicable, and then (at my first nationals) I bought the Assmetricals, and I've never turned back. Now, its very tough to fence in any other shoes, because the assymetrics feel 'that good'.

Masks- I started with a BG mask (and knickers and jacket and shoes....), and it wore out very very fast. Now I use Allstar FIE stuff, and the mask lasted about a year and a half (fencing a lot) , and the newer one I got was in really good shape and looked like it would last a really really long time.... till somebody packed it in their bag(I haven't seen it since....)

Body cords- The Uhlman is always a good option- but there are an incredible amount of options out there. I recently bought an interesting cord from Zivcovic( I may have misspelled it), that had a strange socket connector (made of plastic and one part, as opposed to metal and many), and I don't know hom long it will last- but it seems to work well, and have less of a chance for breakage.

Gloves- Again- Uhlman and Allstar are good bets, but there on very interesting and cheap glove that I've borrowed a few times and like. I don't remember the brand (I think fencing post- but I'm not sure), but it's ultra thin and grips well- you get an awesome 'feel' to the blade and the point.

Socks- There are plenty of sock options that work really well. The ideal sock is heavy at the bottom(to provide cushioning), and light at the top- to allow your legs to 'breathe'

Lame- The triplette unlimited (again I'm not sure of the exact name) is an interesting idea- but I heard, it hurts when you get hit. I use an allstar lame for competition and a BG one for practice- whcih keeps my 'good' lame in good shape for competition, but I'm considering using the Triplette lame for practice.

[dunastor]

Hold down "alt" and type 0233

é é

ALT + 130 will do too...

[Gav]

just to throw in my $0.02:


4) move this thread to the armoury section?

Yeah, this sort of thing is better there.