Blue Gauntlet Epee

[UAHFencer]

Greetings,
Does anyone have experience with Blue Gauntlet's electric epee? Several pieces of equipment from Blue Gauntlet have been recommended to me, but no one I've talked to so far seems to have any knowledge of their weapons. I'm getting my first set of equipment and I am looking for deals, but if the epee isn't worth anything, then I'm really just wasting my $53.
Thanks,
- Jonathan Thrasher

[ShadowHuntr]

well if you are talking about a complete Epee (SG) from BG i gotta be honest and say it isnt worth your money. In my opinion, and i think most people will agree, SG blades (minus sabre) suck. The foils take a horrible bend sometimes and dont let go. All of my foils before they broke, within 6 months of purchasing, had bends in 2 parts of the blades. The Epees are much of the same. I had 2 and in the same night, i got 90 degree upbends at the tip. it was impossible to fix either of them becaue there was still a huge kink at the tip. I would take my money elsewhere because in general BG sucks. Their prices are generally better than most but they always screw up orders for our club and I think BG weapons are trash

[FreakyFencer]

I've got two SG epees and I think for the price they can't be beat and you don't have to worry about getting permanent weird bends unless you heavy handed all the time. That said, SG foils are bad.

[Dee EffEll]

Remember that there is a difference between BG the vendor and the SG equipment they stock. Can't say I like the SG brand epee blades - the other replies here about sum it up - but you can get other brand blades from BG. Mr. Chen is pretty good about building whatever weapon you want with the parts you select. I recently saw a new (to me, anyway) epee socket on a BG weapon that has set screws to secure the wires into the plugs, rather that then wrap around the post version.

BG has always been responsive to my inquires, their pricing is pretty competitive. But yeah, they stock some stuff I wouldn't buy.

[Artisan]

I've got two SG epees and I think for the price they can't be beat and you don't have to worry about getting permanent weird bends unless you heavy handed all the time. That said, SG foils are bad.

SG epee blades are terrible.
http://www.fencing101.com/vb/showthr...126#post136126

[telkanuru]

All 3 of my weapons have BG blades. One has the basic BG, and is a year old. It has not even started to soften. The second is an SG blade that was my primary. It's really just about to break. I give it until the end of the summer. The last is a brand new SG. I've never early breakage issues with BG blades. My ex-HS club uses them, and only broke 4 or so blades/weapon/year. The balance isn't great; the CG of all 3 blades is ~4 inches from the guard. I also plan on replacing the blade that is about to break with a BF one when it finally goes, but only because now I actually have money. I think they're a good deal. I should probly note that when I can, I actually go to BG and pick a blade, and when I get it shipped to me, I request a stiff blade.

[daveappr]

Personal and club experience has led me to the conclusion that SG blades are not worth it. I'd save a little more and get a better quality blade.

[The0ne]

maybe try the Prieur blade, that's like $66 for a complete weapon. . . Prieur stuff is usually pretty good quality, definitely better than SG stuff.