What's the best company to buy fencing equipments?

[ScorpionDevil]

I know we had been talking about equipment companies, but most people were just talking stuff about blade, fencesmart and PC. So what is the best company to buy fencing equipments? I want it cheap and good, haha. <img src="graemlins/evild.gif" border="0" alt="[Evil]" />

And is BG good? Does their stuff last long? why or why not?

[latenight]

Cheap and Good is sorta like Jumbo Shrimp

[sallearmourer]

Bg is as good as any other vendor out there and yes there stuff does last.


Tim

[latenight]

Joking aside


If you want good service and good product--FencePBT.com

[D'Artagnan1673]

I really do recommend Triplette Competition Arms.

1. They sell the best blades, Blaise Brothers, at the best price in the US.

2. Their uniforms are good.

3. They have the best selection of masks except for maybe AmFence. They carry their own line which has a cheap, intermediate and expensive. They also carry PBT, Negrini, Prieur, Allstar/Uhlmann as well as the FIE versions of Prieur and Uhlmann/Allstar. They also carry Negrini, Prieur and Uhlmann/Allstar FIE sabre masks.

4. Their hard copy catalog is a hoot.

5. Their service is great.

6. They tell you what they think.

7. They have awesome shirts. My favorite is I fence therefore I am.

Anyway, that is my opinion. There are a lot of other great companies, I just like TCA.

[The Crazy Wacker]

Triplette has a standard backzip jacket for $40, plastrons for $20, and masks for $55. Weapons are also very cheap =)

[Bebop and Rocksteady]

Depends what you're interested in. If you want orthopedic foils, check our AMFence. They have a big list of them.

If you're more into classical weapons, visit santelli. As far as I know, you'll rarely get bad stuff, regardless of where you get them.

[Mo]

&lt;&lt;And is BG good? Does their stuff last long? why or why not? Scorpion&gt;&gt;
With Three fencers in the family, BG is a great company.
Amanda can size up anyone, she just looks at the person and hands them the right size.
We spend a lot of money there and Mr Chen knows what my family likes. He picks special blades for my kids and fixes their weapons when something goes out. They give you a good deal and are very nice people.
The big shocker with them too is they will tell you to get a less expensive item if it is better than the more expensive item.
Tripplett is also good and their catalogs are y fun to read but when buying a large quantity with growing kids, you cannot beat Blue Gauntlet.

[Mr. Foilist]

Good stuff for cheap? In fencing? There's no such thing. In fencing, you get what you pay for.

That being said, BG is good. They have a pretty good assortment of blades and grips and parts to chose from. They also offer innovative products from time to time. For instance, they have a new "easy-wire" socket. It uses a little screw to secure the wire to the two-prong socket. It works very well.

They also offer their own type of blade called "Super Gauntlet" I believe. It comes in varrying grades of whippy-ness. I don't really like them. They don't hold a bend well and they break easily. But, at least they're trying to bring something new to the sport.

I believe they also carry Infinity Lames from time to time. You'd have to call and ask them about them. It's not their idea but it's an innovation all the same.

Another company with some innovative products is Swordmasters. They carry screwless epee and foil points made by Estoc (a French company).

If you want a good variety in blades to choose from, Physical Chess is good. I've only used them once but I remember them having a lot of different blades to choose from. This may or may not still be the case.

If you're putting together an order for some FIE stuff and possibly some adidas shoes and maybe some german parts, you might want to go to <a href="http://www.fechtsport-langenkamp.de." target="_blank">http://www.fechtsport-langenkamp.de.</a> They supply Uhlmann/Allstar equipment and it's ~half of what it costs in the US. It's a good place to order from if you're ordering a few otherwise expensive items. Shipping's expensive but the money you'll save more than makes up for it.

Blade's okay in that they carry Vniti blades. There are other manufacturers that do as well but I don't remember who they are. I don't even think Blade is the cheapest source for these blades either. In fact, Blade in general tends to be on the expensive side, even for low end stuff offered by other companies.

Now, as far as ordering pre-assembled weapons goes, you're on your own. I personally don't do this because vendors make too many mistakes in assembly (tips not tightened enough, wire glued outside of the groove, wire sheered off at the guard/grip contact, strange and difficult to remove glue used, that same glue used on the barrels so they're almost impossible to remove, etc.).

What you have to realize is that these vendors aren't just assembling YOUR weapons. They're assembling NUMEROUS weapons for various customers at the same time and rushing to do it. So, mistakes will be made.

As far as shipping is concerned, BG makes numerous mistakes. So do Blade and Santelli. PC even managed to screw-up my one and only order from them. Fechtsport-langenkamp has been the only company, so far, that hasn't screwed up my order. But, what do you expect? They're German. I don't care if you think it's a stereotype but, they ARE efficient and make few mistakes. They also tend to respond a lot quicker than American companies do and try to be as helpful as possible.

Well, that's it. In the end, you just have to shop around and see what's best for you.

[ScorpionDevil]

I've heard that the France Lame blades are breaking easily now, is that true? <img src="graemlins/evild.gif" border="0" alt="[Evil]" />

[D'Artagnan1673]

check the post I started called "Say goodbye to France Lames?"