o, the hardships of being a tall foilist!

[fencerchica]

No, I'm serious -- because this past weekend I got in trouble for wearing a lame that's a bit short on me (I'm female and about 5'10" tall).

But my (Uhlmann) lame is roughly the correct chest size for me, or even if you grant that it might be a little on the tight side, at most I would never wear more than one size larger, which according to the Uhlmann sizing charts would not grant me any more height to the lame anyway, only girth.

I've tried an Allstar, and an Allstar lame of the same chest size was even worse (a lot worse) in terms of shortness. Does anyone know of any brand of lame that tends to run on the TALLER side instead? How is the Infinity on that score? (fishing for an excuse to get one)

I've seen that Uhlmann does manufacture tall sizes, but none of the US retailers list them as available, so... is ordering direct from Uhlmann in Germany my only hope??

Thanks a ton for any suggestions.

[Craig]

You'll want to contact some vendors about custom tailoring solutions if you can't get the fit you want.

The least expensive alternative would be to get something that fits your height and then take in the seams to get the width you want. There are quite a few taller women's foilists around, so I can't believe that there isn't a lame out there for you. You can also find decent seamstresses available for freelance/one-off work and many of the fabric stores (hancock fabrics, etc.) if you don't want to do that yourself.

Hope that helps,
Craig

No, I'm serious -- because this past weekend I got in trouble for wearing a lame that's a bit short on me (I'm female and about 5'10" tall).

But my (Uhlmann) lame is roughly the correct chest size for me, or even if you grant that it might be a little on the tight side, at most I would never wear more than one size larger, which according to the Uhlmann sizing charts would not grant me any more height to the lame anyway, only girth.

I've tried an Allstar, and an Allstar lame of the same chest size was even worse (a lot worse) in terms of shortness. Does anyone know of any brand of lame that tends to run on the TALLER side instead? How is the Infinity on that score? (fishing for an excuse to get one)

I've seen that Uhlmann does manufacture tall sizes, but none of the US retailers list them as available, so... is ordering direct from Uhlmann in Germany my only hope??

Thanks a ton for any suggestions.

[hpfencing]

You might goto a national event (JO's, Nationals, NAC) or a local vendor and see how different Lames fit. Each company makes there a little differnet in sizing.

I normaly don't use TCA much but they make there equipment in house and can taylor the equipment to fit you exactly.

Buying an oversized lame and having a local person fit it too you is also an option that is done pretty frequently as well.

Hope this helps.

[DJ Apostrophe]

I am fairly tall (6'4") and I purchased one of the custom taller sizes (for a jacket) right through Allstar, I talked to them at a competition (summer nationals) and they were able to order it from germany for me and ship it to me. How nice it is to finally have a jacket that fits. It took a while to get it, but was worth it in the end. I would suspect any vendor that sells uhlmann/allstar/other who make the tall sizes would be able to do much the same for you.

-w

[Alain]

Take up épée ! Seriously, though, if you have difficulty getting stuff to fit, it's always best to try and visit the equipment supplier in person, and then you can try their stuff on and see how it is... Hope this helps!

[tsalyards]

TCA lames fit like garbage sacks in general, so they might have the length you need. Give them a call.

-Tad

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

see whoever made you jacket, and then get them to make you a lame of the same dimensions.

[noodle]

i also regularly get in trouble for fencing foil with my lame except for the fact that my lame is legal. but barely. and i mean extremely borderline. but every tournament the BC has to check me out at some point in time.

could you be more specific as to how you got in trouble? someone just eyeball you or did they do the hip check?

[mrbiggs]

see whoever made you jacket, and then get them to make you a lame of the same dimensions.

Lamés are harder, though, because jackets can be too big or too small without a problem. Lamé size, meanwhile, affects target area.

[Mauler]

There's always a risk involved in wearing a lame that's "too tight" especially if you fall under the category of unusual body size. I've personally seen a few cases where a fencer was penalized for appearing on the strip with a wrong size lame and be required to change it.

At one of the NACs several years ago, I had a rather tall young fellow in my Foil tableau wearing a lame that was pretty tight while his uniform appeared oversized. The resulting effect was that it certainly appeared as if he was attempting to cheat by reducing his target area. His opponent, the coach and parents demanded that he not be allowed to fence and they were quite vocal about it. I had him come on guard in order to check for the hip-leg line. And amazingly, he passed per letter of the law. Still not satisfied, his opponent's side wanted a "higher authority" in the matter. We were running ahead of schedule, and the armorer's table was near the strip. Quite curious for expert assessment ourselves, the other ref and I requested an armorer to examine the lamet on this fencer. Passed, definitely border line. It turned out that this was his first NAC and he borrowed just about all his gear from clubmates. Plus, he had a rather unusual body proportion to begin with.

[achilleus]

Prieur, if I remember correctly makes a long lame. A girlfriend of mine who was short, tried one on once. It was too funny.

I don't know if it's long enough, but it's longer than the Uhlmann/Allstar...

[fencerchica]

Thanks everyone for the advice and the interesting stories!

When I got caught for having a short lame, it was the eyeball first, followed by a hip check that I guess I failed (had to switch to a larger lame), although I don't think it was by too much... well maybe an inch, which I suppose is certainly quite enough. :-/ Incidentally, I'm growing convinced the inner lining of my lame has been shrinking in the wash, pulling the outer lame fabric together, and making the whole thing smaller as a result!

Anyway, I was kind of scratching my head as to what to do for a while, but then I finally found that The Fencing Post (love them) can special-order me a size long Uhlmann, and I'm a happy camper. Heh, but just wait and see it be too long now!

Take up epee? Hey, let's not have any crazy talk here. Actually, I've been doing just that and am really enjoying it but I think foil will always be my first love...

[wpotere]

Uhlmann is in the process of setting up the ability to order directly from them on their site. Hopefully it will be up and running by the first of the year. So, the next time you have an issue, you can take your measurement and order directly (special made for you) from them.