Question about jackets

Hey all;

It's time to start hunting for my own jacket (FINALLY!!!), and I've
been wondering just how the different brands and styles fit. Our club,
for instance, has Blue Gauntlet back-zips, which is slightly baggier
than a mumu, particularly around the hips. The only local supplier with
a store has only Leon Paul gear, and is asking $200 (Canadian) for a
350N jacket, which seems a bit outrageous compared to some of the mail
order places south of the border. In fact, North American prices seem
pretty outrageous in general. An Uhlmann jacket for 55 pounds sells in
the US for $155, and in Canada for who knows! Am I missing something
here, or there a BIG discrepancy?

Anyways, where do I start looking for gear, and how likely am I to get
something ordered online that I'm happy with?

Oh yes, for the record--I fence Epee these days. (although may yet go
back to foil...)

Thanks!
Colin

"Colin B." <cbigam@somewhereelse.nucleus.com> wrote


> North American prices seem
> pretty outrageous in general. An Uhlmann jacket for 55 pounds sells in
> the US for $155, and in Canada for who knows! Am I missing something
> here, or there a BIG discrepancy?


The euro has really appreciated against the dollar over the past year,
making everything we import more expensive. You might want to look at
Santelli or American Fencers Supply, or even Triplette, though the
latter tends to need a lot of "customization" to get a jacket that
fits well.

The Fencing Post has Uhlmann FIE World Cup jackets on sale for $179.

On Sun, 25 Apr 2004 05:20:34 GMT, "Colin B."
<cbigam@somewhereelse.nucleus.com> wrote (more or less):

>Hey all;
>
>It's time to start hunting for my own jacket (FINALLY!!!), and I've
>been wondering just how the different brands and styles fit. Our club,
>for instance, has Blue Gauntlet back-zips, which is slightly baggier
>than a mumu, particularly around the hips. The only local supplier with
>a store has only Leon Paul gear, and is asking $200 (Canadian) for a
>350N jacket, which seems a bit outrageous compared to some of the mail
>order places south of the border. In fact, North American prices seem
>pretty outrageous in general. An Uhlmann jacket for 55 pounds sells in
>the US for $155, and in Canada for who knows! Am I missing something
>here, or there a BIG discrepancy?

Due to enormous deficits - both government and consumer debt - in the
US, the US $ has been on a scary slide downwards over the past six to
nine months. (The US needs foreigners to send it about $43Billion
every month to cover its debts, and lately they've only been able to
round up aboout $35Billion each month).

So US prices for imports (from places where the currency is not pegged
to the dollar) have been going up.

For instance, at one point a couple of months ago, the US dollar was
worth only about 55pence in the UK, down from its usual 76pence-or-so.

I was a kid in short trousers the last time the dollar fell so low.


Cheers,
Euan
Gawnsoft: http://www.gawnsoft.co.sr
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Smalltalk links (harvested from comp.lang.smalltalk) http://html.dnsalias.net/gawnsoft/smalltalk

Colin B. wrote:

> Anyways, where do I start looking for gear, and how likely am I to get
> something ordered online that I'm happy with?

In addition to the places others have mentioned, I've also bought a nice
jacket from Physical Chess. (In fact, I adore it.)

From my experience, your best bet for a more "tailored" fit (not the muumu
type of fit, hehe) is to get a stretch nylon jacket, not a cotton/duck one.
It will be lighter and more breathable as well (though it won't offer quite
as much padding - meaning that it's just as safe against punctures but not
quite as protective against garden-variety bruises. I have found it to be a
worthwhile tradeoff and would never go back to wearing a heavy cotton
jacket again). You can also find some that are a combination of cotton and
stretch nylon - Blue Gauntlet has one, for instance.

As for fit, your truly best bet (if you can't attend a large event with
vendors present) is to look at what other fencers are wearing and if you
see one jacket that looks like a good cut and style, ask where it came
from. Also, check out the pictures on the different vendor web sites; many
have people modeling the gear so you can actually see how it is cut, which
is helpful. After that, I suggest ordering by phone so you can get
assistance with sizing.

For best value for money, I would go with one of the "vendor brands"
(products under the name of Triplette, Blue Gauntlet, The Fencing Post,
etc) rather than something like Allstar or Uhlmann, where (in my opinion)
you're paying a premium for the name *and* for conforming to FIE standards
(which is unnecessary if you are only competing in the U.S.). Now, Uhlmann
and Allstar do make very nice products, and I do own and love some of their
products, but I think there are many equally good and cheaper choices, and
so especially for your first purchases, I wouldn't put them at the top of
the list.

Triplette makes great moderate-cost weapons, but I really have never liked
the cut and style of their jackets - very squarish. My stretch nylon jacket
is from Physical Chess, and I love it. I bought it about 5 years ago,
though, so who knows if they make them like that any more. Several people
at my club have Blue Gauntlet jackets (one full cotton, one cotton with a
stretch nylon back panel) and the overall cut seems not too baggy
(especially the partly nylon one). I'm not sure if they have a fully
stretch nylon one or not, but it's worth looking into: I've been pleased
with BG's clothing overall, and Amanda from BG is amazingly good at helping
people find the right size to fit well.

Have fun!

--Holly

Gawnsoft <xlucid@users.sourceforge.remove.this.antispam.net > wrote

>
> Due to enormous deficits - both government and consumer debt - in the
> US, the US $ has been on a scary slide downwards over the past six to
> nine months.

Not to stray too far OT, but in real terms the deficit is neither
"enormous" nor unprecedented. We hear a lot of sturm und drang about
it from politicians and the press, but at current levels it's not
terribly worrisome economically speaking. Nor does it have all that
much to do with the depreciation of the dollar against other world
currencies; recall that the deficits of the 1980s saw no such
deterioration until in 1985 the Fed and cooperating world banking
authorities implemented policies designed to force it to do so...

The trade and current accounts deficits are another matter, but this
is not a new problem ( we've run a trade deficit for over 20 years )
and the fall of the dollar can only improve the situation and boost
GDP if it's allowed to work itself out without more government
intervention.

Holly E. Ordway <hollyOUTordway@withverizon.thisnet> wrote:

> Colin B. wrote:

> In addition to the places others have mentioned, I've also bought a nice
> jacket from Physical Chess. (In fact, I adore it.)

That's the second fairly glowing review I've heard of their jackets.

> From my experience, your best bet for a more "tailored" fit (not the muumu
> type of fit, hehe) is to get a stretch nylon jacket, not a cotton/duck one.
> It will be lighter and more breathable as well (though it won't offer quite
> as much padding - meaning that it's just as safe against punctures but not
> quite as protective against garden-variety bruises. I have found it to be a
> worthwhile tradeoff and would never go back to wearing a heavy cotton
> jacket again). You can also find some that are a combination of cotton and
> stretch nylon - Blue Gauntlet has one, for instance.

Stretch nylon is DEFINITELY where I'm headed. Weight loss from dehydration
quit being fun a few months ago. :-)
Do you (or anyone) know how tailored the Blue Gauntlet nylon jackets are
as compared to their 'club' jackets?

> As for fit, your truly best bet (if you can't attend a large event with
> vendors present) is to look at what other fencers are wearing and if you
> see one jacket that looks like a good cut and style, ask where it came
> from. Also, check out the pictures on the different vendor web sites; many
> have people modeling the gear so you can actually see how it is cut, which
> is helpful. After that, I suggest ordering by phone so you can get
> assistance with sizing.

Sadly, I missed the Provincial open this weekend, and there's no way I'm
driving halfway across the prairies to get to the Westerns this coming
weekend.

> For best value for money, I would go with one of the "vendor brands"
> (products under the name of Triplette, Blue Gauntlet, The Fencing Post,
> etc) rather than something like Allstar or Uhlmann...

I've heard this before. I guess cross-border mail order is my only
option here, since the Canadian companies are all selling the
manufacturer-named gear.

Thanks for the info! It's a great start.

Colin