The biggest safety problem is not that the Lexan isn't as strong, it's that you can't test Lexan to see if it's broken. In 5 years, how do you know if your mask is perfectly fine or pretty much broken?
Just to clear up: my evidence was/is indeed anecdotal: it wasnt meant to be anything else. It is certainly not scientific.
As far as distortion goes, all that I can say is that the Leon Paul and Negrini masks are better than the others: the visor area is bigger and therefore the curve of the visor is less this results in kess refraction and thus less distortion.
If you are going to get one check all the brands to see what suits you best.
My Leon Paul lexan sabre mask is LIGHTER than my all star FIE non lexan mask: the lack of a tang at the back seems to help.
I havent had a problem seeing through my visor despite its scratches (with LP you can replace the outer layer cheaply anyway).
My advice: try before you buy and dont bash them until you have tried them..
Just to clear up: my evidence was/is indeed anecdotal: it wasnt meant to be anything else. It is certainly not scientific.
As far as distortion goes, all that I can say is that the Leon Paul and Negrini masks are better than the others: the visor area is bigger and therefore the curve of the visor is less this results in kess refraction and thus less distortion.
If you are going to get one check all the brands to see what suits you best.
My Leon Paul lexan sabre mask is LIGHTER than my all star FIE non lexan mask: the lack of a tang at the back seems to help.
I havent had a problem seeing through my visor despite its scratches (with LP you can replace the outer layer cheaply anyway).
My advice: try before you buy and dont bash them until you have tried them..
You should try the LP regular mask without the the tang. Even lighter.
I've tried the visor mask. I don't like them (neither do most who have tried them), nor have their safety issues been answered. Simple.
We're no threat, people, we're not dirty, we're not mean
We love everybody but we do as we please
When the weather's fine,
We go fishin' or go swimmin' in the sea
We're always happy
Life's for livin', yeah, that's our philosophy
So, just thought I would add my 2 cents to the debate: when I heard that Lexan Masks were compulsory I was VERY unhappy: I raged against the FIE as I said they were too unsafe too expensive etc...
Then I went to Worlds and HAD to buy a Lexan Mask. Having used one, I can now say that I beleive them to be safer than mesh masks: (they seem to take a hit better and I think the Lexan is actually stronger than the mesh...)
Also, now that I have used one, I am a huge fan: the increased visibility is great and I have now bought a fol/epee Lexan mask to go with my sabre mask...
Everyone who I have spoken to re this issue has felt the same way they are in fact an improvement!!!
That is a very good reason to NOT make them compulsory.
then why was he re-elected with a 78 votes to 30 majority? Thats democracy.
Because he has all the heads of the deligations in his pocket that why! He is very happy for new federations to join the FIE - as long as he knows that they will vote for him. You can have an entire Country that hates Roche but if the head of the federation is all chummy with him then it does'nt matter.
If he spotts a potential swing in the countys allegance then he subtley threatens them.
It's known as "packing the court". Democracy? Perhaps de jure. But de facto? "We're living in a dictatorship! A self-perpetuating autocracy, in which the working class---"
There seems no way to dislodge him now. A very clever politician, he. Would that all of his ideas and policies were as clever...
sigh. Does he have a fixed term or can he stay in power as long as he wants. What is his competition like. i dont know very much about this Russian guy besides the fact that he's rich and once fenced sabre.
Meh, dude, I know that homosexuality and tattoos are not for me, without trying them first. I place Lexan masks in the same category.
that was kinda random, and I dont' know if I'd put masks in the same boat as tattoos and being gay... :P but I think you're right, you don't necessarily have to try something just to know it's not for you, especially if your own safety is involved.
ex-JAySE SUiCiDE. that name was getting on my nerves.
The medical comkmission's concern was with CO2 retention rates, which were way high (y'know....becuase of that solid plastic plate in the way of proper ventilation)
A fan mounted inside teh mask for air flow betrays a design flaw in the mask that by itself does not address the medical commission's concerns, thus the need for an outside source of ventilation.
SEMI is concerned that we armorers cannot test the lexan...there's also the fact that there are no specs on torque on the bolts that hold the plate in place....that there HAVE been broken shields and ones falling out DURING fencing...
This is all academic to me--I will never fence at these levels--but the idea that an armorer has no way to tell that the lexan is about to fail scares the bejesus out of me!! No, thanks!!!
"Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never . . . never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense." Churchill, 1941
Originally Posted by mrbiggs 
. . . 
No, thanks!!! 