first equipment

[TrainingDummy]

I have taken one semester of foil and own no equipment. I am really getting into the sport and am taking fencing next semester, and will be fencing over christmas break. What should I buy first, and at what price range? I have been told glove and mask since they get the most sweaty and so are the most, ah, personal. I haven't even picked up a sabre or epee yet, so I don't want to buy a weapon before trying them. What do you think? I have never competed in a tournament (or even used a body cord at all!), but my college has good quality equipment for me to use at tournaments held there. Any help would be appreciated!

[keropie]

Glove and mask are probably the first two things to get. I'd suggest a washable glove of some sort (unless you don't sweat, but really...), and the mask depends on your goals/plans and how sure you are of them. If you know you're going to fence for quite a while, then an FIE mask isn't a bad idea. If you're not sure, or there's a significant chance of you fencing saber, then the FIE mask is NOT a good idea yet. A regular mask should last you a year or two fairly easily (at least, all of mine have, even an 'irregular' mask I bought from Triplette, and no one seems to trust them much )

Personally, I don't much like the Absolute house brand mask, but you can find relatively inexpensive masks from a variety of places, and even the Uhlmann, LP, Prieur non-FIE masks are fairly reasonably priced.

[Purple Fencer]

Don't skimp on mask quality...pay the extra bucks for a good one.

[Frater_Frag]

Start with a FIE approved mask, and of course, a glove. Since you obviously started by fencing foil (good choice), by yourself a standard non-electric foil, preferably with french grip. After all, foil is the base for fencing!

Besides, having a foil at hand, makes it possible to do some practises at home, and since you are new at fencing, doing target practise is a good way to spend your free hours!

Once you can afford the rest, go for FIE all-over, that way you are safer than the 350 crowd.

[Purple Fencer]

Start with a FIE approved mask, and of course, a glove. Since you obviously started by fencing foil (good choice), by yourself a standard non-electric foil, preferably with french grip. After all, foil is the base for fencing!

Besides, having a foil at hand, makes it possible to do some practises at home, and since you are new at fencing, doing target practise is a good way to spend your free hours!

Once you can afford the rest, go for FIE all-over, that way you are safer than the 350 crowd.

Please stop scare-mongering and provide some stats that show a higher risk from using 350N gear (aside from the obvious higher puncture protection level).

350N gear is perfectly acceptable in the US...injuries are rare even now.

[TrainingDummy]

OK, even I know what FIE is, but 350N? A training foil for target practice is a good idea I hadn't even thought about... Anyway, I want some equipment I can beat up and not feel guilty about. Since any tournaments I'll be in will be next semester, alot of gear will be available for me from my school. Anyway, thanks for the ideas, and more would be awesome.

[Larrison]

For stuff to buy -- start with enough dry fencing equipment you can practice without needing club equipment.

Mask, Glove, Jacket, and weapon. Consider getting a better pair of shoes to fence in -- I use some Nike racquet ball shoes which work pretty well and are very reasonably priced.

Then add what's needed to compete, if you want to compete with your own gear..

Lame, electric weapons(s), body cord(s), and fencing knickers. Most folks are more comfortable with their own equipment in competitions, rather than using club equipment.

Quality of the equipment is up to you.. like everyone says, don't skimp on the mask, since its the most critical piece of safety equipment, but $250 for a mask is a lot of money. My personal recommendation (accept with a grain of salt, of course) is to buy a step or two above the cheap equipment --

Why? As you get more experience you'll want to get specific, better equipment. You will replace your equipment in about a year -- you'll beat up your practice equipment, change your body shape (grow or increase muscle mass), or want spares -- so you *will* be buying new equipment. With a little more experience into what you like/ don't like and feedback and experience on what's the best for you, you can buy more expensive equipment with more confidence it is what you need and want.

[epeeisky]

The 1000 N mask from Blue Gauntlet wouldn't be a bad idea. It is a step above the rest, but not FIE, and even more importantly it is reasonably priced. Their purple glove is a good glove choice as well. I have had mine for over a year and it is still in decent shape.

[telkanuru]

350 N was the old FIE standard. It's a middle ground between the cheap crap and full FIE gear. For safety, I reccomend an FIE underarm protector and mask at least, so your vitals are covered. Everything else you can skimp on.

[KD5MDK]

Where do you go to school? How long are you in Austin? There will be a big tournament in San Marcos on Jan 28-29, and the local to Austin vendor will be there. The Rose Condon tournament in Shreveport will be Jan 7-8 and will have Swordmasters, a first rate vendor there with lots of gear.

[keropie]

You don't NEED a single piece of FIE gear. If there's a part of it you KNOW you will keep for more than a year of fairly serious use, then FIE might not be a bad thing, but it's still probably not the way to start. The FIE mask is the ONLY piece of FIE gear I'd consider looking at, if I were you, and I'd still probably not buy one since there must be a chance of you going to saber, which would mean you'd need a brand new mask anyhow (well, for electric saber anyhow...). I'd agree, however, that the cheapest of whatever you can find is probably not the way to go (I follow that advice in just about everything, from fencing gear to cars to toilet paper: I MIGHT make an exception for a low end digital path receiver for my parents, were I considering buying such for them).

Really, if you can't try stuff on, that's gonna make it a lot harder. Some people love the Prieur masks, some people get borderline migraines from wearing them. I've heard people say nice things about the Absolute brand masks, but everyone on my team that's worn one has had nothing positive to say about them (mind you, Coach failed my rule and got the cheapest ones they had, but eh..). So if you can find a way to do so, try some on (borrow some from people at your club to try, or visit a vendor, or whatever).

Unless you're about to start competing away from your club, I'd stop at mask and glove. Regardless, I'd at least pick up a glove (then again, our club doesn't supply gloves, so if you don't have one, you get plenty o' bruises...). Don't think, however, that I'm saying you shouldn't end up with an FIE mask, because if you stick with the sport, you should. The rest of the equipment you really don't need FIE stuff for until you're fencing in an FIE event. Honestly, my first set of competition stuff was a Triplette stretch nylon jacket and knickers, their super duty lame (which is still a good product, even if it's cut horribly for normal shaped people), one of their saber/foil non-washable gloves (that was a mistake), one of their masks, a body cord, and a foil, all of which lasted me a year and a half at least, other than the weapon. The mask and uniform lasted my a good two or three years, and then (once I was sure this was something I was going to do for a bit) I bought the Uhlmann World Cup uniform, followed a year later by the Uhlmann Olympia (nice stuff there). Of course, once I get the money together I'm now debating a Negrini Uniform, or, after all the good things I've heard, an LP Sydney uniform. But those are decisions I made well after I knew I was stuck in the sport

[penguin_2000]

If you want an inexpensive mask, Triplette was selling 1600N Negrini masks at the NAC for $100. You can give them a call and see if they have your size and if they are still offering it at that price. The only thing is they were from '95 ... don't know if that makes a difference.

[TrainingDummy]

I go to UT and I'm a junior. I just left for break and will be back for classes on January 17.

[KD5MDK]

This simplifies things a lot, as they have enough gear for you to wait a semester for any big purchases.

So, first thing to get: A glove.

Can you make it to Houston from January 13-16 (any day, but the 16th will have the best deals)? There's a Division I North American Cup there, and all the major vendors will be there, and looking to sell stuff rather than haul it back to New Jersey. That'll be a great place to buy things if you can make it. I expect to be there if you want some personalized advice.

However, as I said there's no need to rush things. The first things you should do are sign up for the Intermediate Class and try out Epee and Sabre.

[ThatReallyHurt]

Don't know if this'll help, but I picked up my kit in this order... most of my purchases were several months apart.

1) A glove. It's probably the only piece of kit you can't (or wouldn't want to) borrow from someone else. I have no idea who makes my glove, it was super cheap but has protected me from many nasty whacks.

2) A dry weapon. With it, you can practice at home and bring it to the club. It's also nice to be able to set the blade the way you want it so you can get used to it, too. I don't know what your club is like, but if it's anything like mine, having your own weapon will free you up during the equipment scramble to get other equipment that fits properly (like a mask or jacket). There's also the "cool" factor of having your own weapon, it makes a good conversation piece when people come over.

3) A mask. I picked up a Leon Paul FE29, I find it very comfortable and it was inexpensive. Having a weapon and mask frees you up even more to get to the jacket pile quickly to find one that fits. Oh, and I was never too keen on wearing a mask that someone else was just sneezing into whilst wearing.

4) A jacket. I got the least expensive jacket I could find that fit properly, a back zip with lots of padding in front.

5) Electric weapon and body cords.

6) Pants and sous-plastron.

I guess it all depends on what you really want to do. Keep in mind what your goals for the sport are - as good as it would be to own a full set of FIE gear, if you're not going to be in a situation where you'd need it, consider going with less expensive alternatives. Also consider that it's best if you're in a situation where your enjoyment of the sport is prompting you to buy more/better equipment, instead of you fencing only because you've just spent a bunch of money on kit and don't want it to sit there doing nothing.

[KD5MDK]

He's got plenty of weapons available from the club, so I'm really going to recommend holding off on electric gear until he knows what weapon he wants to fence, at least. Best to go with the glove, jacket, underarm protector and pants first, if he's buying lots of stuff. Mask if he doesn't want to do sabre.

Edit - I ought to say, I felt like there was something cool about having a front-zip jacket of your own. It made you feel like a real fencer, not some scrub borrowing stuff. Toss in the awkwardness of a back zip jacket, and even if it's purely mental, it was a change I enjoyed feeling.

[TrainingDummy]

Thanks guys, I just ordered an FIE mask, a cheap glove, and a practice foil from this site. KD5, are you a fencing TA? IF you're that short guy with the long brown hair then I know you. I just don't know names.

[KD5MDK]

No, I graduated in May. My girlfriend was a TA, though, I mentioned her in the PM.