Epee bell guards

[JayhawkPawn]

Out of curiosity, I'm wondering who uses what epee bell, and which ones are heavy, light, bendy, prone to being pierced by your evil coach, and things like that.

Peronally, I have a mix of BG stainless steel (heavy) old mid-90's Leon paul (I think they're cut from battleship plating.) and a few Uhlmann titanium (too light.) Personally I love the battleship class Leon Paul bells, and the lightweight ones are too light to be of use to me.

Does anyone else make a very heavy bell?

[BySword]

my bell guards summary:
vinity - strong, light, but just right for me.
FWF German Titanium Light - very thin and light. but dented, beaten up and a little bit deformed just in about 3 months of use
FWF German Titanium Normal - has about the same attributes as the vinity ones
Absolute "New" One Piece Strong - very heavy and thick, strong. used one a practice blade
BG Standard - moderately heavy, but holding up just fine. everything about is just about standard.

[noodle]

vniti.
they're slightly heaver than ultralights, but still light and i've not broken or dented one yet.

[Beowulfman6]

I have absolute steel guards on all the club weapons, they are very heavy but are super strong and will probably last forever.

I would never buy anything other than a vnity for myself- they cost more but are worth it for epee (I don't think the cost are worth it for foil).

[passata_sotto]

One of my sons uses only the LP super strong lightweight. The other one who fences epée has one LP super strong etc, and one Viniti.

[Zilverzmurfen]

All my weapons have a mixture of old stainless steel, aluminium and newer titanium-aluminium alloy guards. I'm phasing out the old ones and am replacing them with the one-piece titanium-aluminium alloy guards as the weapons break/needs to be rewired.

I get mine from Allstar (GER) and they're just ace. No more dents!

[clonardo]

the vniti is an absolute tank. it's wonderful.

[piste off]

the vniti is an absolute tank. it's wonderful.

It is a LIGHT tank. Really the best alternative based on weight and durability. The FWF 1.0mm is a tad lighter, but not as durable.

BySword's summary is a great one...

Rick

[twisterfencing]

Viniti
Its like a timex watch. Takes a lick'en and keeps on tick'en!

Gary Spruill

[ckovanda]

I use only Vniti epee bells now, i'll never need to replace them. after a year or so, still no scratches. clubmates of mine have gotten the allstar "titanium" bells and they do have dents in them. not large dents, but dents. my bells have only scratches on them. well, well worth the money for those vnitis, I wouldn't settle for anything else.

[OROD]

the vniti is an absolute tank. it's wonderful.

Yeah, they're great. I started using them for my foils and I dont even need to parry any more.

.

[BySword]

It is a LIGHT tank. Really the best alternative based on weight and durability. The FWF 1.0mm is a tad lighter, but not as durable.

BySword's summary is a great one...

Rick

There is a little story about the FWF 1.0mm.
this happned while i was at camp over the summer. so my bodycord got stuck in the socket, my coach and I tried to up clipped the socket. Essentinally, my coach pushed my thumb onto the edge of the FWF 1.0mm bell guard and sliced my thumb open. I bled terribly, but luckily it was my no weapon arm.
So for safty issues, I now prefer vinity as well. Although one of my competition weapon still have the ultra light. it has large dents all over it.

[troygaljair]

I...I, uh, use...metal guards? I don't know. They're round!

Seriously, I use Absolute's Aluminum Light Epee Guard on all my electric epees, and a mixture of cheaper Blue Gauntlet and Absolute stainless steel guards on everything else. Personally, though, I prefer a very light epee.

TJE