How good is Athos Equipment?

[InFerrumVeritas]

Basically, how good is Athos' stuff?

[HDG]

I can't speak for the quality of the gear b/c I never received it, but what a miserable, protracted experience trying to get my refund was.

[wahrman]

The only thing I've ever gotten from them was a French grip for an epee.
It snapped within 20 touches.

Live and learn. No more plastic grips for me.

[JEC]

I bought 2 gloves, one for me and another for my son. We fence Epee. We liked them very much. They seem good quality with a very good price for this item.

[Fencergrl]

The jackets have very cheap zippers... they can break after very little use. The rest of the sewed on items, button, velcro, D rings etc.... last a little longer but tend to need to be replaced/ repaired. Kinda reminds me what some car guys will say about Ford... Fix Or Repair Daily

[Robert Smith]

We have two Athos jackets in our club gear and they don't seem too bad. 350N at a reasonable price, only thing that's gone wrong is the crotch strap has come unstitched on one, which is an easy repair.

We have four Athos blades - well, had; now three. They're very cheap, and probably okay for someone with a light touch. Me, I'd probably have broken them all within a couple of months. More flexible than the cheap STMs, and probably comparable in price.

I have an Athos lame, which had green patches within a week - despite being rinsed after each use -, had dead patches within a month and is now, after nine months, dead to about sternum level, or would be if I hadn't rehabilitated the upper half with conductive thread. Each month, I add a couple or so more inches of replacement conductivity; pretty soon I'll have an all-thread lame. I should note that I'm better than most at sweating lames to death, so my experience may be very much different from others'.

Speaking of which, I keep thinking, rather than substitute silver thread for dead nickel / stainless / whatever, why not just make lame fabric with silver thread? I have the thread, just no idea where to look for someone with the resources to weave it into a fabric. Any weavers out there?

[Fencergrl]

We have two Athos jackets in our club gear and they don't seem too bad.

They're not bad jackets. I have (I'm guessing) 20-30 with 2/3 are in the sewing pile after about a year's use. A large number need new zippers. Once the zippers are replaced, I suspect I will be fairly happy. They are a low-end jackets, so they have no padding, wicking etc... but they seem rather sturdy otherwise.

It's a nuisance factor. I've had lots of low end jackets that haven't had zipper problems show up after a very short time of use (some zippers broke within the first couple times of being used).

What I like... they have some large sizes (which some of the kids need). They have some stretch to them.

For me... my jackets were a great deal (free) so replacing zippers isn't a big deal. If I paid full price for a jacket, and had the zipper go right away (or within a year) I would be really annoyed. I've had that happen with a jacket from Fleche.ca The jacket was a low-end jacket made in China (they no longer carry). Fleche.ca not only took my slightly used jacket back, but upgraded my jacket to a better quality one.

If the poster was thinking of getting a Athos jacket, I would advise factoring in a zipper replacement into the price, as there's a very good chance it will need one. Or check with his supplier if it can be returned for replacement/ refund should the zipper break within a certain period of time.

[InFerrumVeritas]

Actually, it's for my club. I was looking at the lames and electric weapons, as they seemed a good deal. My coach told me to ask around and let him know what I had heard before he ordered (he doesn't really use the internet much). As of right now, I think I'll advise against it.

Robert Smith: I think there are some silver-laced lames out there.

[erooMynohtnA]

Speaking of which, I keep thinking, rather than substitute silver thread for dead nickel / stainless / whatever, why not just make lame fabric with silver thread? I have the thread, just no idea where to look for someone with the resources to weave it into a fabric. Any weavers out there?

Triplette and Leon Paul both make an ultralight lame using a silver impregnated fabric. It doesn't use silver wire, it uses a silver metallicized thread. I don't know about the Triplette, but the Leon Paul lames are probably the most durable lame out there. They cost a pretty penny, but when you take longevity into account, they're a steal.