Super bendy foils

[letzdiscuss]

Hi, I'm hoping to get a couple more foils for tournaments since I only have 1 right now. I'd like to get one that is super flexible so I could practice flicks with it. I'm not sure what kind of blade I have right now, but it's really stiff. Any advice?

[gatsby]

To improve your flick, practice flicking. Don't just change blades. You should be able to flick with most blades provided that they aren't abnormally stiff.

To answer your question though: Leon Paul Etoile. After a while it gets so flexible that you can only hit with a flick.

[Purple Fencer]

To improve your flick, practice flicking. Don't just change blades. You should be able to flick with most blades provided that they aren't abnormally stiff.

To answer your question though: Leon Paul Etoile. After a while it gets so flexible that you can only hit with a flick.

They also have a tenancy to corkscrew. The one I use on my teaching foil hits about every possible angle on the way out!

[DangerMouse]

To improve your flick, practice flicking. Don't just change blades. You should be able to flick with most blades

QFT.

At the high level, the best flickers generally like stiff blades. Flicking is about hand position, angle, and distance. It's NOT about the flexibility of the blade.

[yearsofwisdom]

^^ is completely correct. I love the feel of a BF flicking, and i don't have to sacrifice other movements in the event that i don't need to flick.

[InFerrumVeritas]

Hi, I'm hoping to get a couple more foils for tournaments since I only have 1 right now. I'd like to get one that is super flexible so I could practice flicks with it. I'm not sure what kind of blade I have right now, but it's really stiff. Any advice?

As has been said, LP Etoile is super flicky, but a flicky blade is not what you need to flick. Ask your coach to work on flicks with you, and you should be able to do it with whatever blade you want.

A regular Vniti is, IMO, a happy medium. They start off stiff and eventually "work in."

[noodle]

To improve your flick, practice flicking. Don't just change blades. You should be able to flick with most blades provided that they aren't abnormally stiff.

agree

[ddavis]

Agree with the previous posters - a super flexible blade is about the worst thing you can use for flicks. The reason for this is because with the new foil timings (are they still "new"?) a flexible blade will simply bounce off the target when attempting a flick. A stiffer blade is more likely to have enough dwell time to get a light. Of course, you still need to have proper technique and I have found that flicking with a stiffer (and usually heavier) blade requires greater strength levels as well.

[TheNamelessOne]

Plus, a really flicky blade tends to hit flat when you try to hit with the point from anything but point in line. That cost me about eight 5-4 bouts the first three months I used super-flickies.

Vnitis work well for me, as do BFs (when I use them, which is almost never).