Nonmetal Lame?

[npkeith]

Relatively new to fencing, not up to electric fencing yet, but I order a lot of catalogs.
Triplette has an "ultralight electric jacket" that is only $90. They say the thing has no metal threads but oxidizes at the same rate as a steel lame, plus its lighter and smoother, so your opponents tip is less likely to catch.
My father used to fence, and his recommendation is always to buy the best steel lame I can afford. Does that still hold true, or are the new technologies changing that rule?

-Keith Anderson

[Artisan]

I have a Triplett non-metallic lame and like it. It is lighter and cooler. I have had no problems with conductivity. Its been hand washed in mild soap several times and still works fine. The fit though is pretty terrible. They are cut rather large and boxy. Everyone I've seen on somebody looks loose and sack-like. I had mine tailored, and its still a bit wider in the shoulders than another metal lame of the same size (generic manufacturer). For what the alterations cost I could have bought the version they sell with the elastic panel in the back. I use the triplett for practice or if its really hot, and try to use the metal one in competitions since its a bit smaller.

[neevel]

"Non-metal" lames like the Triplettes and the Infinity typically use some type of metallized fabric, where the threads of the fabric themselves have been impregnated with metal particles, rather than having strands of wire woven into the fabric like conventional lames.

From my experience with them, the practical lifespan of the Triplette lames will work out to be about the same as a stainless lame. They will hold conductivity a good deal longer, but the fabric itself is rather brittle, and prone to fraying apart at the seams or when a small hole is made. For the stretch lames, the material used for the elastic panel is susceptible to snags-- it's located about as out-of-the-way as can be (back of the unarmed shoulder), but you will get hits landing there in foil, either by flicks or if you like to turn so that you close your front but open up the back and flank.

As has been also mentioned, Triplette's lames are cut very square in the body-- if you are a person of girth this may work out well for you, but on more slender builds it tends to fit like a paper bag.

-Dave

[Artisan]

Originally posted by neevel
"Non-metal" lames like the Triplettes and the Infinity typically use some type of metallized fabric, where the threads of the fabric themselves have been impregnated with metal particles, rather than having strands of wire woven into the fabric like conventional lames.
-Dave

My understanding of the electrical conductivity is that it achieved with a chemical treatment, not with metallic particals. The difference between Triplette and Infinity (and I don't remember the source of this info) is that the triplette material is treated after it is woven, and the infinity is treated at the thread stage before it is woven, and thus is supposed to be more (electrically durable) I have heard that the Infinity lame fabric is more fragile. The triplette stuff resembles ripstop nylon...

[neevel]

This is the company that produces the metallized fabric used in the Infinity lames-- they make a range of products, including some similar to the fabric that Triplette uses.

The Infinity material is an open-mesh weave, and is thus more prone to snagging than the more tighly-woven fabric that Triplette uses-- that's the trade-off for the lightness and breathability of the Infinity lames.

-Dave