Best Sabre Lames?

[ra2000a]

I need to buy a new sabre lame. What do u feel are the best ones in terms of quality, and durability? Price is not really an issue. Thanks

[Inquartata]

I'm more and more intrigued by those Infinity lames. Don't like the color, but as far as weight, heat-retention and durability go they seem to be the cat's pajamas...

[oiuyt]

You hear hugely different stories from different people about their longetivity. Not just the seams and the snagging, pretty much everyone agrees that there are problems in those two areas. Some people that I know that have had Infintity lames agree with the manufacturer's claims that the conductively never goes away. I also know other people that have had problems with entire panels going out after not very much time.

Personally I use an Uhlmann stainless lame. If it ever wears out (it MUST eventually, right? Despite no signs to that effect?) I plan to buy another one. As far as I'm concerned they really can't be beat for durability. I'd rather not have to worry about my lame when I go to a competition.

-B :)

[Inquartata]

Well, Uhlmann is what I use, too, and I am happy enough with it, but it does not relieve you of worry about having one fail for a competition---I have had one do so, and had to buy another hastily and at premium prices at an NAC...

[Capt. Slo-mo]

All of us use Infinity lames...we love them for the ease of movement and lack of heat retention (at least compared to a stainless steel one).

If you get an Infinity, be prepared to do regular seam stitching, and you'll do fine.

[Marcos]

Price not an issue - then Leon Paul light-weight sabre lame' every time

just awesome.

I would say that I would be a couple of places further down the Ireland ranking if it weren't for the LP light-weight. I have been 13-13 in a couple of Opens and won the bout, where with a heavier lame fitness might have run out.

[sallearmourer]

My wife and my son at West Point used the lightweight lame from Blue Glaulet and just love them. But he wouldn't be using his much this year as he be fencing epee for West Point instead of sabre.

Tim loomis

www.yeoldearmourer.com

[whtouche]

I have an infinity lame and love it. I can't attest to the durability yet as Ive only had it for a few months, but I definetly have to think about it less. It's so lightweight and compact I just crumple it up and throw it in my bag when Im done whereas I used to bring a hanger just to carry my lame around on.

It is fairly expensive, $210, but compared to 199 for stainless steele I think it's worth the extra. It can be machine washed, there's no metal threads - the whole thing is conductive and as such supposedly never stops being conductive. And it's so light, basically just the lame material over a mesh - it feels like you're not wearing a lame at all and this definetly helps. I was recently fencing at another club on an open fencing night and realized when I got there that I had forgotten my lame. No problem, I just borrowed one of the stainless steele ones from their closet..
Bad idea. I had gotten so used to the lightweight infinity that I was exhausted after every bout, I felt like the lame I was wearing was asphyxiating me. So yes, it definetly does make a difference.

I've never had any trouble with the seams, but that's due mostly to the fact that when I got it I handed it over to an armorer to reinforce the seams. The only major flaw tho I find with the stock infinitys is the zipper. It's made of plastic and pretty weak, such that the second or third week I was fencing with it someone hit it and broke off several teeth rendering it useless.

But I gave it to the same armorer and he put on a heavy duty metal zipper, the type a tank might use to hold together the front of its pants

[westcoastsabre]

I made the mistake of not checking around before I bought my lame, all i can say is don't buy a santelli one, they may be reliable but after a couple of bouts it turns into a sauna.

[AllezCat]

Add another vote for Infinity. Any lame with metallic threads will eventually show dead areas in the armpit of the weapon arm, from all the mechanical stress they undergo. Infinity lames just don't suffer from that. In three or four years of testing gear at division tournaments, I've only seen one Infinity product fail because of resistance. That plus the light weight, I won't fence sabre in anything else.

They can have mechanical problems with seams and so on, so they may not be the first choice for someone with a stocky build who's going to put more stress on seams.

Also, for the foil fencers: Infinity lames don't show up inspection stamps very well. At least the sabre lame has the white fabric in the groin area to stamp on.

[sallearmourer]

The one major problem with the Infinity when it's goes bad it's goes totaly dead. my daughter has repaired a number of them at NACS for seam coming apart . We have talked to Jeff about this problem and have made recommedtions to him on improving the seams line.


Tim Loomis
www.yeoldearmourer.com

[ra2000a]

is there a website to get the infinity lames?

[oiuyt]

Ya know, it's amazing how easy questions like this are when you can type infinity lame into google and poof, there's the manufacturer.

http://www.infinityelectronics.com/products.html

Looks like their online order page is down but you can find the phone number on the site (631.331.6211) and call them to order.

Enjoy.
-B :)

[oiuyt]

Another suggestion that might help with the seams is to clip the reel to the D-ring on your jacket rather than to the lame. Might help reduce the stress a bit. It seems like most of the strain comes from the movements of the arms/shoulders, but hey, figure it can't hurt, right?

-B :)

[Capt. Slo-mo]

I would also recommend that any women wanting to look into Infinity lames try on a men's style first.

The women's cut has two seams across the shoulder blades...and always seem to unravel there first. The men's is cut from a uniform piece of material.

The zippers (particularly the pulls) are vulnerable to hits. Fortunately, I have a talented seamstress in the family, so things like insufficent seam allowance in the original manufacturing are not a total disaster.

Even with these problems, we still think the light weight and breathabilty far outstrip the little annoyances.

[whtouche]

Originally posted by oiuyt
Another suggestion that might help with the seams is to clip the reel to the D-ring on your jacket rather than to the lame. Might help reduce the stress a bit. It seems like most of the strain comes from the movements of the arms/shoulders, but hey, figure it can't hurt, right?

-B

Actually my infinity came without a reel clip, and a note that said to use the clip on your jacket as the reels put "undue stress on the seams"

However I have seen some(I assume older) infinities with reel clips.