Ultralight Epee Guard

It really is nice to have light weight parts like this for epee, I've reallly appreciated this and suggest those who haven't tried an ultralight bell guard like this to do so.

I do not find it excellent because what people have said about it dents often, is true. However it will not fall apart on you anytime soon (there is some decent strength in it, unlike other lightweight products sold out there). Perhaps its one of the more durable light weight guards out there in my opinions.

I have not been fencing epee for long, however I have noticed the BG SG blade and this bell have created a very light weight epee, in fact it's lighter than my maraging foil.

These guards dent easily but the trade off for the light weight is worth it. I've had a hole punched into one by a really hard shot. Better the guard than me though! They may dent easily but it's also no problem to hammer them out.

You know, when I started fencing, not so long ago, mind you, I had some of those old bell guards. They had a rounder shape, were a little longer, and were heavy as hell. I still have some around, though I don't use them. I never broke one of these, never dented them. I could beat them with a hammer they would not have moved an inch.



These new ones break easily, compared to the old ones. Usually they will break at the junction of the plate that reinforces the hole for the tang and the rest of the body. They also get dented quite a bit, and some directors have started carding people who come on the strip with a bellguard that's too dented (I don't know if that's an abuse of the rules or not). Of course, you can beat them back somewhat into shape.



With all that said, I still prefer the new bellguards, because they are lighter. The material they are made in is definitely less resistant, but it's a tradeoff I am willing to make to have a lighter, better balanced weapon. And even though these bellguards break more than the old ones, it's not like you're going to change them every month anyway...

this guard is made out of a light weight aluminum. i have been using them for over a year now, with out any complaints. i have not had any major dents that could not be fixed, and they are still doing good after a year of semi-hard use.