Blade Practice Fleche Foil Blade

First, let's be clear that this is not my "main blade." I use it to give my more valuable blades a break sometimes. Though I have seen some slight quality variation, I would say that the balance of this blade is not too bad. One does have to watch out for bad bends but I've been able to straighten these out to an acceptable degree. Based on experiences (1 blade broke after maybe 8 months, another has lasted a bit longer and is still with me), I would expect  this blade to last at least 1 fencing season. Of course, I would temper this expectation somewhat if the blade was in constant use as a primary weapon. With other non-FIE blades I've checked out, either they are extremely whippy-- like my point could be anywhere whippy-- and/or they develop bends and kinks that don't come out which leads to faster breakage.

I agree with some other reviewers that for $30 this blade is an excellent value for what I get out of it-- a practice weapon that has a satisfactory feel not too removed from my "real" weapons. Moreover, this blade is resilient enough that I can expect it to last at least a fencing season and I am able to get it to maintain a decent curve albeit with minor kinks.