Allstar "Athens" FIE Fencing Jacket

this jacket starts out a little stiff though it becomes more comfortable after fencing in it a bit. made of high quality fabric and protects pretty well though it does get a little hot

Have 2 of these. One\'s about 5 years old, the other is slightly newer. The ohter FIE jacket I have is the PBT. Fitting wise, nothing beats the Allstar. They are durable and not necessarily expensive. I train with them atleast 5 times a week and they are nowhere near to giving way. If you\'re looking for your first FIE jacket, this will indeed serve you very well. Some may find it a tad heavy, other than that I can\'t possibly see any other problems with it.

This jacket isn't actually mine, its a school jacket that I'm borrowing. It was purchased in 2003, and it is still in top notch condition. The zipper is tough and easy to use. However, it gets quite warm quite quickly in this jacket, but I can live with that. The value isn't so great as Allstar's shipping to NZ is evil. There is a panel on the back that feels kind of stretchy, but is actually there to absorb sweat, which it does a GREAT job of.



I had fencing tonight, fenced alot of hard bouts and I sweat like a pig. Afterwards my lame felt perfectly dry, as did the sleeves of this jacket, and the back panel was soaked (the lame in that area WAS NOT soaked).



The downsides are it's cost (not so bad if you live in say, Europe, of course!) and the heat factor. I've been wearing it without a plastron, and it STILL gets hot. About 3 minutes after I put the thing on.. The protection factor isn't so great, but FIE is supposed to stop puncturing, not bruises, so it's doing its job.



I think if it had a bit more padding on the torso and was lighter (contradictory I know) I would LOVE this jacket.

I have this jacket and wear it at least twice a week and wash it everytime I use it. After more than 2 years of use and abuse it is still in top notch shape. It has not lost its fit or durability.



Granted these jackets cost a little more but they are worth it!

This jacket looks great and feels great, I agree that when you first put it on its a little stiff but when you get going its fine. The zipper couldn't be more bulletproof. It's deffinatly Stylin compaired to my old BG jacket which got too big after i lost some weight from fencing all the time.

It's really comfortable, it fits exactly like it says in the size chart. The fabric is kinda stiff when I just put it on, but after it's warmed up it's great.