Good initial impressions review Matt. I would be interested in a follow-up after you have put them through their paces. edit to add: Do these have a Newton rating? Seems these days all manufacturers aught to include this for serious consideration/comparison.
The heavy one looks a lot like The SPES AP, the way it is cut, plus the extra thing for the mask to go in. Looks nice! If u dont want to use it with bib underneath, just close it tight under the Mask bib, u then essencially got a "normal" throat protection, or am i wrong?
Always eat more pie. Does the light version allow for the addition of solid couters or other elbow protection? Taking a sidesword cut on the elbow just... sucks. Padded or no.
Have you ever tried using waist belts for any of the jackets? Does it make it better/worse? Maybe the padding is too stiff. I've never used a traning jacket I'd imagine a waist belt making ot more comfortable and sitting tighter to your body.
A lot of HEMA jackets are a bit too short to effectively use a belt, but if you have a jacket that is long enough and struggle with the bottom bit feeling "loose" then sure, a belt is an excellent solution. Just make sure your belt of choice can survive a swing from a blunt sword.
Mail are protection against edge weapon, not feder, or any edged weapon simulator for that matter. I guess mail would work to a certain degree. But for the cushioning against blunt metal hitting you over and over, padded armor is still required. So we're kind of back to the point of why bother, just wear a jacket that's dedicated to HEMA sparring like regular people.
Mail protects against cuts and thrusts so its pointless when fighting with blunt weapons. Mail gives no protection against impact *however* ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-AkrSnSCgfmM.html
lukutiss1324 With a Gambeson under - cause you will need it-, sure you're way OK but it's quite "overkill" against blunt edge weapons IMO + prepare your bottles of water compared to the kinds of jacket Matt presents us IMHO though you still need some :)
Are there any reviews of good HEMA bags? The red dragon MK2 says it should hold sword, forearm, shin, elbow, and gloves too, but I dont see any pics of it doing that so I'm hesitant to buy without seeing what it can actually hold.
I wonder if HEMA jackets would be good winter jackets. It's hot where I live, but maybe in the winter it could be good. No pockets though. Are they good against rain?
They'd work in a pinch, but they're designed to be as cool as possible given how bulky they are, the exact opposite of what you want in a winter jacket.
I've worn mine to and from training during winter. It worked, but a normal winter jacket is much better. While my torso was hot enough, the jackets sleeves was a bit too thin, with a normal jacket I can have a sweater inside to give me an extra layer for the arms. I haven't tested it in rain.
Has anyone tried this gambeson for longsword sparring ? I suppose for light sparring is perfect , but I am not so sure about tournament level.. Has anyone ever tried it in sparring ?
Would the heavy jacket be ok for steel feder sparring or would I have to upgrade when I buy a feder. Still on the synthetic sword at the min, buying bits here and there when I can afford.. money is an issue...
What do you think about these jackets versus the Black Armoury jacket you reviewed last year? I'm specifically looking for longsword purposes, but any comparisons would be great.
What do you think of the idea of making masks with no bib and creating jackets or gorgets with more detailed neck protection? So for example a high collared jacket (I think Gajardoni made one that you reviewed?) Perhaps with a low profile gorget underneath snd then you have a bibless mask, allowing the jacket collar/gorget to take over neck protection without the bib getting in the way and making it less comfortable as well as (I hypothesize at least) increasing mobility of your head as you don't have a bib jamming into your chest or your gorget/jacket bulk making it easier to turn your head up, down, left, or right.
oh, they definitely hit harder and are stiffer. its just in our "club" we dont require jackets for RD swords, but anything more requires a jacket. i just dont wanna spend more money on a jacket than what i need to.
Hey Matt! I was wondering how combat in a late medieval or renaissance-era pitched battle might differ from the HEMA combat that we practice today, considering most of the treatises that HEMA is derived from are based on one-on-one duel situations. Are they the same? Or do many of the "rules" go out the window once a battle ensues?
Dill Pick Well there aren't many "rules" outlined in the fencing treatises, other than various masters such as Hutton for example saying you shouldn't use some of the more brutal cuts like the "Italian strike" in a fencing school setting against your training partner. Modern rules in modern competitions exist to make the competitiors more safe, in the same way that MMA doesn't allow eye gouging or groin shots, even though both would be valid in a street fight. Back during the period Fiore mentions tons of nasty things such as dislocations, bone breaks, flying teeth from a pommel strike groin and knee kicks and other things that would definitely never be allowed in modern HEMA competition but was very much a part of historical HEMA. As far as rules back then, in Battles, in which I doubt you would be using a sword in the first place, I'm pretty sure almost anything went however it wasn't usually in formation where the majority of people died, it was in fleeing. In something closer to the style of combat we're trying to emulate, unarmored dueling, an official judicial duel would likely have some rules which I would imagine you would incur the wrath of the organizers because you cheated by using something that was permitted to kill your opponent, like a simple magical charm or something who had you, which skewed God's result. I would imagine disobeying the rules in that context could result in death
It was indeed, for their launch, so that the customers could see the video first through their advertising. But thanks for reminding me to make it public now.
We don't really duel in the historical sense. We train, spar and compete. And about armour: Some train in/with armour if they can afford the armour (it's really expensive) and if they are interested in the treatises covering armoured fighting.
For what it's worth, I've been doing HEMA very regulary for two years now and my first (and current) jacket is a proper Gambeson (no armpit holes like you get in some) and I've never had any problems with it and I've done Broadsword (my main weapon of choice), Messer, Sword and Buckler and even Montante
Hermes those are okay but i find that they do more to prevent you from being cut than bruised, they help but the modern gambeson will keep you from looking like you do naked paintball
In the early days of HEMA that's all we pretty much had and that's what everyone wore. Now there are no tournaments that allow them because the standards have increased for safety. Modern HEMA jackets must be at least 350N for puncture resistance (some are now 800N) and the padding in HEMA jackets is typically more rigid to protect better against blows.
Hey, Matt! Don't mean to nitpick but could you maybe invest a bit on the acoustics of the room you record in mostly? Something to soften the echo a bit would be nice, it's been jarring me a bit since I started watching your videos. Curtains or a few blocks of styrofoam behind the camera should do the trick. Love your videos and carry on the good work. Cheers!
Throat protection seems still quite messy. There are bits on masks, bits on jackets and gorgets. I feel like it will take the three designed together to provide a good coverage for the back of the head, the side of the neck... all while avoiding any constriction. Start with a suspension system and risk stepping away from sport fencting gear production methods.
That jacket doesn't look better than most of the stuff that is on the market and that gorget-thing seems outright dangerous! I must say, these Red Dragon products which are promoted on this channel, were rather shitty so far. After lots of expensive disappointments from all kinds of producers, I will only go with custom-sized orders and items that are directly based on historical designs (e.g. maximilian gorget for neck protection) from now on.
I suppose it's a bit of a compromise, yes, in an ideal world I would go for something that was bespoke but I doubt I can afford it, especially as I am just beginning HEMA and I do trust Matt's opinion on this stuff since I have only seen good informative knowledge on his site.
Gorjay? Gorget. It is funny to hear people say gorjay when it is gorgette in french. Enough people say gor jay these days that the dictionary people will need to change the gorget entry.
"...about 13 stone." I'm American. We haven't standardized our rocks all to one size yet. What's that in a real measurement system? Yes, I can go Google it, but I wanted to irritate some red coats today, and I don't have any tea to throw into a harbor, or ice down.
