The BEST HEMA fencing mask? Arming Guild's Rearguard V2 

Luckily I have a good friend and fencing Partner who is an Engineer in Air and Aerospace. He is a kind of a Tinkerer when it comes to protective gear and so he equipped the co-fencers, who wanted it, with a mould on Backplate for our Masks and even a multipiece breastplate for under the Jacket, that slide together when shoulders and breastmuscle movement requires it. I am always amazed how he works with this composite material of a kind of plastic and other polymeric stuff left over from airplane sculpting and construction. And the Headpiece always makes some strikes to the head loud put not risky for neck and skull anymore.

Never seen much videos about fencing masks, but I'm happy to learn about them

What I learned from this: Matt has a sensitive scalp.

Hi Matt, great review! Seems we agree on pretty much everything (I even got a rivit popping out as well in transport^^). I just noticed on additional thing: The rubber bands have a lot more friction than the previous steel bands, leading to my head bumping a bit more than necessary on strikes. Cheers! :)

Looking like a crazy ass priest in the thumbnail with all the weapons in the background and the white on your collar

Better protection - less accidents/incidents - this can only be a good thing. :-) Sounds like, once the minor issues get ironed out, that this could be the perfect mask for fencers.

Regarding the back of head, i put sewn in a shoe tie to the slimmer end of the back of head and attach it with the 2 holes on the back, its work and doesn't wall off mid sparring so far. the BIGGEST plus i had with the mask was headshots don't ring or shock my head, having my head not hurting or my ears ringing after a sparring session is a amazing thing.

I just saw the viking era weapons video, and, first, it´s awesome to have a summary of real history about scandinavian era weapons, and secondly I think I saw somethign like a halberd not yet confirmed in the sagas, an atgeir is called, but they think it´s like a halberd I think? they describe it capable of cutting and piercing, like a spear, but they drastically exaggerate the cutting potential, and all the sources say they don´t know yet if it was a spear or other weapon. Love your videos and hi from spain!

I've been using that mask for a few years now and yes, exactly the same rivet came loose for me too. Completely agree with the stiffness of the neck protection and also for me, the rear protective tongue keeps falling out and my mask keeps sliding up and restricting my vision

7:13 IDK the material so .. take it with a gain of salt but, try washing the liner with fabric softener a couple of times. Maybe it will soften enough to be as flexible as it needs to be.

I have the very first rearguard and can't wait for ealing to re-open!

Well balanced review.

I feel like the shishak helmet would be a good base shape to develop a HEMA mask around.

Regarding the stiffness of the liner and the roughness, have you washed the liner? Washing often removes the sizing which fabric contains when made and increases comfort without compromising the integrity of the fabric significantly.

Equipment vendors need to show proper respect for Matt's bare scalp

Good point Baldy. I am so close to taking my full head of hair and going bald. I do love the mask design. All of your points seem valid. I don't have one of them, but they do look rather well designed. There are a few other features that need to be put in, but even motorcycle helmets don't have those features. Motorcycle helmets are designed for racing, not every day use. They really block peripheral vision which is why I wear 1/2 helmets. You don't need peripheral vision on a race track, yet driving around a city, its vital. If HEMA is as I see it is, well I have acute peripheral vision and have found it rather necessary.

I've heard a lot of good things about the Castille 3 weapons mask. How do you all feel about it?

Its a great mask. However, I am short, so I cannot do certain moves in this such as thwart cutting.

What I want to know is why HEMA is still using what amounts to modern fencing masks. Something closer to historical helmets makes more sense, to me. Also, gorgets instead of bibs.

My Hema instructor got one of these, but it was too small for him and so he's trying to sell it. I tried it on but didn't like that the short stiff bib would force the mask off my chin while wearing my jacket/gorget.

Sadly the Arming Guild Website is broken and the Crowd Founding page dead and silent for a long time. I would love to buy a Rearguard V2. But what else would you recommend?

You’ve got me curious now...I want to try one of those masks.

Question: should a sword's handle be intended to be held gloved or ungloved? Many sabres look like you'd get blisters all over your hand if you tried to use them bare-handed

Just a question for those that spar, do glasses interfere with fencing masks at all?

Make the liner and back of head protection in One. So there will be no gaps

I believe that instead of using more comfortable materials for the inside, they should sell it provided with... XVII century wigs. In the interest of historical accuracy, of course.

I have one and I havent notice the issues here. Back of the head protection does need to be sorted out.

seems a helmet more in line with a bascinet or similar is a better starting point for hema things

Does this company still exist? The links to their website just return an error.

As another matt with a bald head who trains in weapon based arts that comment hit

Do you think there would be a market for a designed from scratch HEMA helmet? I'm an engineering student and have been tinkering with some ideas for a few years now but people seem so content with the fencing style mask that I never gave it serious thought as an eventual product.

The links in the video description for arming guild don't work :(

The links don´t work, is the company bankrupt?

Any thoughts on suitable replacements for regions of the world where these are very hard to get?

How does it compare to LeonPaul's Titan Hema mask now that there is a dedicated boh protector to it? Which one is a better buy assuming the price doesn't play a role.

can it stop a stab by a sharp dagger?

How is the padding at absorbing heavy blows

Спасибо за вашу работу, коммент для продвижения канала

I am sure this will get a lot of laughs and annoying comments, but I do not give a flying f*ck. So at the risk of embarrassment, what I would like to know from you Matt is: How do you keep your gear clean, so that it does not get to the point that is starts to smell like the inside of a dragon's arse? Most of this gear is hard to wash, can't be washed or you cannot really wash it effectively. I have tried wiping my gear down with alcohol or vinegar, but I cannot always do that after class and sooner or later, I invariably forget it in my bag overnight either, because I am wiped out when I get home, or I am hungry as hell and need to make something to eat when I get home or (at least before corona) because we go out for a beer or two after class. Something like that. I invariably miss cleaning my gear after every single use. You? Sweat makes your gear stink like dragon's arse. How do you avoid that? Do you religiously wipe everything down EVERY SINGLE TIME? Even if you do this, there are still cracks that sweat gets into that you can't clean. Do you have any tips on this? Are there hema dry-cleaning shops that you can throw your gear in? Do you irradiate your gear? I have had gear that I had to throw out because it stank so bad that I could not stand to wear it anymore and I just couldn't get it clean? Any tips?

which size fit best

I wouldn't call them negatives, they were more along the line of Constructive Criticism.

Is there a way to hasten breaking in of mask bibs and jackets?

What jacket are you wearing?

I ordered this mask but didn't like it at all. Returned it and got a PBT instead.

I'm sorry it's rough.

No hair, no fence!

"Scrum" cap? That word has a different meaning in some circles. lol

About polishing a turd, I cant agree more. I just dont understand why more manufacturers, or at least more than just Leon Paul (that I know of) aren't trying to make HELMETS. A proper closed helmet would have pretty much none of the safety drawbacks of masks. Naturally, nothing can be perfect, but it would be a new and different approach other than endlessly reinforcing and padding a fundementally flawed design

It sounds like what sucks is the liner.

I was going to sub to you till you referred adapting the fencers mask as "polishing a turd". That's INCREDIBLY disrespectful and no fighter or swordsman worth a damn would say such a thing. Shameful, utterly.