Buying Gear

We provide gear for all of our beginner classes, and will help support a fencers transition to purchasing their own gear, so long as our new beginners have enough. We also provide loaner electric equipment on Friday Nights for anyone that needs to borrow.

General Advice:

When ordering electric point weapons (epee and foil) it has been recommended to me by many an armorer that you should opt for German points. I personally prefer the V2 or Extra German barrels because they don't get dented as easily. All German points are easier to maintain and break far less frequently than the French points and barrels.

Cotton vs Nylon; There are two types of basic gear, cotton and nylon (nylon can be called deluxe, stretchy, or even just nylon). They both offer the same amount of protection for the fencer. The difference is in the comfort, durability, cleanability, and price of the two types. Cotton is cheaper usually. Nylon is much more comfortable to wear because it is lighter and more breathable. Nylon is more durable because it can tolerate moisture better and does not degrade as quickly from washings. Nylon is easier to clean because it dries much much faster. When you wash your equipment, it should be hung dry. Nylon will dry overnight and be ready for use in the morning. Cotton will need 24-48 hours of hang time before it is ready for use or storage. I highly recommend going with nylon gear for everyone.

Equipment Lists:

People leaving the beginner classes should get at least:

• electric mask (foil has bib, saber fully conductive)
• jacket
• glove (FIE glove needed for Saber Competitors, non-FIE ok for practice)
• plastron (underarm protector)
• plastic chest protector with foam layer (optional for males, mandatory for females)
• practice weapon (if you are taking the foil drilling classes you should have a dry [non-electric] weapon and consider getting an electric weapon as well for open bouting. Saber people should only buy electric sabers)

Optional equipment that you can borrow from the club:

• electric weapons
• body cords
• mask cords
• lames

It is nice to have your own sets of the optional equipment, but we do have stuff to lend. Please keep in mind that our supplies are limited, and they work on a first come first serve basis with new beginners getting preference.

People planning on going to competitions should have:

• electric mask (foil has bib, saber fully conductive, epee nothing conductive)
• jacket
• glove (FIE glove needed for Saber Competitors)
• plastron (underarm protector)
• plastic chest protector with foam layer (optional for males, mandatory for females)
• knickers
• two working weapons
• two working body cords
• two working mask cords (foil or saber only)
• lame (foil or saber only)

Where to purchase:

This is not an all encompassing list of vendors. You can likely find some more with a little googlefu. You can also find used stuff on ebay, craigslist, or the trade forums on fencing.net. With all that being said here is a list of vendors and my experience with them:

We work with Absolute Fencing frequently for club gear. They have some great deals and ship super fast. If you order it during the week, it is usually at your door the next day. http://www. absolutefencinggear.com/ shopping/shop.php/cPath/62

Blue Gauntlet has high quality stuff and decent prices. http://www.blue-gauntlet.com/ Foil-Fencing-SETs_c_298.html .

I occasionally like the deals that blade fencing out of NYC runs (especially their two weapons and two body cords deals and the deluxe foil or saber sets) Blade Fencing Equipment.

If you want some things that are a little more personalized you could try triplette who will custom tailor fencing uniforms for a reasonable price http://www.triplette.com/ catalog.php?category=32 .

The fencing post has some nice deals. I personally have never ordered from them, but my mom has for some xmas gifts and she really liked the customer service when she had trouble selecting gear. http://stores.thefencingpost.com/ 

And for those looking for top of the line gear we have Leon Paul. All my epee’s in the future will be Leon Paul FIE blades because the quality and life span of the blade is unbeatable! Also the ‘x-change’ masks they have are used by almost every top level fencer. https://www.leonpaulusa.com/x-change-fie-contour-foil-mask-17.html

I have seen a few vendors on Amazon as well. I have yet to buy anything from them, but I will give the body cords a test for the club and update this post with the results. Amazon.com