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Recommended Equipment

A small amount of club equipment is available to new students during class. However, we find that as students become more experienced in HEMA they often wish to purchase their own gear.

When you're ready to buy equipment we recommend you first purchase a mask, sword (synthetic or steel) and gloves, in that order.

When you progress towards freeplay and bouting, especially with steel swords, you will likely wish to supplement your gear with additional protective equipment. The mimumum set of equipment we recommend for steel sword bouting is a pair of HEMA specific gloves, mask with an overlay or back of head protector, and a gambeson. Further optional protective equipment is also available.

The items listed below have been tried and recommended by our members. The prices below should be taken as a guide and do not include shipping.

Please note many of these items are manufactured overseas and shipping can be costly. Before placing an order it is recommended that you speak to other Victorian HEMA practitioners to see if a group order is possible. Requests for orders on the Fechtschule Victoria or WMAA Facebook groups often quickly draw a crowd. Please speak to James, Ken or other senior club members if you would like assistance in organising a group order.

Initial equipment;

Masks

There are many masks suitable for use in HEMA and we do not recommend any specific products. Any FIE 1 or 2 mask should provide adequate protection.

Products to consider:

Darkwood Amory fencing mask (USD$60).

Absolute Force integrated HEMA protective helmet with back of head protector (USD$110)

Swords

Most people new to HEMA in Victoria will commence their practice using synthetic longswords, also known as 'wasters'. This is due to legal restrictions on the use of steel swords, the comparative cost of steel weapons and the comfort level of participants. We encourage students to try using steel once they feel comfortable and some spare weapons will be made available for this purpose during drills. We find that steel swords offer an increased precision and responsiveness, which are generally prefered by students and most wish to progress to using steel once they have mastered the basics.

Recommended products (synthetic swords):

Blank Fencer synthetic range (~AUD$120, preferred choice). Please speak to James or Ken before ordering.

Pentti type III 50" longsword or synthetic federscwhert (both USD$115).

WMA Shop synthetic longsword (AUD$250).

Rawlings synthetic longsword (USD$84, sufficient but not generally recommended).

Recommended armouries (steel swords):

(Please note: When choosing a steel sword for training and bouting, we recommend students purchase a federscwhert ,training sword, due to both historial accuracy and the added protection provided by the schilt, wider edge and blunted tip.)

(amongst others).

Gloves

Light gloves, such as lacrosse, fencing or motorcycle gloves, can be used during drills. However, these options are unlikely to be sufficient for bouting, especially when using steel.

Lacrosse gloves (~AUD$50-$150) can be purchased from Players Edge Sports (384 Warrigal Rd, Ashburton, ph 1300 57 27 33) or many online retailers.

HEMA specific gloves are recommended for any freeplay, especially where steel swords are used. These gloves are available in either fully enclosed or five-finger models and some are made to custom measurements. Please note, some tournaments may restrict the use of metal gloves.

Recommended products (HEMA specific gloves);

Red Dragon weapon sparring gloves (£41.67, five-finger style, no custom sizing, sufficient for synthetic sparring, some members are comfortable using these gloves in steel sparring, but we would generally not recommend them for this purpose).

SPES Historical Fencing heavy glove v.1.0 (121.54€, mitten style, no custom sizing)

Sparring glove (150-180€, mitten or 'hoofed' style, custom sizing only)

Comfort Fencing gaunlets (200USD or 165€, five-finger style, custom sizing only, metal parts). Email comfortfencing@gmail.com for enquiries.

Black Lance Technologies (no longer in production).