How to choose equipment for medieval combat?

On our website you can buy equipment for full contact medieval combat as regulated by IMCF, HMB, SCA, and ACL. We offer a wide range of the materials for your armor: mild steel, hardened steel, stainless steel, and titanium.

Well fitted steel armor plays a major role in the protection of your body during a tournament, but it’s not the only thing between you and a sword or polearm. There should also be padding under your armor. So, a quilted gambeson and stockings are the first outfit you’ll need to start your training. 
The main purpose of gambeson is cushioning, but it should not be too thick. Otherwise, overheating and bad mobility will take you down before your opponent does. This is why our gambesons and stockings two layers of batting; you’ll be protected, but not limited. The main goal of padding in HMB/IMCF/WMFC etc. is to absorb and disperse the impact of the hit.  For those of you seeking even greater mobility and resistance to overheating, we offer the option of single layer padding. One layer sheet wadding gambesons are permitted by the rules & regulations of HMB/IMCF/WMFC etc. If you don’t have padding yet, you can order one of these sets: Padded Arming Set, Gobelin Padded Set, Padded Set Type-2, Vertically Quilted Padded Set.

Or choose the type of quilting and colors of stockings and gambeson according to your taste from our catalog.

In regard to choosing your armor, you need to be aware of some key factors in your decision. We at Forge of Svan pay careful attention to each of them when crafting our wares. Ask yourself the questions below:
– What type of medieval combat would you like to take part in: mass battles or 1 vs 1 tournaments?
– What armors do you like: white armor (plain steel) or brigandine type armor?
– How much are you willing to spend on it?

The official rules of HMB and IMCF allow use of 1.0mm tempered steel armor which will fully protect you in full contact medieval combat. Some fighters even use 0.8mm tempered steel armor for certain armor elements in order to minimize the total weight of their armor.

You can mix different materials in your armor kit. Some parts can be made from mild steel or tempered steel and still others from titanium. For example, it’s self-evident that you’ll hold the additional weight of shield and sword (or another weapon of your choice). Accordingly, you might want your arm armor crafted from lightweight material (such as titanium). On the other hand, your leg armor might be made from 1.5mm mild or tempered steel because this weight will be balanced primarily on the waist and hips.

Small wonder that much of the advantage belongs to titanium. It’s a very light and durable material. Titanium is 40% lighter than the equivalent thickness in steel. What’s more, no worries about rust. This space-age material doesn’t corrode after contact with water and sweat.

You are welcome to choose the armor in one of the standard sizes or provide your measurements for custom sized armor. Our measuring diagram will help you take the correct measurements.

And what about the helmet?

The same range of materials are available as options: mild steel, tempered steel, stainless steel, and titanium.

If you’re not sure about what thickness and material to opt for, we recommend the 2.0mm tempered steel option. It’s a great choice in terms of price, weight and protective qualities. However, 2.5mm thick helmets are really good for the heavy buhurt.
When you choose the option “with liner” for your helmet, your “bare” head measurements will be taken into account. Your future helmet will be designed to include the thickness of padding and fit your personal measurements. If a helmet is ordered without a padded liner or coif – you’ll be asked to provide your measures with your own padding. The required head measurement is the head circumference above the eyebrows.

A bit of extra advice when choosing the armor: don’t ignore foot protection. Sabatons are an essential piece of equipment in such an exciting sport as medieval full contact fighting.

Below you’ll find a list of armor we recommend you start with.

Helmet:

• Bascinet Pigface
• Bascinet Griffon
• Bascinet Nasal

Body armor:

• Churburg Style Brigandine
• Corazzina type-2
• Corazzina type-3
• Brigandine Kusnacht

Arms:

• Steel Arms
• Brigandine arms
• Arms Churburg
• Brigandine Arms with Splinted Segments
• French Arm Armor

Spaulders:

• Segmental Spaulders
• Spaulders Simple
• Spaulders Cups

Hands:

• Covered Gloves
• Mitten Gauntlets

Legs:

• Basic Steel Legs Set
• Legharness Profight Set
• Brigandine Legs with Splinted Segments
• Churburg Style Legs Set

Feet:

• Basic Sabatons
• Sabatons Charles VI
• Sabatons XIV century