leather armor; latex weapons.

I don't know about the whole maintenance thing.  I had the same "regular" latex swords for 5 years before they needed any repairs, and the first 3 years of that they were seeing heavy use with two larps a month.  It comes down to anything else - you get what you pay for, but I still prefer latex over the sculpted foam.

Also, check for sales.  By The Sword has sales regularly, if you sign up for their newsletter.  I got my leather armor from them, they will custom make it to your size if you need it.

For weapons I really like www.darkknightarmor.com .  They've got good prices and get things shipped out quickly

My son makes custom leather armor  Check FaceBppk for Snappingturtlearmoury.

On the Latex weapons  I have probably bought two dozen over the last couple of years ,, The adage "You get what you pay for" is exactly that

I have some V G weapons made by Calimacil  about eight of them  Almost indestructible.

I have some Iron Liege  Beautiful but subject to compression dents if not stored correctly 

I also have several from the WarLord series  They are the most fragile  and need silicone sprayed upon them every other month.

I have some from EdHellen  They are on the hard side and people complain

The maces  are from DarkNight Armoury  and hold up well

Ya gets what ya pays fur I guess