armour questions

alright. so ive been looking for a nice set of chainmail for a pretty cheap price... i have come across one eyestriking deal. 99.99 for a 16 gauge chainmail shirt and chainmail coif. i would like to know from someone who has chainmail or knows something about it, if this is a good deal for me. thank you for any help

Dear "Person I don't know because I see no name or signature",

Do you have more details other than the gauge & price?  Or what would be even better is a link to where you found the chain mail along with pictures. Generally, chain mail easily runs over $100 USD, unless it's something small.  A coif & shift for $100 could be a good deal... if the size & quality look right.  Again, you left too little details & such an opinion cannot be made.

Hello,

 I've seen many of our players wear chainmail. It's not cheap, but for $100 its not bad either. It's a good investment if you plan on swinging by.

I spotted this too. Maybe this is the place you checked it out. They have a chainmail shirt and coif too for about $117.

www.realarmorofgod.com/

Anyways, good luck.
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Greetings'

A link would be most helpful. 16ga can go either way depending on the ring size, mesh pattern, and materials. While $99 is a great price for a shirt and coif set, it could come back to bite you if the material is shoddy and not designed to stand up to combat. I have bought cheap chain before and literally tore it in half during the course of a normal larp event.

One big thing to look for with cheap chain is that it is often made using rings cut with a diagonal cutter, which crimps the wire as it cuts. This leads to the ends of the butted rings looking like this: >< As opposed to saw-cut rings, which look more like this: ][

This type of cut means that the rings will pull apart MUCH easier, and can scratch you up pretty badly while wearing it (If you opt for the coif, wear an arming cap). More importantly, diagonaly-cut rings have a greater chance of tearing a weapon if you slash across it. Someone might not care if you got a good deal on your chain if you just ruined their $200 custom sword.

See if you can get a little more information from the vendor. It could very well be a great find, but it's better to know before you purchase it.

also you should consider the weight aspect... I recently got an inexpensive set of chain mail... The shirt and coif weighed over 50 additional pounds... The added weight made it almost impossible to move around, and in the summer weather does present the problem of the wearer overheating.  The main time that you'll need additional armor is in fact main mod, and by then i can almost guarantee you'll be physically tired, and sore. The added weight felt like i was dragging the whole Dragon's Claw Inn.  Most of the less expensive ones are shipped in an oily protective substance, that is a PAIN to remove... If not removed completely, can damage most types of garb beyond repair.

Usually, you get what you pay for... The armor i got, started to rust after just one main mod (6hrs) of being worn. I am now expecting my micromesh chain maille, which if i had NOT gotten the less expensive kind, would have been easier to swing financially. If you plan to play often, spending a little more initially, saves you cash in the long run.

just my $0.02