Looking for Chainmail

A

aman8989

Newbie
Hey,

So I larped for a few years in college and am looking to get back into the game. I've decided to buy myself some chainmail and pauldrons (with gorget) and I had a few questions. I'm a tad small (5'6) and average weight, if that makes a difference.
First off, where's a good place to go for medieval/larp armor? Good deals are fantastic, but I'd be willing to pay a bit more for good quality.
Any suggestions on exactly what to get? When it comes to these items is there a big tradeoff between something that looks really cool and mobility? I'm especially wondering about the pauldrons. At the end of the day mobility matters more to me.
Should I bother finding/buying something to wear underneath it all, or just go with a plain shirt (or so)?
Also, any thoughts on where to get and/or how to make a tabard or something to wear over the chainmail? I'm looking for something simple, I don't want to embellish it too much before I've really fleshed out my character... which usually takes a while.
Any other advice on throwing together a costume is also welcome.
Thank you!
 
Ringmesh.com has very good quality micromesh chainmail. Its 2 point armor rather than 3 but is 1/5 the weight of 3 pt armor. All you need to wear under it is a tshirt. For pauldrons and a gorget, medievalcollectibles.com has some really nice stuff reasonably priced. The biggest thing to keep in mind is that; though your armor may look really cool, are you gonna want to wear it for 2 days in 80 degree weather?. Mobility and comfort are very important.

Also a micromesh shirt with short sleeves is ideal for any character. With the free armor bonuses its essentially 20 points of armor.
 
I'll second the Ringmesh stuff- the warrior I played wore one of those shirts for years. Never lost a ring, light and easy to wear.

You can also look up places that sell "safety mesh" armor for butchers and the like.
 
The only thing is that the ringmesh is *only* 2 points per location.

If you end up buying enough ringmesh to cover all locations (long sleeve shirt, coif, leggings), the max armor points is 24 (+6 for mastercraft/in period), for a total of 30.
 
I'd never wear a full suit of ringmesh just because it would look cheesy :p

I'd take the short sleeve mesh shirt, mix in some plate pieces instead of adding more mesh (like the OP said he was going to do) and you can easily pull off a 35+ suit
 
There's an Alliance player who makes awesome leather stuff, Warlordscrusade.com

I have a pouch from him, and have worked ren faires wearing his stuff, walking around to drum up interest. If I ever play a fighter, I'll be wearing his stuff... even ring mesh gives me a backache after a few hours... I'm such a girl sometimes.
 
Dom said:
I'd never wear a full suit of ringmesh just because it would look cheesy :p

I'd take the short sleeve mesh shirt, mix in some plate pieces instead of adding more mesh (like the OP said he was going to do) and you can easily pull off a 35+ suit
Click to expand...

*nods* That's actually a very good way to do it- plate shoulders/arms/helm/upper legs and such is the way I'd upgrade. Personally, I hit that point where being able to get out of the way > taking a hit on armor most times (good ol "dodge or drop" attacks and spells)...but I felt like a twit being a front-line fighter that didn't have anything but body points between me and going down in a battle. Thus, ringmesh shirt FTW.
 
Anybody who's bought the micromesh have any opinions on how noisy it is? If you're running around with a shirt on is it loud? silent? I'm considering picking up a shirt after reading about how easy to conceal and light the stuff is.
 
It's really quiet, especially if you layer it between two cloth items. Do that, and most people won't know you're wearing it unless you show it to them.
 
Excellent, that stuff sounds too good to be true!
 
i love my micro mesh, its so good. and it is really very quiet. ive not had any problems sneakin around. or can hear others when they are wearing it.
 
TardiS said:
Anybody who's bought the micromesh have any opinions on how noisy it is? If you're running around with a shirt on is it loud? silent? I'm considering picking up a shirt after reading about how easy to conceal and light the stuff is.
Click to expand...

As my dark elf, wearing my micromesh, I was able to sneak up on a group of 5 lizards and take them all out with waylay if that means anything
 
Hey, thanks again for all the help!

I decided to go with a ringmesh shirt, only to find it was too small when it arrived :/
I have one last question before exchanging it: I'm thinking of getting a long-sleeved ringmesh shirt instead of short-sleeved, how well do you guys think the sleeves would work with leather bracers? Would the bracers fit over the ringmesh snugly or would it get cumbersome at all? Any suggestions from experience?

Thanks!
 
I think that would primarily depend on the bracers you use and how much "wiggle room" you have as far as size goes.

A secondary consideration would be the sleeves. Is it a 1/4 sleeve, 1/2 sleeve, full arm sleeve? And if so, how far down your arm does it actually go?

Likely hard to answer without specifics or even seeing it.
 
If too long, you can always take wire clippers to them & tailor to you.
 
I personally wouldn't do long sleeve chain mail under bracers. That will get uncomfortable quick.
 
Agreed with Dom. The sleeves are pretty loose, so you'd have to bunch them up to put the bracers over, or wear the bracers under the chain mail. Go for short(er) sleeves.
 
I preferred getting mine sized a bit larger- because I knew I'd be wearing clothing over/under the stuff. Skin-tight micromesh isn't all that grand for you in any case, right? And with a layer of proper padding under it, the stuff's dead quiet. I played someone who needed to be sneaky on occasion and never had a worry wearing it under something darker for concealment.
 
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