Gambeson / Arming Jacket question

[PatternWeld]

I'm looking to get an arming jacket for my wife. 14th century grand aisette style, similar to the Charles Du Bois.

A lot of different vendors carry what looks to be the same product from Westland Crafts

Is there any difference in between the ones Icefalcon carries for $250, the ones revival carries for $130 and the one carried by Kult of Athena for $90 ?

[Edward Lee]

Revival clothing has one for $130? I though it's $230. The one from KoA is made in India that's why it's cheap compare to the other two. Have you seen the one made by armstreet? It's velvet and looks really good. http://armstreet.com/store/armor/knight ... -pourpoint

[jamesedgarson]

Well, I can only speak from what I know...and I own a Revival Clothing Gambeson..it was the $130 model, believe they called it their `model A`gambeson...very durable....fits well,...little heavy for Pennsic..and I do believe it was made in Pakistan...however I will have to confirm on that last part, will check the tag in the back.

I have often wondered the difference between the different vendors products...and I am very much willing to test all three in battle...so if IceFalcon, Kult of Athena and Revival Clothing are willing to give me of their gambesons each, I am willing to fight in them for a few years and then give results on the archive.

Yup,...that`s just the selfless kinda guy I am

[brucer]

I think you are equating the jackets from Revival.us - $130
http://revival.us/14thcgambesonitalianzuparello.aspx

And revivalclothing.com- $350
http://www.revivalclothing.com/14thcent ... beson.aspx

I have one of the Revival.us, and it's decent for the money, but depending on your body shape it may or may not fit you. I believe these are imports and you get the usual issues with indian body sizing vs. US body sizing.

I've seen the Revival Clothing one and owned their products in the past- worth the money, but it is more money. They are made here in the USA, all my experiences with them have been positive and the quality is excellent.

There are several other providers out there. Kult of Athena has an arming cote in Black or Natural for $90:
http://www.kultofathena.com/product.asp ... on+-+Black+
http://www.kultofathena.com/product.asp ... +-+Natural+

These are also imports, and they can vary in quality and padding thickness. But they are an excellent price and a decent start.

IceFalcon sells what looks to be a similar imported product, but he has a much wider variety of color and also sells them in different padding thicknesses:
http://store.fastcommerce.com/icefalcon ... 185-c.html

They look very simiar to the KoA product and other import products I've seen, but without handling them I can't say for sure. And he does charge a premium price ($250) but I've seen him offer them for sale multiple times here on the AA for $150. His customer service is also said to be excellent, I've never heard a bad thing about him on the AA or anywhere else in the service area.

There are several other folks out there selling gambesons at decent prices in the Ukraine including Jolly Knight,
http://jollyknight.com.ua/armoury/index ... 347e247567 (I have bought helmet liners from him and been very satisfied- and his gambeson prices look awesome, although I have not yet purchased on from him)

Forge of Svan also has very attractive prices, although I have no personal experience purchasing from him yet. I am sure there are many others out there in the Ukraine region doing excellent work as well.

There are several other custom producers. Jessica Finley of Fuhlen Design will do a custom gambeson/fencing jacket/arming cote for about $400, depending on what you want, and it will be done to YOUR measurements. But she does have a long queue, and for good reason. but she has a great reputation and is US based.

That's just a short list, YMMV, but these are folks I have experience with or people in my club have experience with.

Brucer

[PatternWeld]

Thank you Brucer!

[broadswordx]

check out my review of Jolly Knight, I will have my hands on them soon but so far I'm very happy with the customer service and you can customize them for your needs.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=172878

[bigfredb]

Save up your pennies and get one of these http://gambesons.com/product/standard-gambeson

[Klaus the Red]

The common denominator to nearly all your off-the-peg options is that none of them come with sleeves that fit closely enough to be really comfortable under cased arm harness. It's likewise very hard to get one that fits your hips as intended for suspension of leg harness, and that moves in the upper body without interfering with said suspension. In other words, they all look like the grand asiette design, but don't really behave like it. Your needs really depend on what your lady intends to do with her armor. Is she hanging legs off the coat, or wearing a belt? Floating arms or full upper and lower cannons? Coat-of-plates, kidney belt, or fitted cuirass? These all need to be factored into the system.

My professional opinion. I specialize in making grand asiette arming coats myself. My queue is kind of a boondoggle right now, but negotiations are free- PM me if interested.

[bigfredb]

Gambesons.com makes them to custom measurements. And can be made to be comfortable under cased hardware.

[leekellerking]

I have owned both the Ice Falcon and Revival US jackets (I currently fight in the later).

The Ice Falcon jacket seemed to be of higher quality, but not $130 better (I got mine 2nd hand). I traded it for the zupparello from Murdoch because it was too small. Of course the zup is too large, but it works.

Oh, and I've seen Svan's work and it was good, too.

[Hamish Nisbet]

I have owned revial.us ones, which i liked, an ice falcon one, which was nice, but too long in the arms. Both are solid choices, the GDFB ones that several companies ones are hit and miss, tired on ones i liked and ones i hate the fit, same style same size.

Murdock at Revival.us, does have a new style being worked on closer to a Charles du Bois fit,with lacing points.

[PatternWeld]

Thank you Lee & Hamish.

I'm going to give the KOA jacket a go and if the sleeves are longish I'll have it altered. I'd have purchased one from Murdoch but since he's too busy to answer emails sent to his business email, that tells me he doesn't need/want my business.

[Knight Sir James]

I'm going to give the KOA jacket a go and if the sleeves are longish I'll have it altered.

Interested in how it turns out. I have a Revival Clothing arming coat, which I'm happy with (but is unpadded) and a Revival Clothing gambeson as well. Haven't used the gamby much yet, but my arming coat has a few years on it and an alternate would be nice. $90 vs $250 has my attention....

[Duke Icefalcon]

We run sales on our in stock cotes and most of the time sell them for $150. In fact, I think I will run a sale now and you can do your comparing... $100 off all in stock arming cotes. Just mention it when you order. http://store.fastcommerce.com/icefalcon ... 185-c.html