Equipment Guide

Introduction
Dry vs. Electric
Practice, Competition, and FIE
What to Buy?
Where to Buy?
More info for Saber & Epee

Introduction

The world of fencing equipment can be rather confusing, even to veteran fencers. The following is a rundown of the equipment and terms you will need to know to make your purchasing decisions followed by our recommendations for vendors and specific equipment choices for a variety of situations.

You should be familiar with the items on the first list from practice at the club. The foil, mask, underarm protector, chest protector, jacket, and glove form the absolute minimum amount of equipment for fencing practice. If you plan on going to a tournament, you will also need the items from the second list.

Knickers protect the legs to just below the knees. The underarm protector gives additional protection to the weapon arm. Tube socks, or fencing socks, must be worn to cover the legs up to the knees. The chest protector is required for women and optional for men. A hard plastic plate worn under the jacket, it protects the chest from bruising. Also optional for men, but recommended, is a sport cup. Fencing-specific shoes provide light weight, good balance, and proper traction for the sport. Fencing bags were developed for carrying around all of your fencing gear without blades poking out everywhere.

Dry vs. Electric

In fencing we say "Dry" when we mean equipment meant only for practice. When we refer to a "Electric", we are talking about the sport's current electrical scoring system and the extra equipment necessary to fence electrically.

Dry foils are the weapons with the orange plastic tips that you see at fencing practice. Electric foils have a spring-loaded tip and a wire that runs down the length of the blade to a socket on the inside of the guard. Dry weapons are cheaper than their electric counterparts, and, since they have fewer parts subject to wear and tear, they are good for use in day-to-day practice, thus preserving the more expensive eletric weapons for competitions.

The body cord plugs into an electric weapon and then runs down the weapon arm and across the body to the back hip where it connects to rest of the scoring apparatus.

Tournaments generally require you to have a backup for both your body cord and your electric foil--hence, the listing for two foils and two body cords.

The final piece of electric equipment is the lame. A metallic silver vest that goes over the jacket, this item determines the valid target for foil competition (there is a different lame for saber that includes the arms).

Practice, Competition, and FIE

The uniform (or "whites") come in different levels of protective resistence: practice, competition (350N), and FIE (800N). The practice items are generally cotton and provide the basic level of protection for the sport. As their name suggests they are only used for practice conditions.

Competition (350N) and FIE (800N) offer greater amounts of protection and, generally, resistance to wear and tear. The competition level will have many names, but generally you will see a rating of 350N that distinguishes this level from the others. That number refers to the amount of force, in Newtons, that the material has been tested to resist. Formed of synthetic materials, these two levels would be what you would need for competition purposes. For local tournaments, 350N is just fine. To compete on the national or international scene, 800N is required. Since this level of protection is mandated by the international governing body for fencing--the Federation International d'Escrime--you will often see 800N referred to as FIE, FIE 800N or, in the case of masks, FIE 1600N.

Naturally, 350N and 800N whites involve dramatic steps up in cost over "practice" whites; however, the increase in protection is well worth the investment. In fact, we do not recommend "practice" uniforms, as you are better off investing in the quality and extra protection afforded by a 350N or 800N uniform.

What To Buy?

We recommend buying a complete set of whites and a "dry" foil to begin with. That way, you will always have something to practice with, even if you decide to add electric equipment later on.

The items above are listed in order of priority. So, if your budget is limited, begin with a dry foil, then a mask, a jacket, glove, and so on. If you are still growing, you may want to hold off on buying 800N whites at this time.

Where To Buy?

We recommend two vendors: Blue Gauntlet and The Fencing Post. Both offer good value for the product and excellent customer service.

Blue Gauntlet
Purveyors of economical equipment. While not the top-tier, their BG brand equipment is great for daily practice. You will notice that much of the club equipment comes from these guys.

Best Buy:
BFS-4 Foil Beginner's Set $100
This comes with a 3-Weapon 350N Mask, a back-zip 350N Jacket, a practice glove, and a dry foil. This set is especially good for anyone who might outgrow their equipment quickly. However, the Mask and the Jacket should get you through any local competitions for the next several years. Select the hand (right/left), gender, jacket, mask, and glove sizes from the pull-down menus. For most students 12 years old and up, select #5 for the blade size (younger students may prefer a #0 size; ask a coach about the difference). Under Grip, select "BG French Grip" or you may upgrade to the UH Leather Grip (recommended). For the last menu, select "Not Visconti, Not Applicable".

The Fencing Post
This company offers great deals on some of the higher level pieces of equipment. Since they give a 20% discount if you make an order through their web site (or mnetion it when you call), you can cut down on the sticker prices a good deal.

Best Buys:

FPR15-F Prieur Complete Standard Foil
A quality blade for a good price. This is the dry, or practice, version. Be sure to include the "F" when ordering to indicate a French handle, and also tell them whether it should be right or left handed.

For the electric version, order item number FPR27-F (with the German point).

More Info For Saber

If you are moving into a saber, please check out the following page on Saber equipment.