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This page is intended as a handy guide to all members looking for HEMA equipment recommendations!

Equipment Guide

PART A: PROTECTION EQUIPMENT

  • HEAD PROTECTION
    In this category we would have 2 items: Masks and Back of the Head Protectors, both are obligatory for any type of sparring really.  There are 2 types of grading for masks: 350 N bib resistance (CEN1) and 1600N bib resistance (CEN 2). While the bib resistance doesn’t matter too much for us in HEMA there’s a general rule that CEN2 (so called 1600N) Masks should be better quality so the steel mesh *should* be better as well. However it’s not always the case.
    Red Dragon Masks (350N) are brilliant in my opinion, very durable and made from high quality materials but because of 350N tag they might not be allowed in some high end tournaments, higher tier would be 1600N rated masks from either Red Dragon or other sport fencing shops like PBT, Allstar Leon Paul etc.,
    Back of the Head Protection is a simple mask overlay with plastic inserts available in few models with higher tiers using leather instead of some cheaper materials. My only recommendation would be to use a full overlay rather than partial one, but the obligatory requirement is ONLY for the back of the head bit.
    Available from our SHOP:
    – Red Dragon HEMA Fencing Mask – >>>in stock<<<
    – Red Dragon HEMA Tournament Fencing Mask – >>>in stock<<<
    – Red Dragon Mask Overlay  – >>>in stock<<<
  • THROAT PROTECTION
    Hard plastic shell protecting the throat against the thrust, most HEMA jackets would have some basic throat protector integrated within a collar (some better than the others – RD Jacket) but it’s still obligatory for most tournament to have a separate one as the thrust at the throat is VERY unpleasant so you want to have at least 2 protective layers there, just in case.
    Available from our SHOP:
    – Red Dragon HEMA Gorget (Throat Protector) – >>>in stock<<<
  • TORSO PROTECTION
    There are 2 types of Torso protection: Padded jackets offering protection against blows and Plastrons that are stopping thrusts, first is obligatory for any sparring while the second is optional.
    Most Jackets you can get have at least 350N rating so the difference is mainly in weight/mobility vs protection. High end jackets are also available from various manufacturers (usually with 800N rating) but they are VERY expensive so make sure you really want to spend that much!
    Plastrons – can be worn inside the jacket as a plastic protectors or specialized fencing kevlar shirts  or they can be worn outside on top of a jacket as an appron that usually have additional throat protector (so you can have 3 layers protecting your throat).
    Available from our SHOP:
    – Red Dragon HEMA Sparring Jacket – >>>in stock<<<
    – SPES Men’s Axel Pettersson Fencing Jacket V2.0 – >>>in stock<<<
    – SPES Body Protector- Large – >>>in stock<<<
  • GROIN PROTECTION
    There’s not much to comment here really, just get one asap :)
    Available from our SHOP:
    – Red Dragon HEMA Groin Protector – >>>in stock<<<
  • HAND PROTECTION (light/med/heavy gloves – depends on type of weapon used and intensity of sparring)
    In our shop we got three types of gloves available, first one are safety gloves that are cut and thrust proof which should be your first purchase really. Your hands are the most vulnerable while doing HEMA so don’t save on any of these! They are also used as an inner gloves for the Sparring Gloves for fighting with steel weapons. Red Dragon Gloves are good for drills and synthetic sparring (can be augmented with SPES fingertip protectors). There are plenty of different gloves available but I would strongly recommend to get at least a pair of each (light gloves for training, medium type protective gloves for synthetic sparring and a heavy protective gloves for steel)
    Available from our SHOP:
    – Mechanix CR5 M-Pact Gloves >>>in stock<<<
    – Red Dragon HEMA Sparring Gloves – >>>in stock<<<
    – SPES  Fingertip Protectors – >>>out of stock<<<
    – Sparring Gloves – The Hoof – >>>in stock<<<
    – Sparring Gloves – Mittens – >>>in stock<<<
  • ARM PROTECTION
    In this category you have different types of forearm protectors (optional) plus hard shell elbow joint protectors (obligatory though some jackets will have them included).
    Available from our SHOP:
    – SPES “Shell” Elbow Protectors – >>>out of stock<<<
  • LEG PROTECTION
    In this category you would have various types of fencing pants which are not always required but highly recommended plus hard shell knee joint protectors and hard shell shin protectors. Within Red Dragon brand you can get them either as one part (motocross design) or as a separate Knee / Shin Guards similar to the ones football and hockey players are using.
    Available from our SHOP:
    – Red Dragon HEMA Sparring Pants – >>>in stock<<<
    – Red Dragon HEMA Knee & Shin Protectors – >>>in stock<<<
    – Red Dragon Knee Guards – >>>in stock<<<
    – Red Dragon Shin Guards – >>>in stock<<<
    – SPES “Shell” Knee Protectors – >>>in stock<<<

PART B: SIMULATORS
In this category you got synthetic weapons that can be classified as soft hitting (Red Dragon) and hard hitting (Silk Fencing, Black Fencer), with steel weapons you have basically 2 tiers only, standard ones like Regeneyi and Premium like Ensifer, there are plenty of weapon manufacturers to choose from really so I stock only the most popular ones here.

PART C: MERCHANDISE

Don’t forget about our own unique merchandise items: patches, tshirts, rashguards and hoodies are available through links below: