Basic Safety Equipment. What do you use?

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Basic Safety Equipment. What do you use?

Postby Thorne the mercenary » Thu Jan 29, 2015 11:48 am

I recently posted an idea on the rules discussion board about basic safety equipment. I am of the opinion that at a minimum people should wear knee, hand, and eye protection. This sparked quite a debate on our group Facebook page which can either be viewed by going to Louisville Belegarth on Facebook or by checking out our news letter The Dun Abhon Guardian which can be reached through the link below.

Personally I wear a comfortable pair of safety glasses with soft rubber at the nose, a pair of motocross gloves, and knee pads designed for rollerblading. What do you wear an where did you get it? Do you have any horror stories that could have been prevented if people had been using safety equipment?

My goal here is to raise awareness through discussion. Please let me know what you think.
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Re: Basic Safety Equipment. What do you use?

Postby Tobia Blackthorn » Thu Jan 29, 2015 1:01 pm

I wear impact resistant sports glasses, primarily to see on the field, the protection is secondary for me, lacross gloves to keep my hands safe, and I'm going to include quality boots here. For me, its lightweight combat boots. The pair I use are fairly unobtrusive, give me good ankle support, and are light enough not to interfere with my footwork. Occasionally, I throw a wrap-style soft wrist brace on my sword-side wrist if I'm running sword-and-board.

That said, I've fought for many years with minimal equipment: No glasses at all, and gloves that were simply there to help with my grip.
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Re: Basic Safety Equipment. What do you use?

Postby Mordekiem » Thu Jan 29, 2015 6:06 pm

I've only been fighting for about 15 months or so and immediately saw the value in padded gloves. I started with a lighter pair of gloves, but recently bought full Lacrosse/hockey gloves. Best money I have spent in regards to fighting.

I've also always had ankle issues so wear 3/4 tops and ankle braces.

Most of the fields up here in Seattle are pretty soft, tending to be muddy and wet grass. But I do have cheap foam kneepads that I wear when the ground gets harder and/or less grassy.

I purposely do NOT wear my glasses fighting and wear contacts instead. I never really considered a need for eye protection. But getting hit in the face with glasses on, even safety glasses, hurts.

One last peice of gear that I wear is a floppy, wide-brimmed hat. I got it originally to keep the sun and rain out of my face. But I notice when I wear it I take significantly lower number of shots to the head. My theory is that is makes my head look much bigger than it really is so people swing just a little bit wider. Or it could just be that it is magical. :)

Again, I'm still a relative newb and haven't seen/experienced as much as others have. But I fault noone for wearing whatever protective gear they want. I have considered a lacrosse style of mask/helmet. Still might at some point.
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Re: Basic Safety Equipment. What do you use?

Postby Tails » Fri Jan 30, 2015 1:19 pm

Kneepads:
http://www.amazon.com/ASICS-Unisex-Slider-Kneepad-Black/dp/B000PGH72S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422644582&sr=8-1&keywords=knee+pads

I love these kneepads. They are tight and comfortable with minimal pinch in the back. (like once in the year that I have been wearing them) They slide a little, like almost all of them do, but they will never slide enough to be off your knee in a whole round of fighting. Strongly reccomend.

Gloves:
http://www.lacrossemonkey.com/closeout-gloves.html

This website has the best deals on the greatest selection, these are prices on gloves that grange from 20$ up to 80$ but there is plenty to pick on if you are willing to pay 40$ for some gloves. (you should be willing to protect your hand)

Goggles:
http://www.amazon.com/BestDealUSA-Shooting-Tactical-Airsoft-Goggles/dp/B0081W39FW/ref=pd_sbs_sg_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=0TPS33WVF6GDKGA2J813

I love these glasses, the can't/don't fog up and they breath well and I have not been hurt since wearing them. Worst that has happened is that they got knocked down onto my neck, but they still did their job.

These are in order of importance IMO.
Last edited by Tails on Fri Jan 30, 2015 2:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Basic Safety Equipment. What do you use?

Postby Tails » Fri Jan 30, 2015 2:45 pm

Honetly, the most important thing is knee pads. Really, just get yourself some knee pads, they are cheap enough that is you skip lunch once or twice you will have enough for them.

It was Okfest 2008 on a perfectly flat feild clear of anything on it. I was running the line and got my leg lopped off. seeing as how soft and nice the field was I just dropped to my knee mid run; I did that and found the only (mango sized) rock burried in the feild. More specifically, my knee found it. I was out till wolfpack (feb). Not fun, totally preventable if knee pads were worn.
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Re: Basic Safety Equipment. What do you use?

Postby Thorne the mercenary » Fri Jan 30, 2015 4:27 pm

I've been thinking of buying paint ball goggles that use mesh lenses so they never fog. They sell them on budk for like $8
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Re: Basic Safety Equipment. What do you use?

Postby Caleidah » Sat Jan 31, 2015 3:36 am

These are expensive (moreso than when I bought them a few years ago), but I swear by them. I've got awful knees and a history of problems with them. These knee pads have resulted in me having basically zero knee pain from fighting.

https://www.zoombang.com/product/max-cover-knee-pad/
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Re: Basic Safety Equipment. What do you use?

Postby Thorne the mercenary » Sat Jan 31, 2015 11:40 pm

Do those knee pads offer some compression like a sport knee brace? They look like they might. Have you tried the zoo bang gloves? They look really good and are cheaper than most of the lacrosse gloves I've looked into. I might have to give them a shot. Presently I use a pair of motor cycle gloves similar to these. They are comfortable. Light weight and protect the hands pretty well. One problem I've had finding Lacrosse gloves is finding them big enough to fit. I have big hands and need a 15 inch glove a lot of them are only made up 13 or 14 inch.

http://www.amazon.com/Towall-Sports-Lea ... cle+gloves
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Re: Basic Safety Equipment. What do you use?

Postby Thorne the mercenary » Sat Jan 31, 2015 11:50 pm

Mordekiem wrote:One last peice of gear that I wear is a floppy, wide-brimmed hat. I got it originally to keep the sun and rain out of my face. But I notice when I wear it I take significantly lower number of shots to the head. My theory is that is makes my head look much bigger than it really is so people swing just a little bit wider. Or it could just be that it is magical.


I think that we could all use a magical hat that keeps us from receiving head shots. You must point us to the enchanter that made it for you. ;-)
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Re: Basic Safety Equipment. What do you use?

Postby Caleidah » Sun Feb 01, 2015 1:42 am

Thorne the mercenary wrote:Do those knee pads offer some compression like a sport knee brace? They look like they might. Have you tried the zoo bang gloves? They look really good and are cheaper than most of the lacrosse gloves I've looked into. I might have to give them a shot. Presently I use a pair of motor cycle gloves similar to these. They are comfortable. Light weight and protect the hands pretty well. One problem I've had finding Lacrosse gloves is finding them big enough to fit. I have big hands and need a 15 inch glove a lot of them are only made up 13 or 14 inch.

http://www.amazon.com/Towall-Sports-Lea ... cle+gloves

I have heard from folks that the Zoombang gloves don't hold up as well. The knee braces don't offer much compression. Maybe a little, given that they velcro above and below the knee, but not enough to notice. You're better off using an ace bandage under them if you need compression.
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Re: Basic Safety Equipment. What do you use?

Postby Bear » Mon Feb 02, 2015 1:00 am

I like to use indoor volleyball knee pads because they have alot of dense cushioning and they are elastic. Overall quite comfortable, I can hide them under garb and good for most if not all surfaces. For my hands, I use MMA bag/grappling gloves with exposed finger tips. They have served me quite well by giving my hand a good bit of protection, a lower profile than lacrosse gloves and a good bit of dexterity. I wouldn't go around punch blocking reds with them but most anything else is golden. While it isn't strictly for safety purposes I have a full face helmet made from 14oz leather that I use as well. It was built for arrow protection but it definitely helps against those accidental head shots.
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Re: Basic Safety Equipment. What do you use?

Postby Thorne the mercenary » Mon Feb 23, 2015 10:07 am

I recently purchased a pair of airsoft goggles similar to the ones suggested by tales and I love them. Thank you for the great suggestions. I like these much better than the safety glasses I have used in the past.
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