to armor or not to armor?

[Orion Nomad]

What do you belive is best type of armor or no armor at all?

[Magpie Saegar]

i have no armor yet, and have not yet fought in armor, so feel free to assume that my thoughts are complete crap, or ignore them.

i said leather, because it is versatile, yet light weight. chain is good because of its flexibility, but it weighs more, and can't be used for certain parts of armor... say, bracers or greaves.

leather can be used for small pieces such as bracers or greaves, or larger torso armor. or helms.

plate can do this all as well, but is harder to work with, heavier, and less mobile. (and more expensive)

of course, i think the BEST armor would be a combination of leather and chain. (plate would be good for non-skirmishers though, if for no other reason than to look awesome and intimidate opponents)

[Mefit the Merciless]

I use a composite armor made of studded ring, chain, and leather...so i like them all

[Romuinus]

I Have More Fun With No Amor For The Simplistic Reason That I Feel More Able To Move About And Run Stright Towards My Target With Less Fear And More Resolve.

[Spike]

Leather and for a majority of people I know, here's why.

Cheaper than plate
Less complex to make than chain

It's period armor. Add that to the fact that reguardless of material, you only get one extra hit, and the fact that it's lighter comes in to play. Why be encumbered by heavy armor if it doesn't benefit your fighting?

The butcher chain that is gaining popularity however, is for lack of a better term: .

[Derian]

Not only chain, but also illegal.

[Aria]

[leather armor is] Less complex to make than chain

Actually, I've got a piece of chain armor as long as my torso and about a foot and a half wide. Once you get a strip started it's not complex at all, just tedious. Very tedious. So tedious I don't work on it near as much as I should, and it grows mainly when I see a reference to chain that makes me get out the ring bucket and pliers and add a few more rows. Like now.

I've never made leather armor, but I think the idea Spike was going for was "It's less time-consuming to make leather than chain mail," because it takes all the intelligence of a trained monkey to put together the bulk of a chainmail tunic.

The benefit of chain is that it's cheap money-wise if you make your own rings. Another benefit that I've heard, but haven't personally tested is that chain torso armor breaths more than leather torso armor. Depending on the region you fight in that makes a big difference. Here in the butt crack of Southern Alabama the heat index is around 110 about half the year, so the only leather torso armor we see is in the winter time. At the height of summer even the leather bracers and greaves come off and don't get put back on until it hits the blessedly bearable index of 90 degrees.

[Syrus]

Armor? As my realm's foremost grappling fighter, I do not wear armor to allow a full range of who I can grapple.

[Bodhi]

When it comes to armour, you need to think about what your are trying to accomplish. Are you going for cheapest, easiest to make yourself, best looking, or most effective on the field. As far a cost goes, chainmaille is the cheapest to do if done yourself but takes alot of time. Leather, depending one your abilities, is cheap doing yourself but takes more effort into learning how to do it well. And platte is expensive and not many here can just do their own. But if your looking for most effective on the field, then you'll probably be disappointed to know that if you can't fight with without it, you cant fight well with it. In fact, it will probably hinder you at first. But if you decide that you want armour, then you should probably go for look, because look on the field is almost as important as your abilities. Because you can always become a better fighter over time, but if you look like ****, I'll kill you. Chainmaille slows you down if your not somewhat built, but after a while you get use to whatever your wearing.

[debuenzo]

if youre all about getting better and playing a game....go w- leather or chainmail
chain really doesnt restrict motion at all but is heavy (not that heavy)
leather is lighter but restricts movement somewhat (depends on quality)

if youre into the more role play- character thing....id say get a set of armor that your character would wear...not just a generic set of armor

and you can always just go without armor

do what you feel is best and what you want in terms of the game....obviously

[Daryth]

I wear a chainmail vest nowadays. I bought it for 20$ and a pair of long swords from Dikini almost 3 years ago. Never needs repairs. No rivets popping...flexes with my body unlike my old leather armor shirt. Not as hot as red or black leather armor...And it doesn't actually weigh that much. 12 lbs? and it distributes well on my shoulders...

[glorfindel]

no one has mentioned ego armor....

[vek]

i say armor. a few guys on the field use leather grieves and bracers ( i wear a bracer, im a south paw) and they really come in handy in a tight spot.

[Spike]

...think the idea Spike was going for was "It's less time-consuming to make leather than chain mail," because it takes all the intelligence of a trained monkey to put together the bulk of a chainmail tunic.

Thank you. the word I was actually thinking of was tedious. I just didn't think of it at the time.

[MagnusofDregoth]

Interesting to note, though, is that leather is pretty expensive, while 16ga steel is really, really cheap. If I could get 12 square feet of 12oz leather for 18 bucks, I would be wearing so much leather armor I'd be more cow than man. As it is, 69 bucks is what you're most likely going to have to pay for a side of leather, and it cost me less than that to make my plate cuirasse.

Not that I don't wear leather armor, mostly because it's more portable and easier to repair, and doesn't rust.

[moondog]

for me personally i would say my favorite armor i've had the pleasure of rocking is xiao's brigendine (spelling?)
i made myself a leather torso piece and i love it too but the brig flexes and moves so smoothly its just like wearing no armor at all! plus i love the way it looks, who else has a armored hoody? no body i know
although i wish i could make some laqured bamboo or hardwood grieves and bracers that would be legal for fighting i settle for good old leather now and i'm proud to say it costed me nothing for all the armor i have because i made extra grieves and sold a few pairs and that payed for my whole side of leather... but what can i say i'm a hustla baby