Review - Superior Fencing Thermo Ventilation HEMA Jacket 800N

[@RegnumUmaril]

Great overview, despite only barely starting, I can already feel the balance between stabbed-to-death and sweating-to-death is an important point to find!

[@Fenderstat]

I've had this jacket for about a month along with the accompaning kit. I bought this for almost purely the ventilation aspect however despite the relative coolness it still offers fantastic protection if you wear the full kit. The forearms without external protection has a lighter material which is still pretty good however big hits still hurt. With forearm guards you barely register the hits and you still get a bit of ventilation. I train outdoors mostly and being in the Australian bush things get very hot and cold. It is early winter here so the hottest day i have trained in full kit was about 14 degrees celsius with a warm sun. The jacket was fine and the only thing that was hot was my neck from the gorget and my head from the back of neck protection. The coldest has been about -1 and when I started to sweat the back of the jacket is breathable and it felt like someone was applying a wrapped ice pack on my back, excellent for keeping cool! I havent tried it in the summer where days are normally in their 30s and sometimes 40s however I think I will be fairing better with this than others I know in less ventilated options. The superior fencing kit with this jacket is crazy good value, particularly if you dont own any Hema gear, are relatively knew and are looking to get good and safe protection for an affordable price and live in a hot climate I would strongly recommend this jacket and the kit that comes with it.

[@benstoyles1297]

I have the starter pack Nick referred to and it is fantastic. SF are also happy to swap out elements of the pack for others; I got the leather overlay instead of the one that comes as part of the pack. The trousers also have an elasticated gusset which is a nice feature.

[@goldenageofdinosaurs7192]

When I wear a down coat in winter, if I do anything even a bit physical, that back area gets uncomfortably hot &I have to take it off & get rid of all that built up heat. I can see how this would be very helpful in dissipating a lot of that.

[@AttilaSATAN]

I was waiting this review for a while.

[@narannavan]

Thanks for this. I'm gonna put in an order tomorrow. Diolch.

[@dorneanudoru]

I bought this jacket 2 years ago. The forearm protection is weak. Wear forearm protection and is better if is covering the inner part of the forearm too. Is mandatory to wear elbow protection, too. I made the mistake to not wear it, and a half of year my left elbow was disabled from a single hit. The hits to the collarbone are painfully if you don't wear the shoulder protection. The trusts to the torso are painful. Wear a plastron. The forearm material is denting from the metal longswords hits. So, generally speaking the protection is not so great. The zip also has issues. I am losing each time many minutes to zip-it up. The delivery is slow (for me, took 3 mounts to Romania from Pakistan). The breathable venting design is good. The wearing is comfortable. The price is great. The communication with the company is good. Recommended for beginners and soft sparing.

[@zerozerosud]

Nice to see a new colour on the channel ;)

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

This was just for testing, I'll be staying in red. Our club colours are red and black. Though we don't restrict what people wear, and so there are the odd other colours.

[@zerozerosud]

@@AcademyofHistoricalFencing I know, just kidding! But it *did* look like it was an alternative colour scheme for a Street Fighter "player two" character :P

[@milliman4]

Air: Fighting sweating since 18forever

[@Overdrive-19]

how does it compare to the spes light in terms of heat and protection?

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

I find it a nice bit cooler. Protection wise, it has less on the torso as the ap light has foam inserts. Though I don't use them in my light ap. It has a little more protection in the base material though. Also more protection on shoulders and around elbows due to the semi rigid inserts that absorb a lot more energy than the foam in the AP light.

[@midshipman8654]

Thanks for the review!

[@leonnguyen1134]

Do they have the little tabs for me to tie spes elbow shells to?

[@benstoyles1297]

Leon Nguyen yes

[@iancollishaw3330]

How would you compare this to the SPES Officer Jacket? Mainly the mobility, protection and ventilation... we all know you can't beat the looks of the officer jacket lol

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

A tiny bit more weight (about 200g approx. Mobility slightly better, as I prefer the shoulder cut, just as I prefer the light AP to officer for the same reason. Protection is slightly better, and ventilation a good bit better too. Its a really cool jacket in use.

[@iancollishaw3330]

@@AcademyofHistoricalFencing looks like I'll be getting this instead of the officer jacket, then! thank you.

[@bohdantoporivskyi5747]

Great informative video! But I guess steel feder sparring would be rather harsh with this one... And may I clarify: is this jacket's color Navy Blue or Royal Blue?

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

It all comes down to how hard you hit and what padding you are happy with. It's fence a lot of people in longsword with this jacket, depends how hard you are going. This is royal blue.

[@Nikotheos]

Are the custom sizing options sufficient to allow ordering one of these for a woman? I know they make women’s jackets, but the variety is very small comparatively.

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

I am sure they will make any of their jacket designs in the women's cut, they are very open to customisation, and the custom sized jackets I have seen from them have been good.

[@timmy1071]

On one of their other jackets you said the fit is half a size small. Is this the case with this model jacket too?

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

On this and the Angelo I have found the size to be more as expected and in line with Spes and others.

[@robertsuchocki7908]

Can you use the jacket for escrima stick fighting

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

You could yes, but you'd best ask at the club or instructor you train with, as levels of protection vary depending on club and their approach.

[@yuridanylko]

Did you ever review that musket?

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

I don't think so no, I'll get on it.

[@crapsterface]

would ou enter a longsword tournament with it ? I do longsword, I know theres a tradeoff, I havent used a light jacket before, but im a hot guy in general and I need a good breather, How big is the trade compared to say, an axel patterson basic

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

It's a very light jacket, only slightly more padded than a Spes officer, similar to a Light AP with the pads taken out. As for what I would use it for, well it really depends how high the contact in that tournament is, but I think it would be too light for some tournaments and some peoples preferences. THe Light AP breathes pretty well and has insertible pads. The Sup Fen Angelo might be a good option too, I have one of those also and it still breathes really well whilst having padding almost the level of a standard AP.

[@chrisdonnell7200]

I do yes, but you have to add protection. Ultimately it's a very light jacket so even though there's a surprising amount of protection for being so light, it's still not a lot of protection. In addition to obviously needing a plastron and (padded) elbows, I'd also strongly recommend forearm and collarbone protection, the in-built forarm pieces are nice to have but they won't do much against a longsword.

[@Gunfreak19]

I'm afraid I have to just live with serious bodily harm. I get overheated in a t-shirt sitting still in 22c shade. Just looking at any HEMA hear gives me the feeling of overheating. On a side note, the kit with the jacket, doesn't come with gloves. What kind of gloves are recommended for military saber both synthetic and steel?

[@AcademyofHistoricalFencing]

For synthetic red dragon gloves are good. For steel, if it has a bowl hilt, still red dragon. If a stirrup hilt well there are no perfect options. Red Dragon with some mods, Sparring glove five finger version is reasonable.

[@Gunfreak19]

@@AcademyofHistoricalFencing thank you.