Review from the new owner of the St. George fencing suit

The following feedback on our St. George fencing uniform comes from fencer and fencing instructor Michael Sprenger. Michael is highly experienced in both fencing and the use of various well-known equipment in historical fencing, both in training and in competition. He is currently known for the HEMA podcast "Schwertgeflüster," which he hosts together with Alexander Fürgut. He also recently completed further training as a mental coach and would like to profitably apply mental training to our sport. He was the first fencer to order his uniform. Here is his review with his initial experiences.n.

"Before purchasing the St. George jacket and trousers, I was able to test the prototypes, which ultimately led to the purchase decision. When choosing the size, I went with my regular clothing size 50 at 1,80m/75kg. The jacket and trousers fit perfectly. Not too loose, not too tight.

Which brings me to point 1 – mobility. Compared to anything I've seen before, it's outstanding. The trousers, in particular, are fantastic and don't hinder you in the slightest, even though they're fully padded. The trousers seem a bit long and bulky at first. However, this diminishes once you put them on. The length makes the trousers very flexible and comfortable around the knees without appearing bulky. The jacket is easy to put on, comfortable to wear, and very flexible, even with the Master Guard chest protector worn underneath.

The chest protector brings me to point 2 – the protective effect. The jacket is slightly less protective against stabs than my previous AP from Spes. However, even with the chest protector, it is still more flexible and more comfortable to wear than an AP. The protective effect against blows is comparable, if not slightly better. The additional padding in the shoulder area is particularly effective and still flexible. The most important thing, however, is that it is a certified product, developed by Uhlmann with In Motu and manufactured by Uhlmann. This means that not only the fabric but the entire garment is tested and meets the requirements of FIE Level 2. One disadvantage in terms of protective effect and comfort is that the arms from the elbow up are not padded. I used to wear forearm protectors for kickboxing etc. under my fencing jacket, but this is no longer practical. Furthermore, the elbow pads require additional padding. Products such as those from Spes, which are just a hard shell without any padding, are not very comfortable. Since these are the elbow pads I've been using, I had to add additional padding under my jacket. This, in turn, restricts my freedom of movement and compromises the original idea of ​​unpadded sleeves, namely improved mobility. While this is less a problem with the jacket than with the elbow and forearm pads, it's currently a problem that doesn't occur with jackets with padded sleeves.

My conclusion: I don't regret the investment at all. If you accept that HEMA gear is always a compromise and that the perfect jacket (super-mobile, super-protective, super-cheap) probably won't exist, then the St. George jacket is a really good compromise. If I really had to complain about something, it would be that the retaining strap (supposed to prevent the jacket from riding up) always slips out of its holder. But since the jacket doesn't ride up even without it, it's not really a problem.

Michael will also do a video review in the coming days.
We are looking forward to it.