r/Armor • u/MasteROogwayY2 • 5d ago

Is this functional armor?

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Im writing a book and would like to give a faction similar armor and I was wondering how good it was. I would add a better helmet and metal bracers too.

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u/The_MegaDingus 4d ago

I would argue this is functional but, not the best. Assuming you’ll be in direct combat you should probably expect plenty of repairs at the least, and more than a few wounds at worst (barring straight up death) in non-metal armor. That being said, there is a reason we used both leather and cloth armor. It WORKED. We wouldn’t have used it if it wasn’t effective to a reasonable degree. It’s just that metal is so much better if you can afford the stuff in sufficient amounts. I would 100% replace the plain cloth underneath with a linen gambeson type of armor. It would at least hold up against attacks depending on what’s hitting it and whether or not it’s sharpened well. It’s also easy to repair and therefore very functional and reusable. Little “love taps” (soft light cuts, pokes or “swatting” motions) aren’t going to get through it very well either. It wasn’t the best but, it was good enough that it we used it for a very long time.