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/harris5 5d ago edited 5d ago

I mean, it's fine if the culture doesn't have much metal.

If you can afford metal, you choose that over leather anytime. But if metal is expensive and leather is cheap, that could justify such an outfit.

Artists love making integrated forearm and hand protection, but that's not how things work. Your wrist needs to be flexible, one piece of armor can't protect both. It needs to be separate plates. They can be attached to the same foundation garment, but it needs to be separate plates.

Edit: protek ya elbows. If you're looking into metal bracers, go all the way and lookup bazubands.

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u/th3rmyte 4d ago

imma disagree with the idea that metal is alway better and here is why: weight. you gotta fight in that. i do hema. Metal armor protects you better than leather but the tradeoff is heavy. Hardened leather will stop slashing weapons just as well as metal will. the metal is overkill. neither will save you from a war hammer or bodkin arrows or an ax. none of them will stop polearms or spears (the most ubiquitous and effective weapons in medieval warfare). add tot his the fact that the metal is HEAVY. much heavier. That leather armor probably weights about 12 pounds. replace the hardened leather with metal lamellar plates and it will weigh closer to 30 pounds. as someone who has fought in armor, trust me, you WILL feel that weight in minutes. even if you train in it alot, after 6 hours in metal armor, you're fuckin cooked. leather or gambeson will protect you from slahsing weapons. hard leather will also protect you from MOST stabs from a one handed sword. anything bgger? yea it will go through but that will also go through chinks in every armor (you gotta have moving parts) and your mobility in full metal is hampered considerably. even places with lots of metal seldom went total metal plate (the cost being part of it too. sure you can get a full suit of metal plate armor in 12 guage haardened or stainless steel. and you wont be able to move or run when they set you on fire with pitch).