Fencing Equipment: Loaners and Purchasing

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  • Fencing Equipment: Loaners and Purchasing

We provide everything to offer an enjoyable fencing experience!

All our trials receive full fencing gear at no cost.
For our new students, we offer two options to rent your fencing gear:

  1. $15.00/month: gently used (cleaned, and thoroughly sanitized) fencing mask, plastic chest protector, underarm, jacket.
    Follow this link to add the rental to your class membership. (login into your account portal)
  2. $10.00/month: all of the above, excluding the fencing mask, after you purchase a brand new one ($58.00, in stock)
    Follow this link to get yours. (login into your account portal)

The gear rental fee package will be added to your monthly class fee as soon as you receive it.
The package should be taken home, cleaned when needed, and used in class.
Shoulder fencing bags are available for sale, for $32.00.

What is NOT included in your pack: knickers (fencing pants), body cord, weapon, fencing bag, socks.

A $100.00 security deposit will be charged to the card on file as soon as the gear pack was received.
This is fully refundable at the time of returning your gear, and/or can be applied to the purchase of your new gear.

The new student is responsible for any lost items. Please count your items before leaving the class (the four body items, plus the fencing mask).

Brand-new fencing gear packages are available for purchase anytime after your enrollment, at the same price as the vendors.
We recommend considering buying your own gear after a period of about three to six months, to eliminate the rental cost.
The package includes:

 

– Fencing Mask
– Glove (right or left hand)
– Plastic chest plate
– Underarm protector
– Jacket

Weapon (Épée), body cord, knickers (fencing pants), fencing socks, and fencing bags- are optional.
The price for a fencing gear package as described above runs around $200.00
Because of sanitation reasons, we don’t share fencing gear among our students. All trial pieces are laundered weekly, and the fencing mask and gloves are fogged/sanitized after each use and replaced as soon as wear and tear occur.

Gently used equipment may be occasionally available for sale; please ask us if you’re interested.

If you’re ready to join us, please follow this link to the Registration Page.

End your membership and return your loaned fencing gear (or if you purchased your own)

  1. Email us with a request to cancel your membership.
  2. Wash your body items only (no mask or glove), dry them thoroughly, and bring them in a bag with a name label and the date of the return.
  3. You can hand it over to any coach present on the fencing floor or in the office.

All unwashed items are subject to a $25.00 fee.

We are not responsible for the unpacked items left around, with no name/date.
You must return your gear rental within ten days of canceling your membership, in order to receive back your deposit.
Absolutely no refunds after this period.

Here is a list with the Beginner Equipment Price List as of October 2023
Gear recommendations based on your fencing level/class:

Musketeers/Youth Learn to Fence/Adult Learn to Fence
– No personal equipment is necessary, packages are offered for rent starting at $10-$15.00/month
– Owning your mask & glove is strongly recommended ($58.00+$13.00)
– Owning your weapon is required for private lessons; a full practice weapon runs around $120.00
– Long pants and sneakers must be worn in class

Youth Pre-Competitive
– All necessary equipment is required (this means 1 of each item listed on the first page).
– Knickers and long socks must be worn in class.

Youth Competitive/Adult Competitive
– All equipment necessary to fence is required
– Stenciled jacket (name on the back: $35.00, at Olympia)
– For tournaments, you should have extra of the following:
o At LEAST 2 weapons (3 are recommended)
o One body cord for each weapon
o Rolling bag
o Test/repair kit ($55.00)

Here is a Fencing Tournament Checklist with what you need in a competition, and this is a comprehensive guide on how to care for your fencing gear: from weapon and body cords, to cleaning your mask, glove, and bodysuit.
Here is a video that shows how to make a hard blade cover to protect your weapon.
Or follow this link to buy something similar from Prieurusa.com.

If you prefer to buy your fencing gear yourself, there are many companies that you can purchase equipment from, online or over the phone. If you are looking for a specific item, you can shop around for it at various places, to find the best price.

We carry fencing gear from a few companies, but the most popular is Blue Gauntlet. They offer a wide variety of Starter Sets that range from about $100 to about $200, depending on the number of pieces of equipment and quality but we recommend to those new to fencing to come and see us before buying. Also, orders can be placed through us, we measure and determine the right size, place the orders, and shipping fees are split by the number of people. Here is the sizing chart, if you’d like to order on your own.

Aside from Blue Gauntlet, here is a list with the links to other vendors’ websites:

 

Club-logo Gear

We also created our own online store, where you can buy moisture-wicking cool mesh polyester T-shirts, a performance fabric that keeps you cool and dry, or create your own. There are a variety of fabric/color/style options.

Fencing bags are $32.00 (plus MA sales tax and shipping), T-shirt prices run from $25.00 to $30.00, and you can even create your own design!

Club team warmups are available by request: send us a message.

Fencing shoes/bags recommendations

Fencing shoes

80% of beginner fencers start training with running shoes, which fulfill the most basic needs of light movement. However, this type of shoe cannot support long-term fencing, especially when training more than once a week, or during long fencing events.
Advanced fencers like to buy new shoes and “break them in” for quite a time before a major competition. As all new shoes stretch during wear, you want your shoe to have enough room so it won’t feel too tight, but not too large, allowing your foot to slip during lunges, and lead to injury.
There are many fencing websites with recommendations for what many find as being the best fencing shoe (Fencing Parents, Fencing.net,  Reddit). 

What we recommend:
– Adidas Barricade
– Adidas D’Artagnan
– Asics Gel-Rocket indoor volleyball/court shoes are very popular among fencers.
Any type of tennis shoe your feet feel comfortable in.
If you’d like fencing specific shoes, check the Blue Gauntlet website, or Prieurusa.com

Fencing Bags

Allstar Jumbo Bag  –  made in Germany, these are roomier, in general, and most competitive fencers like them.
Leon Paul Team Bag – these bags are more of a rectangular shape, and more compartmentalized, so there may be slightly less room due to this design. However, they maintain their shape better, in our opinion.
It also comes down to brand/aesthetic preferences.
Both these brands are available to buy through the vendors listed above.