Hello, so your going to make a kit as a SCA heavy fighter?

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There's heavy, rapier, and archery. I've been doing heavy myself for years now, I can help you put a good kit together along with other members if you ask. It's wise to start out cheap. If your new, you don't really know what were like or what the groups really about.

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You will be required to read the SCA Marshals handbook. In it you should take note that the vital parts of your body should be covered by rigid material (plastic, leather etc), or steel that is between 14-16 gauge.  (Helmet, elbows, knees, hands, kidney, neck.)

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 Marshal WORKBOOK 2111 (sca.org)

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We recommend you fight with us for a month or so before you begin buying armor but if you want to begin crafting your own armor as soon as possible your welcome to. We have loaner gear you may use to practice with, and some fighters will usually be alright with letting you use theirs too.  This will give you time to decide what persona/era of a fighter you want to put a kit together of. Be it a chain-maille crusader, viking, or a 15th century full plated knight in shining armor, the options range from countries to time periods. And if you have trouble deciding which era to make your fighter from for reenacting purposes, and just want to fight, then put together a mercenary or gladiator title if asked. 

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Cheapest Start-up Armor

Beginners gear usually can be crafted out of rain barrels ($15-25 a barrel) and a tunic or tabard can be thrown over it to hide it for the most part. You can use paracord or shoelaces to put it together. Some people go to play it again sports or other used sports equipment stores or sites and get motorsports armor or hockey gear or whatever and put medieval attire on over it. 

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On another note, It is very popular to make Llamelar armor. Plastic, leather or more authentic metal (steel, aluminum, or lighter airplane aluminum) can be used for this. You'll find a lot of fighters in this armor as its something you can self-assemble, is very flexible, and breathable. 

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Rain Barrels - Cheapest armor you can make on your own $25 each.

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The link below can be used as examples of what you can build yourself instead of buying it, or if your not skilled at such crafting, purchase it too.

Plasticsmith Armoury 

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Garb

For garb, you can literally put on some pajama pants for pants. You can also go to a fabric shop or website and get 1-3 yards of breathable material and turn it into garb of your choice, which is more recommended to do.

Shirts/tunics can be found sold cheap on numerous sites on the internet, real basic ones, or listed on the sites at the bottom of this site on a seperate page.  Your welcome to put out a commission for one of our lovely ladies in the area to sew one together for you custom-made via one of the facebook pages. 

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Helms:

Remember to also measure your head circumference. Which is your forehead. Wrap a shoelace or something around your head, then measure it. Usually its 23-26" Then add a minimum of  1.5" for padding/coif.

There are many smiths and sites that sell helms, many are listed on here, there are still many more. If you want help finding a certain helmet, let me know and I'll help you look for it.

Advisory: in Florida, cage face helms are ideal to handle breathing in the heat. 

Feel free to ask us if a helmet meets requirements before you purchase one. 

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The following link will lead to one of our smiths who sales helms for under $200. There are other smiths who make them at the same prices who post them on the facebook sale pages now and then. Ask if the smith is busy or has any on hand pre-made before purchasing from anyone. Any custom built helms may take months to make, and are not recommended for new players.

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 Ironmonger Armory

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Helmet Padding

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     Also for Helmets, it's important to obtain anti-concussive padding. Some Foam will not prevent concussions if your hit in the head. Here are a few names you can look up on various sites of your preference.

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Products - SHOCKtec

UnEqual (Supermax or Repel Pad)

Oregon Aero (Ballistic Helmet pads)

2nd Skull skull cap

karate, boxing helmets 

Authentic padded coifs (gambeson)

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Gauntlets/other armor

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If you're going to use a two-handed sword or polearm or dual-wielding swords you'll need full gauntlets. If you're using a sword with a basket hilt you'll just need a demi-gauntlet. Mild steel is not shiny, and recommended for starters. Most high end gauntlets, clamshells etc, will go for $300 on many sale sites. But you can get them much cheaper on sites I have listed below.

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Rattan

You will also need rattan to fight with. Either as a one-handed sword, two-handed, dual-wielding, or a pole-arm or axe of your choice. You can also go to wars and will sometimes find vendors with rattan still available. 

Home | Munitions Grade Arms (mastereirik.com)

Dark Victory Armory - Etsy

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Below I have several boxes with many many links. Some for crafting, some for links directly to our regions SCA groups on facebook. I have a box for links to help you craft your own gear and learn what to craft. Youtube has many videos to help you learn how to craft your own gear.

I also have links to smiths, shops, and other mercantile vendors.  I would only buy what is already in stock. Contact vendors before purchasing to ensure they are active.  Some merchants will not be able to build you something right away and may take several months. These I don't recommend. 

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I will warn you against purchasing from vendors in India. Their quality is the worst, sometimes they won't make the orders and or can take a while to do so. But there are a few that are okay. 

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