Review from new owner about the St. George fencing suit

The following feedback on our St. George fencing suit comes from fencer and fencing instructor Michael Sprenger. Michael is very experienced in both fencing and the use of various well-known equipment in historical fencing both in training and competition. He is currently known for the HEMA podcast "Schwertgeflüster", which he runs together with Alexander Fürgut. In addition, he has recently trained as a mental coach and would like to use mental training profitably in our sport. He was the first fencer to order his suit. Here is his review with his firstexperiences.

"Before buying the St. George jacket and pants, I was already able to test the prototypes, which ultimately led to the purchase decision. When choosing the size I went by my regular clothing size 50 at 1.80m/75kg. Jacket and pants fit perfectly. Not too wide, not too tight.

This brings me to point 1 - the mobility. This is - compared to everything I know so far - outstanding. In particular, the pants are great and does not hinder a bit, although it is fully padded. The pants seem a bit long and bulky at first. However, that subsides when you put them on. Because of the length, the pants are very flexible and comfortable around the knees without feeling bulky. The jacket is comfortable to put on, wears comfortably and is very flexible. Despite the Master Guard chest protector worn underneath.

The chest protection brings me to point 2 - The protective effect. Against thrusts, the jacket has slight deficits compared to my previous AP of Spes. However, even with chest protection, it is still more flexible and comfortable to wear than an AP. The protection against blows is comparable, if not slightly better. Especially the extra padding in the shoulder area is very effective and still flexible. But the most important thing is probably that it is a certified product, which is developed by Uhlmann with In Motu and manufactured by Uhlmann. This means that not only the fabric but the complete garment has been tested and meets the requirements according to FIE Niv. 2 A disadvantage in terms of protection and comfort is that the arms are not padded from the elbow. I used to wear forearm protectors for kickboxing etc. under my fencing jacket, which is no longer possible. Furthermore, the elbow pads need additional padding. Products such as those from Spes, which are just a hard shell with no padding, are not very comfortable. Since these are the elbow pads I have used so far, I have had to pull additional padding under my jacket. This again restricts movement, compromising the very idea of the unpadded sleeves, which is better mobility. Although this is less a problem of the jacket than the elbow and forearm pads, but just currently a problem that does not occur in jackets with padded sleeves.

My conclusion: I do not regret the investment at all. If you accept that HEMA equipment is probably always a compromise and there is the perfect jacket (super flexible, super protective, super cheap) probably will not give, then the St. George jacket is a really good compromise. If I really want to complain about something, then that the strap (to prevent the jacket slides up) always slips out of the holder. But since the jacket doesn't slip up even without the part, it's not really a problem."

Michael will also do a video review in the coming days.
We are curious.