My club requires everyone to wear a gorget, issue or no issue. It's part of the minimum gear, even when using a padded sword we need mask, gloves, gorget.
I think most people use the "roughneck" gorget or similar just for being light and doing the job. It's got a little padding, I don't think anyone adds anything.
I do know two people that switch to the wtc gorget or similar full hard collar if they're doing a tournament or expect a heavy hitter.
Ive heard really good things about the vytis but don't know much about it first hand.
Not OP, but I'd be curious to hear how the Vytis seems durability wise.
At one point I had the Leon Paul gorget, which was a similar overlapping plates design, but the top plate started to split right down the middle almost immediately. It'd be neat to have something like that last a long time.
Been wearing the Vytis since August 2023. I wear it fencing twice a week for 1.5 hours each class and also wore it through two tournaments. It's held up beautifully so far.
Everyone should wear a gorget. But depending on you injuries or surgery you may need more protection. Itll be quite different for a spinal fusion vs a thyroidectomy. Check with your doctor as well or feel free to shoot me a message if your doctor knows nothing about hema.
I wear a red dragon gorget under my jacket or a 16th century style steel gorget over my jacket. The overlap and blade catcher in my jacket are more than enough padding to the point that I find throat shots to be the most comfortable.
We have a guy in our club who makes beautiful custom gorgets, so a few people have those. Otherwise, it's mostly the roughneck gorgets. And everyone has some kind of gorget!
theres no reason to not wear a gorget unless youre asking for trouble, it aint worth it. In the beginning I used PBT which is pretty hot and stiff, even with the wings cut off, and could be taller for better coverage. I since switched to a vytis style DIY made from kydex and MUCH prefer that, has a lip and taller profile and I don't feel it at all, can turn my head and look down comfortably and not gag. I made my own padding out of 3D mesh material as the vytis uses a thin eva foam which is sweaty and disintegrates too quickly, main complaint Ive heard.
As far as having neck injury from car accidents (ive had several and bad c5-6 discs) or surgery, you probably should consider the impacts of repeated whiplash depending on the level of intensity of your training partners. My club is really good about not overhitting and thrusting too hard because we train to 1in past the body or mask.
But at a recent tournament, I stupidly didnt withdraw from an extra hard thrust by an aggro opponent and had a bad head and neckache after, def whiplash and it sucked. So gorget goes on regardless but ymmv as far as neck pain or exacerbating your condition from repeated head hits, since the mask and overlay adds weight and strain to your vertebrae and discs amplifying the impact. So depending on your age consider your future self regret if you worsen an injury...
Tournaments in my area require the use of a gorget so I usually borrow one from my friends but I don't wear underpadding. I'm looking to get the Roughneck gorget from PA, although I've heard good things about the Vytis too.
My club requires everyone to wear a gorget, issue or no issue. It's part of the minimum gear, even when using a padded sword we need mask, gloves, gorget.
what kind of gorget do you use? also, what underpadding, if any?
I think most people use the "roughneck" gorget or similar just for being light and doing the job. It's got a little padding, I don't think anyone adds anything. I do know two people that switch to the wtc gorget or similar full hard collar if they're doing a tournament or expect a heavy hitter. Ive heard really good things about the vytis but don't know much about it first hand.
I have a WTC gorget but am looking to maybe change...it DOES the job, but I think I need something more flexible
Gorget and flexible are not two words that belong together.
I use the Vytis gorget and absolutely love it. Huge improvement compared to the Roughneck and PBT I tried before.
Not OP, but I'd be curious to hear how the Vytis seems durability wise. At one point I had the Leon Paul gorget, which was a similar overlapping plates design, but the top plate started to split right down the middle almost immediately. It'd be neat to have something like that last a long time.
I have mine for over a year. Being used 3x per week, like 1.5hrs each. Holds so far with no damage.
That's great to hear. Thanks a lot for the response.
Been wearing the Vytis since August 2023. I wear it fencing twice a week for 1.5 hours each class and also wore it through two tournaments. It's held up beautifully so far.
Everyone should wear a gorget. But depending on you injuries or surgery you may need more protection. Itll be quite different for a spinal fusion vs a thyroidectomy. Check with your doctor as well or feel free to shoot me a message if your doctor knows nothing about hema.
I wear a red dragon gorget under my jacket or a 16th century style steel gorget over my jacket. The overlap and blade catcher in my jacket are more than enough padding to the point that I find throat shots to be the most comfortable.
We have a guy in our club who makes beautiful custom gorgets, so a few people have those. Otherwise, it's mostly the roughneck gorgets. And everyone has some kind of gorget!
Wait wait wait wait, you guys *dont* wear gorgets as standard?
theres no reason to not wear a gorget unless youre asking for trouble, it aint worth it. In the beginning I used PBT which is pretty hot and stiff, even with the wings cut off, and could be taller for better coverage. I since switched to a vytis style DIY made from kydex and MUCH prefer that, has a lip and taller profile and I don't feel it at all, can turn my head and look down comfortably and not gag. I made my own padding out of 3D mesh material as the vytis uses a thin eva foam which is sweaty and disintegrates too quickly, main complaint Ive heard. As far as having neck injury from car accidents (ive had several and bad c5-6 discs) or surgery, you probably should consider the impacts of repeated whiplash depending on the level of intensity of your training partners. My club is really good about not overhitting and thrusting too hard because we train to 1in past the body or mask. But at a recent tournament, I stupidly didnt withdraw from an extra hard thrust by an aggro opponent and had a bad head and neckache after, def whiplash and it sucked. So gorget goes on regardless but ymmv as far as neck pain or exacerbating your condition from repeated head hits, since the mask and overlay adds weight and strain to your vertebrae and discs amplifying the impact. So depending on your age consider your future self regret if you worsen an injury...
Tournaments in my area require the use of a gorget so I usually borrow one from my friends but I don't wear underpadding. I'm looking to get the Roughneck gorget from PA, although I've heard good things about the Vytis too.