Overview 4.5/5

-Quality: 4

-Pricing: $$

-Durability: 4

An amazing simple yet durable blade, remarkable durability for a Latex Covered foam weapon, and a good amount of detail for the cost.

Statistics
-length: 18″ or 45.7 cm
-handle style: firm
-handle size: 5″ long approx
-handle composition: Solid plastic or Rubber
-foam composition for tip: Vari Flex Tip design with no break point
-core composition: fiberglass rod
-weapon tips: semi-beveled
-striking surface: semi beveled
-core capped with a multiple foam compositions to prevent wear and tear

Review

Fast, I mean real fast. So fast that it blurs when you fight with it. OK maybe I’m exaggerating but I own a couple of daggers and me and my group often take part in Dagger duels. Now I’m known for fighting with slightly heavier weapons just so I can train my arms up for the faster moves later. However once I’ve taken enough of a beating I know it’s time for me to step up my game and use a quicker weapon. This Dagger is my weapons of choice time and time again.

It’s held up incredibly well considering the beatings I’ve given it, moves so fast I don’t think I’ve ever actually lost a dagger duel when I’ve used it.

On first inspection I must admit the light weight did make me wonder as to just how durable the weapon would be. The pommel isn’t wrapped around the handle, rather it is a shape cut out and placed on which always gives me doubts about how likely it would be to fall off during combat, so far however this weapon is holding up incredibly well! The light weight is obviously a massive asset towards it’s speed and lets be real, who needs a tough dagger anyway? Most of the time you’re avoiding your opponents blade rather than trying to strike it. (in a dagger duel at least) So all things considered I’d say this dagger does the job it’s supposed to do.

Conclusion.

I spent long and hard deciding whether to give this weapon a 5 out of 5 rating, and eventually decided to go with 4.5. The reason being If you are not looking to play as an elven style character (or don’t have a reason why you’re character could use an elven weapon) then this  blade isn’t for you. Also Some people may find hat over time the weapon deteriorates, purely down to the fact that this is a small foam latex dagger and not as durable as the simple boffer weapons or injection molded ones that exist out there. However if you can use this dagger for your character, you will not be disappointed.

Overview 4/5

-Quality: 4

-Pricing: $$$

-Durability: 4

An amazing simple yet durable blade, remarkable durability for a Latex Covered foam weapon, and a good amount of detail for the cost.

Statistics
-length: 41.5″ or 104 cm
-handle style: firm
-handle size: 10″ long approx
-handle composition: Solid plastic or Rubber
-foam composition for tip: Vari Flex Tip design with no break point
-core composition: fiberglass rod
-weapon tips: semi-beveled
-striking surface: semi beveled
-core capped with a multiple foam compositions to prevent wear and tear

Review

I’ve never owned an elven weapon before, so when Strongblade offered to send me some to review I jumped at the chance. I’ve always assumed they were lightweight flimsy things, which were almost no use in full on combat.

How wrong I was.

The first thing i noticed about these weapons was the fact that they were incredibly resilient. They had that nice durable rubber feeling that lets you know that the weapon isn’t likely to fall apart anytime soon. Naturally I couldn’t wait to get them into a combat situation, so I quickly grabbed a good friend of mine armed him with a (very very heavy) weapon, and we set about bashing each other to oblivion! The weapon actually held it’s ground well despite my fears. I think the added weight of the rubber lends itself to a much more sturdy blade than to the elven weapons I’ve been used to in the past.

You might think that the durability and increased weight may go against you in terms of speed in combat, however despite this weight the sword still weighed in lighter than the injected foam weapons of Calimacil for example, though in a fight against a pure foam cloth covered ultralight you are definitely going to be at a disadvantage.

All things considered however for the cost, the durability and the plain yet simple design I can safely say this is the best Elven (albeit Drow) weapon I have seen for a very long time.

I’m definitely converted and am looking forward to a good few more battles with the blade in the coming months!

Conclusion, If you play a drow or dark elf type character then I can safely say that this is the only sword for you. It’s quick effective, and looks stylish. It’s rare to find something that matches aesthetics as well as it matches combat!

(Watch out for the review on it’s counterpart dagger – Here – )

Overview 4/5

-Quality: 4

-Pricing: $$$

-Durability: 4

An amazing looking weapon, simple yet functional, significantly more durable than the foam carved and latex covered swords and this design is definitely more affordable than most.

Statistics

-length: 42″ or 105 cm
-weight: 15.9 oz or 450 g
-handle style: firm
-handle size: 10″ long x 4″ circumference, or 25.6 cm long x 10.2 cm circumference
-handle composition: Calimacil foam
-hilt size: 9.5″ or 24.3 cm wide
-hilt composition: Calimacil foam covered in flexible plastic for strength
-foam weight: Calimacil proprietary composition, lightweight, sturdy, distributes force
-foam thickness depth to core on striking surface: +5/8″
-foam thickness depth to core on all non-striking surfaces: +3/8″
-foam thickness from core to end/tip: +1 ½”
-standard core composition: fiberglass rod
-core composition: fiberglass rod
-weapon tips: semi-beveled
-striking surface: semi beveled
-core capped with a fiber matrix to prevent tearing or splitting of the foam

Review

I’ve always been wary of Foam Molded Larp weapons. IN the past I’ve seen them with unlevel rods which can protrude from the sides of the blade, I’ve seen them with inconsistent densities of foam which can prove to be ridiculously dense or too soft. So I was excited to get my hands on a Calimacil weapon as I’d heard so many great things about them.

From the moment you first look at this sword it’s obvious that you’re holding a quality product. The balance has a nice even feel to it, though it may be a little heavy to those who’re used to lighter tournament ready weapons. The colouring of this particular model is rather dark though as I’ve mentioned before this does tend to be my favourite colour pattern. and the sheer level of detail even in this most basic models is incredible.

The squire comes in 3 differing lengths 42″ for the Bastard, 37″ for the Long and 32″ for the Short sword. Though all cost around the same price, so you really are just choosing your ideal weapon length. I suspect the main reason for the lack of price difference is due to the lengthy production process. The difference in materials between the longer and shorter sword really is negligible as it’s all blade length. But the manufacturing process which takes up the bulk of the time is where the cost comes in.

The weapon is made from two different densities of foam with a distinctive join line between the two at the point where the blade meets the guard. The softer foam on the blade is actually a lot less dense than many of the latex weapons I’ve seen such as the ones by Eagle Flex. In contrast, the foam for the guard is incredibly solid. In fact so solid that you can use the  guard for “fingering”  to gain additional control over the weapon.

You may notice a small hole at the tip of the blade, this is used to steady the rod during creation to ensure that the rod is securely centred throughout the blade and has no negative side effect to the weapon itself.

In combat I did notice the Bastard sword could be a little unwieldy in one hand compared to a non-latex or even a Latex Boffer sword. Though when used against someone with a similar weapon this weight added to a tremendous sense of realism which made fighting incredibly fun.

Conclusion

I was incredibly impressed with this weapon, and for the cost I would strongly recommend them to anyone who is looking to try a foam weapon for the first time, or even to someone who just wanted a classier looking weapon out of all of the weapons I’ve used I suspect the durability on this to last the longest. All in all a great choice.

Overview 2/5

-Quality: 3

-Pricing: $$

-Durability: 2

Such a disappointment! I wanted this shield to be amazing! Unfortunately despite it’s rugged main body it’s let down with a set of really weak thin leather straps and buckles that don’t fit correctly. I did manage to Mod mine to make them work well, but if you’ve never done it before you could risk ruining your shield.

Statistics

-heigth: 35″ or 87 cm
-width, curved: 23.5″ or 59 cm
-width, edge-to-edge: 20″ or 50 cm
-center depth: 3.5″ or 9 cm
-foam thickness: 1.25″ or 3 cm
-edges: flat edges, pure foam
-weight: 4.25 lbs
-lift: 2 x leather straps
-design: embossed and painted
-center protrusion: 2.25″ or 6 cm

Review

I’ve always loved Roman shields for LARP fighting especially when they are built with a natural curve to protect that often exposed shoulder and elbow. The curve is usually built by fusing two pieces of foam together with a “bow” between them so that when the glue sets they form a solid curve which adds a great deal of sturdiness to the shield additional protection and yet doesn’t increase the weight or jeopardise safety by the inclusion of a solid core.

Once again with regards to Eagle Flex products I ordered these from a local supplier and received them within 4 days which is an awesome turnaround.

Unfortunately once I received them there were some immediate issues. The first is that they don’t specify whether the one you receive is left or right handed. I ordered two shields for me and a friend who are both right handed. As karma would have it we ended up getting one left and one right handed. Which meant we needed to return one and replace it with one of the correct direction. So this is definitely something to be aware of when you first order.

The shields themselves are made from a really great quality foam and latex, they’re very sturdy and the detail is great with lovely airbrushing around the detail to give it a really solid look.

The problem starts when you look at the handles. They’re both made from a ridiculously thin piece of leather with a buckle which is conveniently located EXACTLY WHERE YOUR HAND WOULD GO! My appologies for the outburst, but how are you supposed to grip this thing without slicing your hand open? It is easily the worst strap system for a shield I’ve ever seen.

The straps ruin an otherwise awesome and cost effective latex shield.

The good news is that the leather straps do appear to run quit deep inside the shield so deep that I decided that it was possible to use them as a basis for a different strap rigging which I custom built myself.

If any of you are interested add a comment below and if there’s enough I’ll be happy to explain how and what I did.

Conclusion

Such a shame that these otherwise awesome shields would be ruined by a very impractical strap. honestly these shields are completely useless in my opinion without changing the straps. However once I changed them they became an AWESOME piece of kit. I have heard that versions exist with a different strap system, though I have yet to see them. My verdict? Only get them if you’re ready to modify them.