Gambeson and Glove from KoA

[Joshua Santana]

Recently I ordered a gambeson and a pair of gloves for $300 plus and have received them two days ago.

My initial reaction to both these items were pleasant as there was no sign of deformity or damage to both items.  And I decided to inspect the gambeson first. 

The gambeson I ordered was from Kult of Athena, specifically the Late 14th Century Gambeson, size Medium and in the color red. http://www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=SNMC7109R&name=Late+14th+Century+Gambeson+%2D+Red

Attempts on putting it one were easy with no difficulty.  The fit is perfect and it feels like wearing a thick winter jacket which does serve the purpose of absorbing blows from the longsword or giving a padded feel when donning armor. 

The arm mobility is good and after swinging a couple of longsword blows, there was no difficulty in movement.  One note that I should add is that there is tightness on the wrist and a bit of a tight feel on the armpit section of the gambeson.  I am not sure if this is the norm but so far it doesn't hinder my movements. 

The buttons on the gambeson do work as they fit into the slots, however a concern of mine is the sewing on the holes and the buttons themselves as they appear to be either breaking or loosely stringed.  Yet after multiple tries, the buttons don't appear to be breaking off.

So far with the gambeson, apart from some small concerns, it comes out as a good, near cheap gambeson of good quality.

The gloves that I ordered were the gloves by Absolute Force as seen here: http://www.kultofathena.com/product.asp?item=H0006D&name=Absolute+Force+%2D+Deluxe+HEMA+Sparring+Gloves.

The gloves by themselves seem to fit more towards longsword fencing rather than anything else considering they are made of hardened leather.

The fit on the gloves was a medium size.  Thy fit my hands well and the finger slots doesn't hinder my natural movement when holding the longsword.  The tightness of the gloves is focused on the wrist and on the vambrace by use of strings.  I was able to change the vambrace to allow the gambeson sleeve in when testing it with the longsword. 

What I did not expect was the size of the glove to be bigger than the longsword handle but I managed to overcome that by changing my grip. 

The gloves mobility is good and flex is exceptional. 

So far, these two items have not disappointed me and have passed my expectations. 

I wanted to post this review so that if someone needs a decently priced gambeson or longsword gloves, they will know where to look for.

You can find out the pics of me in the gambeson and gloves on my facebook page.

[Sir Brian]

That’s a pretty nice gambeson. The cut looks correct but a sure way to know if they have the cut right on the arms is by lifting your arms straight up while watching the bottom hemline . If it doesn’t ride up with your arms, then the cut is correct. As for those cloth buttons, I had a similar setup and couldn’t stand those kind of buttons under my maille so I changed them to some large flat pewter ones. A lot of folks like those AF gloves.

[Thorsteinn]

So overall for the price it's not bad then?

[Sir Brian]

That is an excellent price and well worth considering, even if it turns into a handy spare. 

[Jon Blair]

That’s a pretty nice gambeson. The cut looks correct but a sure way to know if they have the cut right on the arms is by lifting your arms straight up while watching the bottom hemline . If it doesn’t ride up with your arms, then the cut is correct. As for those cloth buttons, I had a similar setup and couldn’t stand those kind of buttons under my maille so I changed them to some large flat pewter ones. A lot of folks like those AF gloves.

Looking at the pictures of the item on KoA's site, it doesn't look like a true grande aissiette. It looks more like the Charles VI jupon.