Lessons learned from 6 hours in harness

[Sir James A]

Lesson #1 - Padded chausses. Definitely.









I knew that front centering pin on the greave could be a problem, since I just had it welded on that morning before I left and didn't have time for any "testing". I picked up some blue foam padding, which I left next to the computer... oops! All I wore between me and the plate was single-layer linen pants. The sides are "corner bites" from either the greave corner or the articulating rivets, haven't put them back on to see which one it was yet. edit: forgot to mention the blisters. one on my left heel popped and left a nice little 'skin flap'; another on my right foot, on top of my small toe - no idea how that happened! never had one on top of my foot before.

Courtesy of the humidity and profuse sweating, I spent ~4 hours cleaning rust from the inside of the armor - which I promptly gave a coating of black epoxy paint. Still need to de-rust the outside. I can't imagine what would have happened if the armor wasn't oiled!

I also didn't wear any padding on my upper body except for the arming coat. No bruises!

Lesson #2 - Know your limits, and respect them. Chubby computer programmers are not built for hot, humid days, in full harness. I made it about 6 hours on Saturday in harness but couldn't make it to the 3rd show; Sunday, I cheated and wore my surcoat but no cuirass. I made it about 7 1/2 hours that day, and did all 3 shows.

Lesson #3 - Hydrate, conserve and relax. Drink fluids. Lots of fluids. Don't overexert yourself early - like I did saturday, showing off a bit. Special thank you to Sir Edward, Sir Brian, Sir William and my (cousin? nephew?) Chris for helping me with everything over the weekend. I absolutely could not have made it through the day without their assistance.

At least I looked intimidating on the bench!



Not in the face!



Right before I shed the armor - you can see the exhaustion in my eyes

[Sir Brian]

Sir James my esteem for your stoutheartedness has been multiplied tenfold after the hardships you endured without complaint! Truly it was worthy of a seasoned 'grunt'. I am honored and privileged to call you my brother knight! 
- oh and use more padding!

[Thorsteinn]

Also- Natural Fibers are your friend. Synthetics the Devil!
&
Helm Time is your friend.

I love me my 3 layer Linen gambeseon. It worked all weekend at the cold,rainy, hot, humid event:



Note: Due to a medium man with a greatsword, and a large man with a broadsword hitting my right triceps at the Pas d'Armes I have a bruise that goes from elbow to armpit.

[Sir James A]

Sir James my esteem for your stoutheartedness has been multiplied tenfold after the hardships you endured without complaint! Truly it was worthy of a seasoned 'grunt'.

Thank you, Sir Brian. I did my best, and wish I could have held in there for the third show on the first day. I knew it would be a challenge before I even suited up - but I did not know just how much of a challenge it would be!

I am honored and privileged to call you my brother knight! 

As am I! Hear hear!

- oh and use more padding!

Indeed! Padded chausses are on this weekend's high priority list. If I would have just remembered to pack the 'backup padding' squares I had in the room with me as I was posting and packing friday, I would have been much better off. But, lesson learned.

[Sir Wolf]

ya but ya looked kinda awesome heheeee

[Sir Edward]

Yep, there's nothing like wearing the harness at faire all day to show you where you need to make improvements or add padding.

Those are some well earned armor bites! Man, that was great that you got through all three shows in Sunday. It's not easy in the heat, that's for sure. I hope you'll understand when I keep shoving water bottles into your hands. On a day like that, it needs to be at hand constantly. But it sounds like you did OK keeping up with the hydration.

[Joshua Santana]

These lessons also are warnings and counsel to me (even though i never had the pleasure of wearing a full harness). 

Lesson #1 - Padded chausses. Definitely.

Point taken.

Lesson #2 - Know your limits, and respect them. Chubby computer programmers are not built for hot, humid days, in full harness. I made it about 6 hours on Saturday in harness but couldn't make it to the 3rd show; Sunday, I cheated and wore my surcoat but no cuirass. I made it about 7 1/2 hours that day, and did all 3 shows.

Exactly, the worse thing that you can do is exert yourself to the point of heat exhaustion.  That is why physical training and conditioning is necessary to prepare for events like these where you might have to stand in humid weather for more than 7 hours.  This applies to me as well.

Lesson #3 - Hydrate, conserve and relax. Drink fluids. Lots of fluids. Don't overexert yourself early - like I did saturday, showing off a bit. Special thank you to Sir Edward, Sir Brian, Sir William and my (cousin? nephew?) Chris for helping me with everything over the weekend. I absolutely could not have made it through the day without their assistance.

Yep, fluids will help keep you going on a humid day.  If I was participating in a Demo, I would bring three or four canisters of fluids (water) to help with the heat.  Yes, never exert yourself, do what you can even though it may not appear to be fun sitting down. 

    I am honored and privileged to call you my brother knight! 


As am I! Hear hear!

You all hear are my Brother Knights even though I haven't met you in person nor had the pleasure in bouting with any of you.  I consider you to be my teachers, my friends, my Brethren in Arms, for that I am proud to say this to you all.

Yep, there's nothing like wearing the harness at faire all day to show you where you need to make improvements or add padding.

 

On a day like that, it needs to be at hand constantly. But it sounds like you did OK keeping up with the hydration.

That is good.   

[Sir Gerard de Rodes]

Sir James,
Yes a few hard earned armour bites indeed.
I find thick woolen hose are more than adequate padding for my leg harness. Maybe a few calculated blows with the hammer may sort some of the fitting issues.
Blisters on the top of your foot could be caused by the weight of your greaves/leg harness sitting on your foot, this can be eased by wearing a strategically plaged piece of thick leather over the top of your boot or fastened to the bottom of your greave. The strap of my spurs works perfectly at padding my greaves from my foot.

Hydration is a must, if you stop using the toilet regularly then something is wrong. If when you do go to the toilet your urine is dark yellow then you really need to take on water.
We find that "re-hidrate" ( not sure if they are called that over the pond) type tablets are a great way of topping up on hydration and all the natural salts and good stuff needed to last a few hours in full harness.

Your harness is looking great all the same 

G.

[Sir Rodney]

You're kit looks great in action!  I'm glad you had such a good time, armour bites and all. 

I get alot of crap from my mates, but I completely disassemble my kit and wipe it down with gun oil as soon as I get home.  If I'm at a multi-day event, I'll do it as soon as I get back to camp while "rehydrating" with home brew.  The hockey/armour bag is your enemy; get your stuff out of it ASAP.  The gambeson can be left to hang dry in direct sunlight and washed only sparingly (read: when your wife demands it  ).

[Sir Edward]

What we often find is that on the hottest days here, you do simply stop peeing altogether when in armor, since it's nearly impossible to rehydrate fast enough. It's not healthy. But it's often a reality of the weather conditions. The alternative is to drink so much water that you get sick. Usually I just barely keep up, and start needing to hit the bathroom right when I take the armor off.

One really good suggestion we had was to use Gatorade, and dilute it to 50% with water.

[Sir William]

James, you're a hero to us all.  I thought you'd lost your mind but you knew what you were about - certainly better than I did. 

[Sir James A]

Sir Wolf, thank you.

Sir Edward, I absolutely understand about the constant flow of water bottles. It's both understood, and greatly appreciated. The longer the day wears on, the more I forget to keep drinking.

Joshua Santana, I am, of course, more than happy to provide you with thoughts and suggestions on your harness when the time comes. Physical conditioning is definitely key; I can't think of any way to truly prepare yourself for long-term time in harness, except for actually wearing it. It's not like running, it's not like weightlifting. It's a hybrid. Sure, the weight is spread out over your body - but 75 pounds gets heavy after a while, distributed or not. Make sure to mix up the training methods for both strength and endurance. If either of those is lacking, your harness will let you know.

Sir Gerard, the main issue was the centering pin on my greave. The inside of the greave isn't smooth, it has the protrusion from the round-head rivet, as well as being welded all around it. This makes a nice 'nub' that kept digging at my shin bone and leaving those marks in front. I *knew* I'd need padding; I forgot to bring it in my excitement. Also, the blister is the top of my toe, not my foot - although I am indeed using the same "spur strap" method for resting my greave that you are. Thanks for the kind words on the harness.

Lord Rodney, thank you. It was a blast. The armor was literally rusting before it came off my body, particularly inside. I refuse to use an armor bag, as you stated, it's not friendly to armor at all. I did have to keep it in the trunk, but I kept the plate separate from the clothing. I've since cleaned the inside of all of the armor and applied epoxy paint so that it won't rust again. I have some oil wipes and spray, which seem to have done the trick so far, after getting home. I washed my arming clothes last night, as I'm not sure what the rust will do to the fabric. I believe Febreze will be my friend - or rather, the friend of those around me.

Sir William, 'tis rather possible - nay, even likely - that I have lost my mind - especially in that I will be doing this again in a week and a half - though I hope with minimal to no bruising this time.

I'd like to say thank you to Sir Edward, Sir Brian, Sir William, and my "squire" for the day Chris, for the help in getting me armored up, keeping me fed, hydrated, and functioning, and helping me get out of harness. I absolutely could not have done it without your help and support!

[Sir Wolf]

to quote someone "you whine like a mule, you are still alive!"

ahhaha jkjk hehehehe. ya I am totally with you about the re-hydrating at events. the only events I do stay hydrated is WW2 and thats cause you carry a canteen on you all day and its my job as SSgt to keep myself and my 20 guys hydrated. otherwise i'm horrible about it.

[Joshua Santana]

Joshua Santana, I am, of course, more than happy to provide you with thoughts and suggestions on your harness when the time comes. Physical conditioning is definitely key; I can't think of any way to truly prepare yourself for long-term time in harness, except for actually wearing it. It's not like running, it's not like weightlifting. It's a hybrid. Sure, the weight is spread out over your body - but 75 pounds gets heavy after a while, distributed or not. Make sure to mix up the training methods for both strength and endurance. If either of those is lacking, your harness will let you know.

Thank you Sir James!  Much appreciated and I expect nothing to come out as planned originally when training with the Kit when it finally comes.  Still, thank you.

I'd like to say thank you to Sir Edward, Sir Brian, Sir William, and my "squire" for the day Chris, for the help in getting me armored up, keeping me fed, hydrated, and functioning, and helping me get out of harness. I absolutely could not have done it without your help and support!

Huzzah!

but I completely disassemble my kit and wipe it down with gun oil as soon as I get home.  If I'm at a multi-day event, I'll do it as soon as I get back to camp while "rehydrating" with home brew.  The hockey/armour bag is your enemy; get your stuff out of it ASAP.  The gambeson can be left to hang dry in direct sunlight and washed only sparingly (read: when your wife demands it

Advice taken.   

[Sir Wolf]

http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=149548 padded chausis!!