Thanks for the heads up, I will make sure to send my cash to Purpleheart and stick with my plan to just make my gambeson by hand.
As for the other bit- The HEMA Alliance is a 'beggar', and a snobby one at that, and beggars can't be choosers. It is now discovering the problems of armor's that the SCA has had for years. No they didn't listen to SCA folks when we tried to warn them due to HEMA prejudice against the SCA back then (and still now).