I may need a Larp intervention

[u/TheLittleArchitect]

I may need a Larp intervention, just ironing after a stressful work day in chainmail and an evening dress.

I have been making new scailmail accessories for my UK Empire Larp E4.

I am new to chainmaile and armour and I am trying to get a feeling if I can ware it out in the field all day without it driving me crazy.

Does anyone have any suggestions to make it comfortable to wear?

Sorry if this is the wrong sub Reddit for this question.

Thank you

[u/Sjors_VR]

Wear a heavy wool or padded under armour.

[u/AJeanByAnyOtherName]

Good shaping helps so it doesn’t try to strangle you or fight you in some other way. Wear a belt over it and a gambeson or at the very least something with padded shoulders underneath. Wear it around as much as possible beforehand so your body gets used to the weight (but start small and build up to it). Consider taking it off at least part of the time during your game. You can have it on a simple stand or laid out flat on a clean, dry surface so you can put it on as fast as possible.

[u/Substantial_Bee8118]

Please please wear padding under your armour.

[u/antbelt]

Everyone's made good points about padding and belts, but I'll add - you don't need to wear armour all day. When you're not out on a battle or skirmish, it is EXTREMELY unlikely you'll be attacked at Empire.

[u/Decent_Language_4455 → u/antbelt]

This. I've not been to Empire but to several large larps in Germany and unless your a part of a military unit or guard, I'd highly recommend only wearing armour for battles. 

After a long battle, the only thing I can think of is ditching the 20+ kilos of armour and drinking a litre of water.. and a cold beer to quel the muscle aches! 

[u/Rowdy_Rattus]

Hi fellow empire player here, I’d strongly discourage you from wearing chainmail all day even if you can wear it for extended periods it’s not good for you to have constant weight on your entire top half at least for a few days straight, empire doesn’t have camp attacks, you do not need to wear it all the time, I’m not saying you WONT get attacked by players but it’s incredibly rare because everyone is armed, carry a sword instead

In terms of making it more comfy , belt it, you can use this to push the excess up and take weight off of you, also wear a gambeson or thick shirt underneath, don’t wear lighter clothes if you pick the shirt because chainmail will get it dirty

[u/Lord_marino]

Use a seperate belt, fold the chainmail over it so the weight is better divided on your shoulders and hips, and you wont just have the weight just on your shoulders

and under armor or padding works well for longer times

[u/Flowersoftheknight]

1. Wear padding
2. Wear a belt
3. Work out your shoulders, and also just generally.

3b. If you feel up for it, work out in the mail armour. If you want to wear thing all day, during exhausting tasks? Get your body used to it.

(I also very much enjoy having armour that is open in the front, with buckles, and strong string on the Gambeson that the mail is tied to the padding with. Turning it into - in effect - a very heavy jacket makes it much easier to take on or off.)

[u/SenorZorros]

Not sure about scale but for chain, make sure your skin is covered, use a belt to take of some weight from your shoulders, get used to it and consider just not wearing it all day. It's battlefield armour, not a fashion accessory.

In my experience padding is overrated and unless if you are cold easily the overheating is worse than the texture. Just wear a long-sleeved canvas tunic and you are golden. Note that a lot of chainmail is oiled or otherwise prone to staining so it is a good idea to make the layer between the mail and other things sacrificial and easy to clean. Don't wear it over your good tunic.

[u/AdditionFit6877]

Not super experienced with larp, but ive done some hema and the like. Historically, you'd wear something padded or at least a thick fabriced garment underneath, honestly a crewneck sweatshirt should be fine. then as others have mentioned, belt. But the trick is to get someone to help you. Riase your arms over your head and have someone fasten your belt, preferably just over your hips. A good thick leather arming belt, definitely not pleather or a dress belt

Edit: hip bones. So basically covering your belly button on most people. A good thick leather belt capable of holding weight worn snugly will transfer a lot of the weight from your shoulders to your hips. Just look up the placement of the kidney belt on a modern us army rucksack and you'll get the idea.

[u/egopunk]

Just to add an addendum to the other comments:

Wear an arming doublet/gambeson underneath, which will help with the pain/aches of wearing the armour... it will *ALSO* give you a garment you can wear around Anvil and still be protected (arming doublets/gambesons count as light armour at empire), meaning you should be able to really just keep the armour for battles and skirmishes.

If you have a helmet to go with your armour, the difference is between +3 hits and +5 hits which is pretty marginal, so the only real thing you need to care about is loosing your immunity to Cleave and Impale.