This Brigandine Torso Armor is crafted from plates of 18 gauge steel which are solidly riveted inside a shell of sturdy and high quality suede leather. The individual plate lames are riveted only to the leather and allowed to glide past each other freely to give this armor a substantial degree of articulation and movement; this ensures that the armor has a minimal impact on the movement of the bearer and will allow them to contract and extend the torso as needed. The upper torso plates can also glide past one another horizontally to allow the arms to move closely to the chest without hindrance.
The armor is donned by simply placing it on and over the torso and then buckling the sides; a set of durable steel buckles and thick leather straps on both sides of the torso both secure the armor and adjust its fit.
Brigandine armor was quite common in the later medieval period and brought excellent plate-armor protection without grand expense and this is evidenced by the common depiction of this armor on men-at-arms and soldiers of the period. The armor was fairly common among knights and the more well-heeled warriors of medieval society as well who would display their status with more exotic and colorful fabric to use for the shell backing of their brigandine. The armor is eminently practical as the overlapping plates work with one another to absorb and dissipate the force of a blow and their steel construction ensures that the torso of the wearer is practically immune to cuts. Being crafted from a composite of smaller plates also made its creation more materially attainable than the large and solid pieces of steel plate used for a plate harness.
SIZING INFO:
Medium
Interior Chest Circumference: 38 – 42 (adjustable)
Length (not including decorative fringe) 22
Weight: 16 lbs
Large
Interior Chest Circumference: 42 – 46 (adjustable)
Length (not including decorative fringe) 23
Weight: 19 lbs
Louis Ryan (verified owner) –
Despite the many rivets shown on the front of this cuirass, there are relatively few plates; very large, and not extremely maneuverable. It can ride rather high towards the front of the neck and low in the back, due to the orientation of the straps on the sides. I’d recommend not be stingy with the money, if you’re going to spend any at all, and getting some of the better brigandine models on this sight.
(For beginner armor collectors, it should be noted, a thick padded jacket or gambeson is very important to any armor set you buy, so the bulkiness on this one isn’t particularly out of place, if only slightly uncomfortable.)
Gabe A (verified owner) –
Relatively good craftsmanship for the price. It looks great and feels good. It will serve my purposes well (LARP, light sparring, etc). It’s obviously a little bulky looking, but that comes with the Kusnacht style. My chest size is about 42, and the size M fits pretty well, though if I were maybe 10 lbs heavier I would probably want a large. Some of the plates require a little bending to fit the user (mostly around the shoulders and sides), but I’ve come to expect that from off-the-shelf armor pieces. The arming points on the shoulders work just fine. The main problem I found with this brig was the strapping system. The buckles come riveted to the back plate. I’m a fairly flexible guy, but I found it practically impossible to strap this on by myself. I’m not sure if the strapping/buckling system is historical or not, but whatever it is, it is not at all functional for me. If I had the tools, I would consider drilling the rivets out and swapping the buckles to the front. Because I don’t have the tools or space to do that, I put straps through the buckles and riveted (with chicago screws) roller buckles to the front straps. With buckles on the front now, it’s fairly easy to put on my myself.
Four stars because the price is really stinking good for a brig, but it required some considerable modification to use.
Oh, and KOA is great to work with. The item was shipped quickly and packaged well. I will work with KOA in the future.