Traket92X
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- Jul 12, 2010
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Traket
tl;dr version: LARP weapons are awesome and totally worth it for kids who want to play with swords.
As a kid, I was always a big fan of play sword fighting. Back then I had some awesome wooden swords that I still have. However, those things hurt something vicious when you smashed a finger. The other problem was they just wouldn't be able to hold up to a good hard fight. Now that my oldest was getting old enough to play with swords (that's the excuse at least
), I started looking online for some swords that could stand up to actual fighting. I originally was looking at metal ones so play with my siblings, but I ran across something far better.
When I decided to get something, I wanted something that would be durable enough I didn't need to stress about kids destroying it. The main user is my almost 4 yr old and his friends and I didn't want to police the use of them.
Live Action Role Play Weapons - As one road let to another on Google, I ended up running across LARP weapons. In general, they are 'weapons' that have a solid core rod with a foam coating on them. I basically know nothing about actual LARP except the weapons looked cool.
Below are the links for the weapons I ended up getting. It's the cheapest from this company. Their claim is that they use an injection molding process that bonds the foam material to the fiberglass core road so that damage to the foam does not compromise the integrity of the remainder of the foam.
https://www.darkknightarmoury.com/p-17680-prince-the-rise-of-a-warrior-sword.aspx
https://www.darkknightarmoury.com/p-17681-dragonet-rise-of-the-flame-sword.aspx
PIREP on it:
I purchased three of the swords in November. One sword was for my son and the other two were for him to let his friends use. The only real limit I had on their use was no smashing sharp stuff with them. Five months later, these things have held up awesome. The kids have had tons of fun with them and they are used daily. Imagine a bunch of kids with free range to swords, they didn't go easy on them. For strength, these things are stout. I've had duels with my brother (both of us 20+). We didn't try to hold back at all and they held up great with no indications of damage to either the foam or the core. A full strength blow to the body or hand is more like
than 
. Even jabs and pokes are a non issue.
On the tips, a bit of the paint has worn off. Given that they are drug on the floor and used as a shovel, that's entirely expected. There is a tear on to the foam. After checking with the kids, it was determined that something thought it was a good idea to rub the blade up and down the corner of a brick house. Even that is minimal damage and I can confirm that the foam gives no indication that the tear will spread of that there was any separation from the core.
Long story short, these things are awesome both as a toy and for actually fighting around without worrying about getting hurt. They are holding up great and are certainly worth the added cost compared to some plastic thing from Walmart or Toys-r-Us.
Full disclosure: I have absolutely NO affiliation with this company or any LARP company. I just figured I'm not the only one who would love to play around with a solid durable sword without having to worry about smashed fingers or bones.
I haven't tried any other brands or any other swords than the ones listed. When I was doing my looking online though, all reviews I could find for Calimacil were excellent.
As a kid, I was always a big fan of play sword fighting. Back then I had some awesome wooden swords that I still have. However, those things hurt something vicious when you smashed a finger. The other problem was they just wouldn't be able to hold up to a good hard fight. Now that my oldest was getting old enough to play with swords (that's the excuse at least
), I started looking online for some swords that could stand up to actual fighting. I originally was looking at metal ones so play with my siblings, but I ran across something far better.When I decided to get something, I wanted something that would be durable enough I didn't need to stress about kids destroying it. The main user is my almost 4 yr old and his friends and I didn't want to police the use of them.
Live Action Role Play Weapons - As one road let to another on Google, I ended up running across LARP weapons. In general, they are 'weapons' that have a solid core rod with a foam coating on them. I basically know nothing about actual LARP except the weapons looked cool.
Below are the links for the weapons I ended up getting. It's the cheapest from this company. Their claim is that they use an injection molding process that bonds the foam material to the fiberglass core road so that damage to the foam does not compromise the integrity of the remainder of the foam.
https://www.darkknightarmoury.com/p-17680-prince-the-rise-of-a-warrior-sword.aspx
https://www.darkknightarmoury.com/p-17681-dragonet-rise-of-the-flame-sword.aspx
PIREP on it:
I purchased three of the swords in November. One sword was for my son and the other two were for him to let his friends use. The only real limit I had on their use was no smashing sharp stuff with them. Five months later, these things have held up awesome. The kids have had tons of fun with them and they are used daily. Imagine a bunch of kids with free range to swords, they didn't go easy on them. For strength, these things are stout. I've had duels with my brother (both of us 20+). We didn't try to hold back at all and they held up great with no indications of damage to either the foam or the core. A full strength blow to the body or hand is more like
than . Even jabs and pokes are a non issue.On the tips, a bit of the paint has worn off. Given that they are drug on the floor and used as a shovel, that's entirely expected. There is a tear on to the foam. After checking with the kids, it was determined that something thought it was a good idea to rub the blade up and down the corner of a brick house. Even that is minimal damage and I can confirm that the foam gives no indication that the tear will spread of that there was any separation from the core.
Long story short, these things are awesome both as a toy and for actually fighting around without worrying about getting hurt. They are holding up great and are certainly worth the added cost compared to some plastic thing from Walmart or Toys-r-Us.
Full disclosure: I have absolutely NO affiliation with this company or any LARP company. I just figured I'm not the only one who would love to play around with a solid durable sword without having to worry about smashed fingers or bones.
I haven't tried any other brands or any other swords than the ones listed. When I was doing my looking online though, all reviews I could find for Calimacil were excellent.
