Pants and Upper Legs#

There are not as many options for pants as there are for jackets, but maybe that’s for the best, especially if you have been spending hours with the SPES jacket customizer.

Tailoring#

There’s not much that can be done to tailor a pants after-the-fact. These pants are made from heavy materials that tend to break regular machinery. Some pants have suspenders to keep them from falling down if the fit is loose, and skirts are often considered “universal fit” due to the adjustable waist. Otherwise, we’re fairly limited in post-production modifications.

Form Factors#

One form factor for pants is, well, pants.

A lot of HEMA pants will go down to just above the knee. The reason they don’t extend below the knee is because puncture resistant fabrics won’t do anything to stop your opponent from breaking your shins. You are instead expected to wear hard protection over your knees and shins, which will fit and breathe more easily if you don’t have heavy puncture-resistant fabric in the way.

Another common form factor is “puffy pants” or “pluderhose.” These are pretty much exactly what they sound like, and they look fantastic, like a Meyer manual come to life. These also stop at the knee.

Last but not least are padded skirts and kilts which can offer better mobility or aesthetic. There are long and short varieties, the latter of which may not necessarily be sufficient on its own.

Women and femme-presenting fencers, and anyone with unique proportions should opt for custom sizing when buying padded pants (another unfortunate case of the pink tax). Non-customized puffy pants, skirts, and kilts will be more forgiving of different body shapes.

Recommendations#

The recommendations below are not exhaustive, and you can find pants from many other sellers.

Superior Fencing#

The Superior Fencing pants section offers pants, puffy pants, and skirts. There are a handful of really wild styles too.

Supfen pants are made to order and can take 3-6 months for production and shipping.

SPES#

The SPES legs section offers pants, puffy pants, and skirts. At the time of writing this guide, most options are primarily functional. Customization and tailoring is available for an additional charge.

SPES pants are made to order and can take 3-4 months for production and shipping. If you don’t need custom sizing and want to roll the dice, you can also check out their outlet section.

Distributor Options#

If you don’t need custom sizing, you can sometimes find Supfen pants in stock in North Armoury Leg Protection and Swordshop Leg Protection.