Extremely good value for money This product is fantastic, especially for the price. If you’re on the fence here I’d say go for it without a second thought. I do SCA rapier and I’ve fought mostly single sword for 2 years, but I was looking for an off hand to use in melees. I’ve only been playing with this thing for a week of practice and I’m already in love with it. The appearance may intimidate some marshals so you might have to deal with some reluctance based on looks alone, but I’ve fought in two different baronies this week and it passed inspection in both. Thoughts: – The shield has a really good weight and balance. It’s not too heavy to move around, but if you make dramatic movements it will tire you out, especially in a melee situation. That being said, I bet you could replace the handle with a wooden/plastic/aluminum one to shave some of that weight off, but I’m not sure how that would affect the overall balance. – The boss and the spikes are exactly as effective as you might expect at deflecting blades. I’ve found that if you hold it with the top and bottom pointing to your sides instead of up and down you can get away with some truly ridiculous parries. – The aggressive look really does throw some people off, which can give you an edge. I found this shield when I was doing a google image search for bucklers 3 years ago and I’ve wanted one ever since. It did not disappoint. (:
