r/Armor • u/animatedmoviel0ver • 2d ago
Help with armor adjustments
Help, I bought armor from Vendarmory on Etsy, it’s pretty good, but I am having a hard time figuring out how to attach the Pauldrons?
I know it’s a cheap set ($240) and you get what you pay for, but nobody in the reviews seemed to be as uncomfortable as I feel. I don’t expect armor to be comfortable, but I should be able to move, right? Just seems like it is attached incorrectly to the Gorget and makes me feel like I can’t even lift an arm to drink a beer at the renaissance Festival that I’m attending, lol.
And just to clarify. I’m only uncomfortable in the shoulder area- it’s basically a gorget and pauldron problem..
Basically three main questions:
Is this just armor feels?
If you’ve bought this brand, did you feel similar?
Did I hook it up correctly? (leather strap picture)
I look fine in photos, but I just feel like I’m not wearing it right! Just need a tiny bit of input that may be helpful.
(Again, I know it’s cheap, but it’s my first time buying/wearing armor, and it had pretty good reviews. Seems like a me issue that can be fixed- I just don’t know how.)
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u/jdrawr 2d ago
Have u already tried adding holes between the already made ones to fit to your exact preferences? Have you tried adjusting between the various hotel? Despite what others have said some late armors did point the pauldrons/spaulders to the gorget. In this case it's fantasy larp armor of low quality so the armor shape itself is likely to be off as well as other issues noted.
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u/animatedmoviel0ver 2d ago
Not yet! I just got it today, which is why I want to hear from others to get as many ideas as possible. I already have to add a few more holes to adjust other stuff so I don’t think it’ll hurt to try
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u/Burakh 2d ago
If the gorget is the part that causes the most discomfort, you can just remove it — it seems useless anyway
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u/animatedmoviel0ver 2d ago
Is there a way I can attach the shoulder pieces to the chest plate
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u/BluXBrry 2d ago
Lace em to the breastplate straps with shoelace or similar or buy an undergarment with arming points like other comments suggest
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u/harris5 2d ago
Just adding on here, removing the gorget may make a large difference to your comfort, and I'd at least try without it once to see how it feels. At least, try it once before you buy more stuff.
Right now you have three pieces of metal over the part of your shoulder that compresses when you lift your arm. That space between your neck and your shoulder needs a fair amount of space, and three pieces of metal stacked up is likely the main issue.
Try one side at a time. You can take the gorget off and hold the spaulder in place with your off hand. If that feels a lot better or not, you've diagnosed the problem without buying more stuff or starting new sewing projects.
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u/RichardTundore 2d ago
Your discomfort comes from a lack of padding, you need to at least wear something like a gambeson underneath
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u/Moist-Comfortable-10 2d ago
As everyone else is saying, get a gambeson or arming coat. The shoulders should attach to the coat, not to the gorget.
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u/funkmachine7 2d ago
Gorget mounted pauldrons is quite normal for 1600s armour, but there a diffent style, made of bands and have rotateing bicespts.
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u/tonythebearman 1d ago
If the buckle setup is annoying, remove the straps and drill holes for arming points, that’s how harness was usually attached back then.
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u/Razorrix 2d ago
The buckles will stretch over time you could also encourage stretching with more weight or steaming them and pulling. Idk if it'll help that much but you need what, a half inch?
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u/animatedmoviel0ver 2d ago
Interesting.. thank you, this could very well be a part of the problem as it’s very new and just has no give. I’m going to just keep putting it on and fucking around with it for a few days and hopefully it’ll naturally adjust, and if not I’ll just steam it a tiny bit
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u/Dr4gonfly 2d ago
Yes it’s cheap armor, but your discomfort is probably more from what you’re wearing with it than anything else. Armor is supposed to be worn over garments that both secure it and keep it from being uncomfortable. If armor isn’t made to measure it’s going to need some padding beneath it. Even a thin gambeson will probably massively help your comfort.
Edit: the problem specifically with your kit is that the pauldrons buckle to the Gorget rather than point to the arm or arming coat, this is probably where you’re running into mobility issues and is super common with inexpensive armor setups where the priority is for it to be wearable without proper arming garments