Mark Morris wrote: |
My next question is... ;)
Is a leather liner in a helmet all one needs? Or is there a suspension system one can get or a padding system (like a modern day football helmet)? |
Depends on the involvement and level of sparring, and the type of helmet. A bascinet, for example, would have a very different suspension/liner than a sallet. If safety is your primary goal (with historical accuracy a second), you may wish to line it with some more significant padding - something that will cushion and protect, even if it's obviously modern material. My fencing masks have nothing more than what they come with - and that's minimal, but enough to keep full-speed rapier hits from hurting (you feel it, you know it, you hate it, but you don't wish you never went there). I know you mentioned single-handers and longswords, just illustrating mating the need with the response. My personal response to full-speed, full-contact blunt or waster longsword work is a full helm, well-padded.
Mark Morris wrote: |
I realise that one wears an arming cap but is more padding necessary? |
One may choose to wear an arming cap. They aren't particularly thick - they do make things more comfortable. I like one with an open helm like a nasal or a kettle helm, but hate it with a closed helm.
Mark Morris wrote: |
Anyone have any familiarity with the Museum Replicas Kettle Hat?
Would a Kettle Hat be good enough for light or lower speed sparring with padded weapons and/or wasters? |
I've closely examined the MRL Kingdom of Heaven kettle hat. There is no way in hell I would use it as a sparring helm. It's not so much that the metalwork is shoddy - it's actually not bad, albeit thin (18, I think - I wouldn't go less than 16, prefer 14) - it's the liner - more specifically, the attachment of the liner. It's put in with prongs that are bent over - it's effectively stapled in. That isn't going to cut it, not at all. Even if they hold, you have a dozen little daggers potentially pointed at your head. For actual sparring, I would opt for a helm with face protection... Even when I was practicing choreographed fights for demonstrations, we used a closed helm for practice most of the time - allowing a little time to get used to an open helm for demonstrations, and the demonstrations themselves.
If you are not going to be doing particularly heavy work, you could probably get away with a fairly inexpensive flat-top or sugarloaf helm - and pad it with foam. For the $150 - $175 that the kettle hat is, you can find something more protective.
Now, this is a totally separate part of the body, but I've seen both hands and collar bones broken in sparring. We already touched on gloves (and cricket gloves can be had online in the states pretty inexpensively, I found...) but a cheap and pretty effective light armour is lacrosse shoulder pads. Just food for thought...