Quote Originally Posted by ljperreira View Post
1. Yes, you are correct about the mail being semi self-cleaning. But if the Legionaries are maintaining their Segmentata on a daily basis, like we do with our rifles and gear today, then there shouldnt be a problem.
Perhaps the Legionaires didn't had the time to maintain their segmentata on a daily basis. You are comparing normal service conditions with campaign conditions. In campaign one does not control the time, and the soldier may not have the conditions to give the segmentata its 100 hour check, let alone repair it. It was highly probable that in highly stressfull conditions (when the armour was needed the most) the legionary was too busy marching at forced pace, setting up camp, on guard duty, patrolling, pursuing defeated enemies, being pursued in turn, etc. In periods when the armour was most needed such as the climax of a campaign, you most probably didn't had the time to service your segmentata, and just had to trust to Mars that it didn't fall off while putting it during an ambush, or in the middle of a combat.

You can use a hamata for days or weeks without fear of it falling apart, you can march for several days and be in combat conditions for weeks and you can be confident that half your armour won't fall off because some fatigued leather strips cut themselves from over use.

It's not a matter of being diligent or not, it was a matter of battlefield conditions. In garrison duty, with all the logistical equipment requiered to service it, the segmentata rules. In a war of movement, it definitively doesn't.