Quote Originally Posted by Centurion Simmo
More a testament to the size of the shield they used I’d say, blocking with one of them is a simple as keeping it between you and the business end of the spear - this isn’t that hard in a big formation.

Still I'd vote for spear, there is just no substitution for reach in a fight!
I'd just like to add though that for the most part the Romans did not limit their shields to being used for blocking... Offensive shield-bashing was a regular tactic for the Romans, forget parry, dodge, spin and all that nonsense... With the Romans it is more like bash, stab & crush!

Reach is good, but as we can see by looking at the Hoplites, once the fight gets very up-close in a tight space you are best switching to a short sword. The length of the spear could work against you in some situations.