Is it plausible to depict the Segmentata using armor upgrades?

[ljperreira]

To the helmet argument: there were/are not exactly the same requirements. You have to be able to move with the body and the more restriction the worse. Movement of the head is different. The head is also only bone and soft armour not nearly as capable to protect compared to hard armour. Beside the weigth it does not really matter wether the helmet is rigid or soft. On the body this matters. Mail does not hinder your movement (except from it's extraordinary weight), a great advantage. Nevertheless a rigid body defence has some great merits, too.

I agree that the requirements are different. But what I’m talking about is a certain measure of protection from blunt force, as well as cuts and slices. I tend to believe that chain mail cannot protect you from blunt force. Case in point: while a chain mail coif was being worn for protecting the medieval knight's or man at arms' head, he would never wear it alone. A helmet was worn over the coif because though the chain mail can help protect against cuts and such, its worthless vs. a club or something similar. The problem is the same as the solution, meaning that while chain mail provides good flexibility, it cannot fully stop the force of a solid blow. So, while your back in unpierced, your ribs are still broken . The LS isn’t really that restrictive, concerning flexibility, as much as you may believe. While Medieval armor plates are usually riveted to each other using sliding rivets or what not, the plates of the LS are connected underneath via leather straps, making the shoulder guard very flexible. Most of your full range of motion is available to you. The torso plates end just above your natural waist (a circumference at the level of your belly button), so movement bending forward and backward is easy and unrestricted. Forward and backward as well as up and down movement of the arms is also easy, due to the flexible shoulder guards. Crossing your arms in front of you is possible due to the breast plates overlapping, causing them to slide over each other as you extend your arms. My brother, who likes to portray a Portuguese medieval knight at renaissance fairs, owns a short sleeve chain mail shirt for that purpose. I’ve tried it on, and I'll have to say its not all that comfortable. The armor is dead weight on your shoulders, even after you blouse the shirt at your waist with a belt, as your supposed to. When we go to events together, he usually has to take the mail off after wearing it for a few hours, but I can wear my Segmentata for the whole event, without half the problems. I’m not saying its overly comfortable, but its bearable. But my experience is with the Kalkriese and Corbridge types of LS, not the Newstead (I haven’t made one....yet). The Newstead looks like it would be a little more restrictive.