I'm planning on wearing my 15th century billman kit to the area ren faire this summer, and was wondering the best way to transport the armour?

I don't have much, just a jack, jackchains, breastplate and helmet. I was planning on trying to buy a really large gym bag and pack all the armour (each piece in a large pillowcase) in that. But it's been hard trying to find a bag that big.

How do you guys transport armour to an event?

Any advice or help would be much appreciated. :)

a large ikea chest has most of my armour in it, although it needs to be replaced by a historical one in the distant future

I saw a guy who simply had all his kit in a basic everyday chest and bungee cord strapped it to a dolly (hand truck). Seemed to work good for him.

People seem to like chests. Thats probably one of the more period ways of doing it, but would one of those fit easily into a car trunk? Whatever I end up using has to fit into the trunk of a car for transport. Too bad I can't just drive there wearing the stuff...I wonder...

Armour chest. Down-side is that it takes up more room than a duffle and adds about 10 lbs. But more durable, and you can sit on it, use it as a chair. If you're a member of a company, paint your lord's livery badge on it.

[ Linked Image ]
[ Linked Image ]

This chest is 16.5 x 18 x 20, and I can fit everything but weapons and shield in it (basinet, breastplate, cuisses, greaves, sabatons, maille, gauntlets and gambeson etc.) You have to exercise your tetris skills with stacking and nesting items. In that photo above, my hourglass gauntlets are inside of my helm, sabatons are stuffed into greaves which are nested inside of cuisses. And there's room to spare for extra items as well.
-Terry

Two smaller chests are more user friendly than one large chest that holds everything. When you have transitional plate, mail and arming garments to transport, one box is too unwieldy. Your back will appreciate it.

for unhistorical transportation i use an Icehockeybag. They are sturdy enough and Large enough...if i have a far way to carry it, i use a dolly too.

Andreas

Thats a nice armour chest Terry, I think I'll have to look into making one of those in the future.

I think I'll try checking out hockey bags for present. They might be cheaper and work good since I don't have full plate (yet). Thanks for mentioning those Andreas.

Just look what kind of transport ice hockey players use in your area. These are usually large bags and their eqipment has similar requirements of space for bulky equipment, although theirs is not so heavy. Maybee a there's a trolley version available that would have the bonus of easy transportation. A different and cheap option could be duffle bag, this is at least meant for hauling very heavy loads on foot.

I use a large duffel bag for the bulk of my armour, a backpack for the helm, and a small rubber made for clothing, it all packs nicely with my weapons in my little 2 door escort. The duffel is easy transit. I would love to have an armour chest, hopefully this summer.

Historic style chest with rings mounted for the pole.





Cooler than my old hockey bag.

;)

I swear by a large wicker basket. Its a historical solution for armour storage that presents a number of advantages: It's light, so doesn't add to the weight of transport significantly, and the wickerwork allows readier evaporation of residual sweat. I've found that I have to polish far less often using a basket than any other solution.

Enjoy.
Cole

Baskets are actually quite a nice idea.

Oiled linen bags also work a treat preventing rust. For transport I use a somewhat flexible rolling suitcase. It works well enough to transport my armour by bike when necessary.

The jousters I've known have almost all used big plastic tool chests with handles on both ends and built-in casters for modern everyday transport. These can be picked up at most home supply stores and seem to be good for transport, storage, seating, a mounting block for a horse (in a pinch), and seem to be able to take the punishment of cross-country transport or air travel/shipment well.

. . . but of course, I'm all for period/historically inspired solutions. :)