I bought a gambeson from Kult of Athena and it is very stiff. It can stand on its own. It really hampers movement. Washing sounds like a good solution, but that would be pretty rough on the leather closures.

Any suggestions?

My gambeson was stiff when it arrived, it softened up after a while of use.

Is your gambeson poly filled? I also had a poly filled one made by GDFB, that one was stiff as rock, couldn't fix it.

It will soften and adapt to your body with time. I would not recommend washing it unless it is absolutely necessary.

Training with your gambeson and moving with it will reduce the material's stiffness and make it more comfortable to wear soon.

well.....

You could let your friends hit you with blunts while you wear it.........

:D

'Joke, heheheheeheh

Mine was pretty stiff as well, it got better with time, the inner elbow still sucks though.

"You could let your friends hit you with blunts while you wear it....."

That may be the quickest way, but....

That I can probably do. When the wife isn't home.

This link should go to the one I have.

http://kultofathena.com/images/SNMC7102BK_l.jpg

It is so stiff as to almost be inflexible. I put it in the dryer with an old boot and no heat this morning, but haven't checked it out yet.

I got their 13th century gambeson and it's a bit on the stiff side. I also have an arming cap by them but I washed that and it made it less stiff. Maybe washing it would do the trick to make it much less stiff. Tumbling it might work too. They're felt on the inside which is why they're so stiff and hard to get on and off. I literally need help putting on both my maille and gambeson which I cant do myself. I do recommend washing then tumbling it. Makes the felted stuff much softer but still able to stay together so probably that could help. Those arent poly filled at all they're natural cotton felt so they're not as hot as other stuff I've used.

Tumbling it in a no heat dryer made some difference. Still pretty restrictive. Another part of the problem is sleeve length and shoulder width. The shoulders are a little too wide and the sleeves are the right length arms at the side. Since the sleeves are only attached at the top of the shoulder, raising your arm lengthens the sleeves. Sleeves are also quite generous in diameter.

Makes you look like a little kid wearing an older brothers heavy coat before he grew into it.

I plan to detach the sleeves, put in grommets and tie them a little closer to the top of my shoulder.

We'll see how that works.

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I have that one in natural/white, love the cut but wish it was made of higher quality materials. It provides minimal padding but moves very well. It's also not as long as you might expect, it ends about where your natural waist ends but it also doesn't move up on me very much when I raise my arms over my head. With modifications this would be my dream KDF jacket.

I also have that arming doublet, but mine had very stiff lumps in both armpits, I guess it's a hit or miss.

Fabric softener?

I too have the same gambeson Mike Ruhala and gerald Fa. are talking about. Mine is the plain white version and works rather well as an arming garment for my 15th century harness (not needing a belt to hold up my leg harness/having it supported by the shoulders and tightness of the garment are a real boon). The one modification I intend to do is add some brass eyelets to the arming points I actually use.

It was not overly stiff in the arms or torso. I wouldn't use it standalone without maille below it, but thats why it is an arming garment, not a gambeson. Their earlier pieces like OPs are probably much thicker and meant as semi standalone armor components. I'd suggest giving it a break in period by wearing it around the house/for personal practice before "using it" just so the padding has time to shift a bit away from the elbow joint and such.

I bet if you wear it around enough it will break-in by itself with enough time.

Or do you mean it is stiff because it is too small?