Alright,

So I'm just wanting to hear people's opinion. I'm curious to know of those who spent 10 grand to 15 grand on a quality suit of armour (less or more even) find after a few years (3 years to 5 of use) do you still have satisfaction out of that purchase? The only reason I ask is because I have saved up enough money for a good quality suit if I wanted to spend my cash so. The dilemma I have is I want to go back to university and I'm thinking about working one more year at my job to save up for that suit of armour so I can have it before I go back to school while still having a good amount of money saved up for living expenses while in university. The catch is I'll be 24 this year and and doing a bachelors with a masters or more (as I plan at a reasonable rate working part time) will take 6 to 7 years of school. Will one year working more really make or break it? If it was anyone else, (fellow sword enthusiast I'd like your opinion) would you work another year, get the suit then do school or just go back to school?

Barrett

In my opinion, you should go back to university. I have a half suit of armor and it is fun to have but I could live without it and don't miss anything. Well without my masters degree I couldn't make a living. So my choice would be clear. Plus: you will make a whole bunch of new friends at university, full with new ideas. Better to have some cash than a heap of metal then...

Best wishes,
Thomas

PS: You can always start buying an armor bit by bit, even from the same armorer. No need to buy all parts at once.

I'm working with my third iteration of armour at the moment and I can tell you from experience that one can get more enjoyment out of a well fitted high quality bespoke harness than from ill fitting armour (not necessarily cheap armour). I've been exchanging pieces over time to make improvements or to experiment with different styles to see how it changes the game. To me it was worth it, but this is purely personal and mostly because of the goals I have set for myself.

Personal worth of something is very subjective, and has a lot to do with personal expectations.
What do you want to do with it? Do you really 'need' it? Do you have to sacrifice important things in order to obtain it, and is that sacrifice worth paying?

Reflect on your goals. Why do you want the object of your desire and think if it's worth not going to school for. I can't decide it for you, but I'd go to school if I were you. It's really hard to go back to school after a year of working and you can always save up for armour later. Good armour is pricy, good education is priceless.

Ben van Koert wrote

Quote:

Good armour is pricy, good education is priceless

Surely that has to be quote of month on myArmoury.com!

I am wholly behind Ben and Thomas. Get a good education first and you can hopefully buy many suits in your life. Buy the suit now and that may end up being your only suit.

Tod

Armor is a luxury, an education is not.

I am at the same point at the moment. I recently graduated from school and I will certainly attend university in fall. Going to by a full suit is of course a great dream but I would rather go piece by piece while I am studying. By a sword or two then after some time some garment and a gambeson (or what ever arming clothes you need), a sturdy pair of boots, some plate and so on. And when you have your masters degree (or what ever) and earn your own bread, you can go for any single piece or suit you can afford then.When you are unlearned, you get payed less and are waisting time if you are not severely in need for cash.

All values are entirely subjective. A university diploma is no exception. From the decades passed perspective, there many other things that I'd rather I had spent my time and money on. However, since it is but an art object to me, armor is not one of them.

If you feel the need to buy something then start with a properly tailored soft kit. It can be used for all sorts of things. In the mean time you can study and save up for the plate. You can do some more shopping around and make sure that the harness you get is really the right one for you.

I'll agree with the comments of the worth of education over armor, but I'll also second Dan's comment. Having the right soft kit, or at least good soft kit, will make all the difference in the world. Even some armor that's essentially off the peg (or at least munitions) can work well if the base garments are right. Having proper supporting and attaching points is a huge difference maker between having armor that works with you and having something that just hangs off your body (and looks like it just hangs off your body).

Arming clothes are also always the thing everyone wants to skip. Look at some photos of people's kits though and you can usually tell the ones that treated arming clothes as an after thought.

Do you NEED armor? No. Do you NEED your education? Yes. I wish every day that I had advanced my education instead of buying frivolous things. Go to school, man! You'd just look dumb wearing armor while flipping burgers. But....a nice suit on a stand in your office next to the framed degree on your wall is impressive as hell. They'll still be making armor while you're in class..... :D ....McM

I think my comment won't be helpful, or at least not now, but I cant resist:

"Ducunt volentem fata, nolentem trahunt."

You will know what to do. ;)

If you're only 24 now, certainly go for the education- you have plenty of time for armour later. There will be good, if not better, armour available when you're done with your studies as new armourers are coming up all the time, and established people are improving their skills.

I did my degree right out of high school, and though it took 5 years, I am glad I did it then. Had I waited, I probably wouldn't have completed it.

David,

Funny comment. Gotta keep an eye on fate that is for sure.

Barrett,

Some good advice here. I am with Jeff. If you wait it gets much harder. I have returning students who work, have families and are going to school and most say the same thing. I wish I had gone when I was younger.

Good luck with your choice!

RPM

I have a high school diploma. My sister has a doctorate, and my brother has his masters, and is working on his doctorate currently. My annual salary is roughly the two of theirs combined. :lol: One of life's little ironies. I'm more than halfway through a career I love, and it happens to pay decently well to boot. Because of this, I can't help but find logic in Gordon Alexander's comments. Yet at the same time, between the OP's two suggestions I'd go for school. I enjoy medieval arms and armor, modern firearms, motorcycles, etc. But they are all "nice to haves". A higher education, work on promoting in your current career, or any of those other "life changing" decisions will always be more important than material possessions. If school is your thing, then make it a priority.

I just want to point out that his question is not armor or school, it's should he delay school for one year to get the armor before going back to school, or go back immediately. Both his options include the education.

My question is what do you plan on doing with the armor?

If you are a martial artist who has been studying for several years and you would like the harness as a tool to continue your training then I might consider delaying the one year. And that's a "might". It could be worth it depending on how much use and joy it would bring you.

If it would only be a costume, or decoration I would skip it for now, especially as current armorers are getting better and new ones are coming up.

And this job, do you like it? Would it be worth staying one more year to get the armor?


I'm going to go out on a limb, and guess that you know that school is the "right" answer, and you are looking for someone to convince you to get the armor.

Some interesting facts Harry! Thanks for posting it.

I'll have to take a look at the study when I have some time.

RPM

One thing which is missing: The reply of the one who started this topic!

Hello,

I'd like to thank you all for your thoughts. I wrote this post because I was wanting to see what people's perspective, reasoning were. Having been in the army and working the oil rigs for most of my adult life I know that school is the key for 'myself'. But at the same time I really don't feel I can truly develop myself as well as I could if I were not to have a suit of sparring armour. Maybe I just have to change my strategy and mode of thinking instead focusing on what I can do with what I have instead of what I can't. I thank you all for your thoughts but I'm pretty sure I know what I need to do already. I just needed some clairvoyance.

Best regards,

Barrett Hiebert