[Markus Fischer]

Hi

I have been practising HEMA for pretty much 1 year by now (about 6 months actual training due to Corona) and I have decided to finally get my own Feder.

The budget I have is 250€ and right now I am very much considering to buy the Regenyei Standard Feder.

It is quite affordable at 220€ (including a few custom options) and has a very good reputation in my HEMA Club...in fact the majority of my fellow HEMA practitioners use the Regenyei Standard Feder.

Before I purchase it though, I wanted to ask if there are other options for 250€ in Europe, which are as good or even better that the Regenyei Standard Feder?


Thanks

[Radovan Geist]

Hi, I have personal experience with three producers, all of them positive but slightly different.
I own Regenyei feder for 4+ years, have been practicing, sparring, and attending tournaments (although, the longsword is not my main discipline) with it. It´s a very reliable sword, the blade holds very well, and the crossguard & pommel are not loose. I think it´s not just that I´m lucky with my piece - Regenyei is a standard, reliable go-to option on the lower budget spectrum.
For nearly a year now I own the SIGI feder. I have a lighter, Schlitt-less version, so it´s faster and behaves differently than the Regeneyi standard. For now, that´s my primary choice for training & sparring (I have not tested it at the tournament yet, with corona the opportunities are much sparser). It´s more agile than Regenyei & faster (at least for my style of fencing). SIGI feders are more expensive (300+ EUR, me-think), but if you´re looking for something more than pure functionality (very pleasing look, high level of craftsmanship, etc), they are definitely worth it.
The last one is the feder from Stanislav (Mac) Prosek. I don´t own it personally but several people from our group do & I had an opportunity to use it for training. It´s a functionalist sword (with a very specific look that some people do not like, due to its specific way of attaching replaceable blades) with a stronger (and people say also more durable) blade than Regenyei. Price-wise it´s somewhere in the middle (or at least it was, when we were buying them 3 years back). If your fencing style relies more on strong cuts and commanding blade presence, they would fit it.
Hope that helps a bit.

[T. Kew]

The Regenyei feder is the workhorse of the HEMA world for a very good reason - they're a great balance of price and performance. I can't really think of anything under €250 which I would pick over a Regenyei.

If you're willing to stretch your budget very slightly, at €280 the Sigi Shorty is a phenomenal feder. I think it is the best off the shelf feder option on the current market. The flex is great for thrusts, but it still cuts well and parries excellently.

[Johannes Zenker]

It kind of depends on where you want your HEMA-journey to go.

A Regenyei Feder will serve you well, I've had mine for almost eight years now, even though it's not been my primary sword for at least four of those. It is versatile, but at least the one I have does not feel and behave like a sword of its size. It lacks presence. If you're mostly interested in the sportive aspect of HEMA and performance (i.e. "scoring points") in sparring and tournaments is your objective, the Regenyei is an easy recommendation. It does not require you to use proper form, though. You can simply force the blade to do exactly what you want instead of having to work with it. Not a good thing in my book. I've handled some newer Regenyeis that were a bit better in that regard, but they're all still in that category.

If you want something that feels more like a sword, I've been extremely impressed with a pair of slightly customized longswords I've commissioned from Fabri Armorum last year, with a light fishtail pommel instead of the standard one (no added cost) and their medium blade. I would recommend using a lighter pommel than the default one. If you're more into technical training and bladework, this will serve you better.
It will hit a bit harder than a Feder (and probably be more forgiving than the Regenyei Standard in the thrust), so make sure your prospective sparring partners are okay with that. Also: practice control.

[Markus Fischer]

Thank you all for your input.

I think I will go for the Regenyei.
It probably is the best option for a beginner with a limited budged like me.
At a later point I may purchase a higher end feder with a finer level of of craftsmanship and which also may be a little closer to a real sword in terms of handling.

I feel like the Regenyei is a good feder to start my journey with.

Thanks again for your kind suggestions and tips.