Gambesons & Arming Doublets

A gambeson is a padded jacket, worn under mail or plate armor. While armor protects the wearer from being cut and pierced by swords, spears, and arrows, the force of the blow will still transfer into him if he doesn't pad himself. What's the sense in preventing bleeding wounds if you're just going to have your bones broken?

A gambeson solves this problem by padding incoming blows and helping to make the weight of mail armor more bearable. (Ask anyone who's ever worn a mail shirt all day at the local renaissance faire!) As an added benefit, wearing a quilted, padded garment under your mail will prevent individual links from becoming embedded in your skin!

Our gambesons come in a few styles and various levels of padding and can even serve as light armor or fashionable outerwear on their own!

Arming Jacket A lighter and shorter version of our gambeson; this arming jacket would be ideal for those summer battles! As shown in Black and also available in Natural Duck Cloth.	Gambeson with Straps Our heaviest and most protective gambeson. This one could easily be worn as armor by itself! Shown in our Natural Duck Cloth, which you can dye to your favorite Color.
Infantry Gambeson A sleeveless, lighter-weight gambeson in an attractive burgundy. Unique lacing details! Sorry Item discontinued	Locksley Gambeson A two-piece padded garment with decorative studding on the sleeves. Named for the famous outlaw woodsman who was born Robin of Locksley but came to be known as Robin Hood.
Arming Doublet/Gambeson Our basic gambeson design in black. Appropriate for many eras, cultures, and warriors.