Science Breakthrough: Plate Armor is Heavy

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Lunar Templar

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Sep 20, 2009
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theheroofaction said:
breaking news: water is wet. Also: ice is cold
this just in, grass is green and fish are, in fact swimming as we speak

really -.- feel sorry for who ever's tax dallor's went to that waste of time
 

Fbuh

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Feb 3, 2009
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Kysafen said:
I once tried putting weights into a backpack, and special weights on my legs, for training purposes. That particular session did not exactly go well.

The thing about the experiment was that the test subjects were probably not USED to the weight of the armour. I spend days at a time with my leg weights on, and find that after a couple of days my body adjusts accordingly, almost as if I'm not wearing them at all. I wouldn't second guess that getting a feel for their armour was a regular part of a knight's training.
Is your name Goku? el oh el jay kay

It is an interesting test, though. It could have a huge outcome on the future of RPGs.
 
Feb 13, 2008
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I've worn chainmail, and that's damn heavy enough. My friend makes plate armour the modern way, and that's heavy but maneuverable in.

If you fall down though...don't even bother trying to get back up again.
 

SirAxel

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Aug 21, 2009
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Is this really suppose to be something that a 10 year old can't figure out.Well atleast I got a good laugh out of reading this cheers!
 

emeraldrafael

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Jul 17, 2010
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well no fucking duh, why do you think they rode big ass fucking horses!?


*ahem* sorry, thats just... that hurts with how obvious that is.
 

Ticonderoga77

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Jun 20, 2011
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Really? Did this need to be researched? My god they could have just asked bioware since they implement the fatigue system with all of their armor...or you know, a five year old.
 

GundamSentinel

The leading man, who else?
Aug 23, 2009
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Good we have scientists to tell us these things. But seriously, the conclusions might be obvious, but the research data itself could be quite interesting.
 

Drake the Dragonheart

The All-American Dragon.
Aug 14, 2008
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This is a breakthrough? This is news? The sky is blue. The grass is green. Dirt is brown. Swords are sharp. I bet know that is going to become a major breakthrough. "Study finds that swords axes and other metal pointy weapons are sharp."
I seriously wonder sometimes what we are paying these guys for. Stating the blithely obvious?
 

Kakita

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May 5, 2011
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The_root_of_all_evil said:
I've worn chainmail, and that's damn heavy enough. My friend makes plate armour the modern way, and that's heavy but maneuverable in.

If you fall down though...don't even bother trying to get back up again.
What is your friend making it out of and what process is he using that's causing that much weight?

I can roll to my feet, sit up, stand, jump, etc in my armor. I know a few people of the more acrobatic mindsets that can kip up from their back in plate.
 

Canadamus Prime

Robot in Disguise
Jun 17, 2009
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And once again thousands of dollars are wasted on scientific studies to point out the obvious.

Of course I would like to point out, that it's likely that the soldiers at the time had the training and endurance to deal with the additional weight. ...at least long enough to get through a battle anyway. Obviously not a battle preceded by a 300 meter march through mud.
 

AdumbroDeus

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Feb 26, 2010
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Lyiat said:
See, its experiments like these that annoy the crap out of me. I don't want my tax dollars going to fund this stuff. Its -obvious-.

Opposite's attract? Obvious right?
 
Feb 13, 2008
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Kakita said:
What is your friend making it out of and what process is he using that's causing that much weight?
Well, the outer coating is plate steel, I believe, and there's foam carriermat or leather inside to protect it. This is field plate rather than full plate though.
I can roll to my feet, sit up, stand, jump, etc in my armor. I know a few people of the more acrobatic mindsets that can kip up from their back in plate.
That's gotta be aluminium. Rolling in real plate would give you quite a nasty scrape. I'll chat with him later and see if he can fill me in on the details.
 

mad825

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dogstile said:
Gottesstrafe said:
Can't say for certain, but I would also think that a good old fashioned english longbow or a crossbow bolt wouldn't have too much difficulty penetrating leather either.
Considering the British longbow could pierce plate, I doubt leather really is going to stop it.
At point blank range yes however it's more likely to leave a nasty dent and knock over the knight. Most of them where more likely to be hit in the openings between the plates.

Leather(hardened) would reduce the damage it did to the wearer ^.^
 

TheEndlessSleep

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Sep 1, 2010
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Xiado said:
Wrong, it's not science. Like Martial artists, Knights were trained since their youth in armor. They wore it like a second skin from childhood. I carry a 50 pound pack while hiking long distances, and after a few days, it feels like less than half the weight. People don't understand today the meaning of "bred for battle", but the Knights spent a ridiculous amount of time training to be soldiers. US Marines, on the other hand spend a few months. Try to understand the difference.
Whether or not you have been trained to be used to it, it's still heavy and it will still slow you down.
 

Dogstile

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mad825 said:
dogstile said:
Gottesstrafe said:
Can't say for certain, but I would also think that a good old fashioned english longbow or a crossbow bolt wouldn't have too much difficulty penetrating leather either.
Considering the British longbow could pierce plate, I doubt leather really is going to stop it.
At point blank range yes however it's more likely to leave a nasty dent and knock over the knight. Most of them where more likely to be hit in the openings between the plates.

Leather(hardened) would reduce the damage it did to the wearer ^.^
Well i'm not arguing it would reduce the damage.

HOWEVER, I still think that damage would kill the wearer unless it hit it at an angle and deflected off. I THINK...

These scientists should do this next.
 

Ulquiorra4sama

Saviour In the Clockwork
Feb 2, 2010
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Maybe next they can have some people try building a pyramid so they can test if those stone blocks really are heavy!

It's good to know we have people with education to tell us these things.
 

Jenx

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I've heard the same team is now working on providing a solid proof that fire burns. I'm not sure if they can pull it off though.
 

Kakita

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May 5, 2011
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They were and weren't status symbols.

The problem with so many people's opinion on armor and knights is that they combine multiple time periods. By the time Sport Jousting was in full swing then yes, you had status symbol knights wearing armor they couldn't really move in. But they never saw combat this way.

When you drop back some to knights and plate armor in the field it's an entirely different animal.

It also doesn't help that for years various fantasy sources (D&D, WoW, Various novels) constantly increase the weight of arms and armor to rediculous levels. Standard one handed swords jump to 2-3 pounds to being 5-8. Two handed affairs grow from 4-7 to being over 15. Plate armor goes from being 20-70 to being 80 pounds minimum. All kind of sad considering any basic search could get you the real numbers and results.

As for the gear, yeah, modern day carries as much or more and a lot of it's on their back. Was actually asked of my brother in law once he got back from Iraq and back into fighting. He said he'd rather wear his full armor and helm all day long than put up with his army gear for even half a day. (And his armor is more of the coat of plates overlapping style, so there's actually more metal on him than standard plate.)

The Root: Not sure on my friend's armor, though I'll point out that the T6 Aluminum that the SCA uses for armor isn't as light as it seems. As for my armor. Helmet is 12 gauge mild steel, rest of my armor is 16 gauge.
 

hopeneverdies

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After thinking about it for a bit, reading some of the comments and resisting saying duh, I realized that this isn't quite the best way to study it. Knights start as pages from a young age and as they rise through the ranks, they practice wearing armor. This is a process that takes a long time.

For fans of the Fire Emblem series, look at the Constitutions for your Knights and Generals. This is how built your unit is, which affects his/her ability to rescue a unit and if and to what extent a weapon impedes their speed. That stat for those classes is generally high, often in the double digits. It's high because they've gotten used to their armor. Sure their Speed stats are generally low, but that's to be expected from someone wearing a metal suit.