Here in NZ there is a strong Do-It-Yourself culture, and this extends to larp weapons.
It’s actually quite cheap to make a foam & tape weapon, around $20 if you know what you are doing, and can source some of the material free (such as fibreglass). The swords I make are similar to boffers, but have a flat fibreglass core instead of a PVC pipe, plus a lead pommel for counterweighting. This gives the weapon a good heft.
I still use PVC as handles for javelins, axes or hammers, but the “blade” is not simply padding around the PVC core, but is a different section all together (usually closed-cell foam).
One big advantage of silver duct-tape over latex is repairability. Plus, latex swords tend to have nice-looking guards that aren’t really up to the job because they are made out of foam and are rather bendy.
Our swords are coming up 9 years old, and they are still working well despite lots of hard out action. I’m not sure that latex weapons can claim the same.
Not that I’m against latex weapons. I would probably buy an unique one as you suggested in your (Isaac’s) initial posts, as long as I couldn’t make it myself. I’ve got a couple of latex rapiers that I’ll use in more costume-oriented games (the guards are cosmetic only and I don’t want them damaged).