"LARP safe"?

=D this is good, LARP community is supportive and awesome.

Oh glasses saftey…something I know a bit about, being a wearer of glasses that has worked in a few jobs where my glasses came off on a regular basis (stage hand, stock manager at a sheetmetal workshop, workshop machinist etc).

I’d like to give some advice on that if I can:

When looking at glasses there are a few things to concider: Lenses and Frames. Lenses being the most important choice


When it comes to lenses:

The Plastic/Polycarb/CR39 lenses are unlikely to shatter from the round headed arrows. Even a good wack with a sword is unlikely to break them (scratch maybe). This comes from my experiences with having my glasses (which are CR39 lenses) knocked off by tools/equipment that has wacked me in the face while working under trams and such, I even had a half inch steel rod swing down and hit me in the face that knocked my glasses off with only a scratch or 2 to show for it. I doubt that a latex sword will hit harder than that.

Glass lenses on the other hand are a bit more of a worry a stiff wack with a sword could break alot of these, and when they do break the lenses have sharp cutty edges as well as pointy corners and can slice the area around the eye as well as damage the eye itself.

I’d recomend that if your looking for glasses to wear during a larp…stay away from glass if you can. It’s the biggest tip I’d give on glasses for larp: Stay away from glass lenses in a contact larp.


Frames:

Remember its not just the lenses that you have to think about, some frames are more liable to have lenses pop out when wacked. For instance half framed underthreaded frames (like my ones I wear for cornelius) can have lenses pop out alot easier than my normal glasses (the thick framed plastic frames), which is one of the reasons I switched to these frames. Though the wire frames are far more IC in a medieval setting. If the lense does pop out you can be left with a bruise around the eye but it is unlikely to result in a loss of an eye. Frames I feel are less of an issue than the lense material.

I have serveral bows from 15lb @ 28, 29.5 @ 28 a 40lb at 28 etc etc up to a 90lb bow.

I would be more than happy to fire an arrow at some glasses (or anything else non-living) with both arrow types to see if they can infact break the glass.

I also have a hard and reactive dummy head I can put the glasses onto (one is a stand for night vision goggles) both are head shaped and so will hopefully best represent an arrow shot at the face of somone wearing glasses.

I am happy to do this with one of Zara’s arrows and after having tested an IDV in other experiments - use it for this at the end in case of damage caused. (We can work somthing out here right Ryan?)

Glasses are pretty expensive though =/
So IF they break, you have a quite expensive test…

[quote=“Thronodor”]I would like to volunteer an old pair of prescription glasses for science as I have an alternative concern as a glasses wearer, namely the possibility that a round headed arrow could shatter the glass with a head-on hit. I’d like to test it with glasses fixed into place at short range with one of the more powerful bows (Cheryl’s was the most powerful one there, followed by Linda’s I think). I would need some method of clamping the glasses into place, a bow/arrows & someone’s garage or backyard.

If the arrows bounce off fixed thin glass at point-blank range, I’m happy to be shot at by them.[/quote]

This is what I was refering to for Glasses testing. If they break from the first test we won’t have a very expensive test - we will have an answer that at the lowest poundage they break…

… to be honest i’d be more than happy to get shot at at various ranges and pull lengths in the name of science, and tell you how much each one hurt.

I know there’s a whole bunch of variables, but with a consistent middle ground the experiment should be fine right?

[quote=“Helikaon”]… to be honest i’d be more than happy to get shot at at various ranges and pull lengths in the name of science, and tell you how much each one hurt.

I know there’s a whole bunch of variables, but with a consistent middle ground the experiment should be fine right?[/quote]

Always good to have more voluntiers :smiley:

[quote=“Xcerus”][quote=“Helikaon”]… to be honest i’d be more than happy to get shot at at various ranges and pull lengths in the name of science, and tell you how much each one hurt.

I know there’s a whole bunch of variables, but with a consistent middle ground the experiment should be fine right?[/quote]

Always good to have more voluntiers :smiley:[/quote]

I know, im a selfless soul and quite stoic when it comes to being wailed on by foam weapons.

[quote=“Helikaon”]… to be honest i’d be more than happy to get shot at at various ranges and pull lengths in the name of science, and tell you how much each one hurt.

I know there’s a whole bunch of variables, but with a consistent middle ground the experiment should be fine right?[/quote]

I call dibs on getting a chance to whack Jordan in the face!!! Er, for science!! ; D

[quote=“amphigori”][quote=“Helikaon”]… to be honest i’d be more than happy to get shot at at various ranges and pull lengths in the name of science, and tell you how much each one hurt.

I know there’s a whole bunch of variables, but with a consistent middle ground the experiment should be fine right?[/quote]

I call dibs on getting a chance to whack Jordan in the face!!! Er, for science!! ; D[/quote]

Jackie has been waiting for this moment ever since Kaon let Taiah die due to lack of guarding.

My offer as living target is also still up… if I have the time at the time/date that is decided… and if it is in Auckland… and if I can get transport… >.> <.< >.>

[quote=“Helikaon”]… to be honest i’d be more than happy to get shot at at various ranges and pull lengths in the name of science, and tell you how much each one hurt.

I know there’s a whole bunch of variables, but with a consistent middle ground the experiment should be fine right?[/quote]

It’s actually not bad idea for the aspiring archer’s to also test dummy for this themselves. Having an idea of what your arrows feel like is a good thing I think…

So next chance I get, I’ll get myself shot I think.

Where do you live? Also agreed Jared. It’s like going around stabbing people with pencils and then stabbing yourself and finding out it hurts a lot… not a personal experience or anything.

[quote=“Helikaon”][quote=“amphigori”][quote=“Helikaon”]… to be honest i’d be more than happy to get shot at at various ranges and pull lengths in the name of science, and tell you how much each one hurt.

I know there’s a whole bunch of variables, but with a consistent middle ground the experiment should be fine right?[/quote]

I call dibs on getting a chance to whack Jordan in the face!!! Er, for science!! ; D[/quote]

Jackie has been waiting for this moment ever since Kaon let Taiah die due to lack of guarding.[/quote]

Sweet, sweet payback.

Where do you live? Also agreed Jared. It’s like going around stabbing people with pencils and then stabbing yourself and finding out it hurts a lot… not a personal experience or anything.[/quote]
Auckland centre, as in, 5-10 minute walk to the Sky Tower roughly.

I’ve just acquired a short bow that’s 20-26lb at 24". My wife shot me in the chest at three meters with the longest draw she could manage and it hurt less than most sword strikes. If you pluck the string the arrow goes nowhere, you have to really draw it which is kinda fun actually.

So yeah, low poundage gives a good safety margin I think.

Does anyone have a bow scale? Would be good to have an objective measure of weight if we’re going to do tests. I’m happy to test an IDV on glasses by the way, I doubt the arrow woukd take damage from that but suspect the glasses damage would depend on the type. I would recommend strong non-brittle glasses for larp as others have said - just as much for swords as arrows.

[quote=“Ryan Paddy”]I’ve just acquired a short bow that’s 20-26lb at 24". My wife shot me in the chest at three meters with the longest draw she could manage and it hurt less than most sword strikes. If you pluck the string the arrow goes nowhere, you have to really draw it which is kinda fun actually.

So yeah, low poundage gives a good safety margin I think.

Does anyone have a bow scale? Would be good to have an objective measure of weight if we’re going to do tests. I’m happy to test an IDV on glasses by the way, I doubt the arrow woukd take damage from that but suspect the glasses damage would depend on the type. I would recommend strong non-brittle glasses for larp as others have said - just as much for swords as arrows.[/quote]

Nice job on the bow - I was considering getting a lower draw bow to test :smiley:

I have a bow scale - somwhere. Working on that :slight_smile:

[quote=“Xcerus”]
Nice job on the bow - I was considering getting a lower draw bow to test :smiley:

I have a bow scale - somwhere. Working on that :slight_smile:[/quote]

The red fibreglass ones are apparently only 15lbs. Though given that they’re frequently overdrawn, I’d love to see what that does to the poundage (how much safety margin do I have?)

Cool. Once we have a scale I think we’ve got everything we need for testing. If you can’t find it then yell out, I might grab one from IDV.