How to choose the size of your lorica hamata
Choosing the ideal size of your lorica hamata could be a quite difficult matter. Making the wrong choice could lead us to a lorica too small for us, which we will be unable to wear and use properly, or a too wide one, in which we will be uncomfortable.
To choose your right size, you’ll simply have to follow these simple instructions:
- you’ll have to measure your chest circumference, to which you will have to add the thickness of your padded garment/subarmalis (this garment is essential with mail: it will help to unburden your from the weight of the armour, it will protect your clothes from dirt and the oil of the mail, and historically it helped against blunt traumas, against which the mail was not so effective). To obtain the circumference of chest with your subarmalis, if you cannot measure it directly with your garment on, you will have to: divide the chest measure by 6,28; add to this latter measure the thickness of your padded garment; multiplicate this final measure by 6,28.
- to the total measure, add 15 cm to guarantee complete freedom of your movements;
- if you are still in doubt go for a larger size. Measures declared by the producers correspond usually to the wider measure possible, that is, the measure of the bottom of the mail, while obviously in the chest area the armour won’t be able to enlarge in the same way as the bottom.
A larger size could mean a bit more weight, but a smaller size surely would mean difficulty in the movements and will make you uncomfortable. Also, weight can be easily reduced just by removing rows of rings from the bottom edge of the mail.
If you want to avoid calculations, clik here for our lorica hamata size calculator!
