I’ve been using Aureus feders for over a year now - they’re incredible weapon trainers, and I’m quite used to the relationship between the POB and the overall weight with those (1390g & 8.5cm POB). The SIGI standard is a good amount heavier (1650g), but with a slightly tucked in POB (6cm). With about 7cm of length difference, however, this balances out really quick nicely, which we’ll talk about in the next section.

Even the SIGI short (1500g) is a little heavier than my aureus, but you wouldn’t know it by how it performs. (Side note: for a ‘small’ feder, these already look to be some of the most durable on the market. A number of ‘light’ feders on the market are either explicitly not supported against standard feders, or not intended for competition use per the manufacturers. These will have none of those problems.)

People might be wary of the weight, and there are some bad myths about having your point of balance be too close to your hand. I’ve found none of these to be a problem, and in fact, important aspects that help make the weapon safer, rather than less so.



Performance

Oooh boy.

Before I go further, I want to state that performance is one of the most subjective parts when it comes to reviewing a feder. I find the flex on Aureus feders to be much better than most feders on the market, whereas others consider them to be too stiff. It’s all going to depend on your fencing style. Having said that…

...fencing with these is, simply put, dreamy. We’ve been aggressive with these in our after-class sparring sessions, to the point of being full on tournament levels of power, and everyone walked away happy.

Let’s talk flex.

The flex is something special.

I only know of two weapons that have this level of flex - Pavel Mocs, and the first generation of Italian feders from VB (I have been told they’ve since been stiffened due to feedback - again, stop trying to make feders crowbars). The SIGI feders dial the flex back *just* a bit; plenty of presence where they don’t rebound from a cut, but absolutely safe in the thrust.

I did a flex text with my Pavel Moc feder. In order to get 4 inches (10cm) of deflection in the last third of the blade, it took about 16lbs (7.2kg) of force. With my SIGI, in order to get the same level of deflection, it took about 20lbs (9kg) of force.

This is where that sweet spot of flex resides at, and what keeps it from feeling like it’s rebounding or being floppy after a hard bind, but still safe with an earnest thrust.

Can I confess something?

While I’m fairly confident with my thrust game in tournament settings, I rarely do so in club sparring, for the simple reason that due to people experimenting with their fencing, occasionally people have been hurt. People may rush in while your thrusting, or be working on a technique where the thrust isn’t their main concern.

That exploration just means that an earnest thrust against it can hurt. Nothing ever serious, but enough that people can get a little squeamish. Thrusting can become a thing you *drill*, but something you rarely *spar* with, and that is going to have artifacts in your training.

With the SIGIs, it’s been a fucking all out thrust fest. There’s a confidence that comes with knowing both you and your sparring partner are going to be safe, without sacrificing any of the bind presence so many yearn for. It’s been a real joy seeing my sparring partners actively experimenting with thrusts that previously they would have been coy with, simply due to safety concerns.

Even with high powered cuts to the head that were unopposed, none of our bells were rung. This is where the balance between the POB & weight shines, and shows a real competency in their design.

Despite the weight, the POB gives the perception of the weapon moving as you wish, so there’s less incentive to ‘muscle’ through cuts or winds. there’s been a fear in the community that a point of balance too close to the hand may cause people to swing harder, but if that is a valid concern, SIGI has found a real sweet spot before that would happen. You give the cut the power it needs in the context you’re using it in, and nothing more. Personally, I find that to be the safest position to be in.

Durability

There are still some performance questions I have about the feders (will people over time hit harder with them? Will become more reckless?), but my #1 question since falling in love with the handling has been durability. SIGI is a new vendor, and we’ve all seen what appeared to be great craftsmanship fall apart after a few months.

Weapon trainers fail, and they should - it’s a feature, not a flaw. The commoditization of some feders on the market have meant that over time they’ve gotten stiffer, because people moan that they don’t last a decade. Compare that to the modern fencing market where you’re often required to have 2-3 blades on hand at a tournament because the safety features of the blades mean they’re going to break with some regularity.

The problem with the community demanding high levels of durability & stiffness means we sacrifice safety, and potentially sacrificing skill (some people hate flexible blades because they can’t parry as well with them...forgetting that they’re most likely parrying poorly if that’s the case).

I’ve been waiting for one of our SIGIs to break. They’ve all taken sets, as any decent trainer should, and they’ve all straightened right back out again. And I’ve waited for at least one of them to break.

I mean, at least one should have by now, right? This is one of the reasons why I delayed my review for a little bit - I expected at least one to break. Just one! And yet, here we are, 4 months in, and none of them have so much as a rattle at the cross.

Edge damage is surprisingly minimal, and our SIGIS have been smashed against a myriad of other blades. The super beefy crossguard has some burrs, but given the 90 degree angles I’m not surprised. The handles have held up even after a number of heavy blows.