Storing Your Fencing Equipment

In this section, we’re going to go over the basics of how to store your fencing gear so it doesn’t fail prematurely.

Store Fencing Gear in a Cool, Dry Place

You’ll want to take your entire uniform out of your bag and air-dry it after every use. This is the best way to prevent mold and mildew, which will weaken your fabrics and create odors. Additionally, leaving conductive equipment, such as a lamé or mask bib in your bag is one of the quickest ways for it to develop dead spots. For white gear, hanging it on the back of a chair or anything else is fine, but for your conductive equipment you’ll want to use a real hanger.

Keep Sweaty Fencing Gear out of Bags

You’ll want to keep your sweaty fencing gear out of your bags for the reasons mentioned above. Keeping your gear in a bag all the time will not only result in terrible odors but will also significantly reduce the lifespan of your fencing gear.

If you have to store your lamé in a bag for extended periods of time (such as after a tournament when you have a plane to catch), make sure to give it a few minutes to dry off before folding it and putting it in your bag. Crumpling your conductive fencing equipment will make it fail weapons check tests prematurely. If your other fencing gear is still sweaty, try to keep your electrical equipment as far away from the wet gear as possible. If you’re in a real rush, you can use a hair dryer on wet equipment for a few minutes to speed up the drying process but avoid using the hot setting on your conductive equipment.