You've got mail... chainmail, to be precise
The Zombie Survival Guide warns against the false sense of security offered by the ornamental chainmail offered by online vendors. ThinkGeek begs to differ, asserting that its chainmail is "honest-to-goodness" the real deal, with riveted links hand-forged from mithril by dwarves in forbidden subterranean mines, distributed by ghouls.
New among the offerings are full-sleeved shirts and optional hand-closed links, to keep the garment from losing them if not meticulously cared-for. Important notes on wearing your chain mail include "chain mail does not stretch," "it could get tangled in your hair," and the all-important "PLEASE wear a shirt or some other garment underneath the chain mail."
Chain Mail Shirt [Think Geek]
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With the way chainmail "stretches", a very large person could probably wear the smallest size offered, but it would only come partially down their torso. Leaving their soft bulbous midriff exposed and vunerable to slashing wounds.
Chainmail is very effective against Zombie bites. But, as with all things Zombie. It has a caveat, You can't me too overconfident. I notice these chainmails do not have a hood. The zombies will swarm you eventually, and chew through the the exposed areas around the neck.
During WWZ, soldiers in firebases would pass the time making own chainmail, not just for themselves, but for their trained dogs, which were used to bait and herd zombies into the kill zones.
The dogs were usually given just leggings, as any extra mail would slow them down.
1) Obligatory "AUGH IT'S MAIL, NOT CHAINMAIL AUGH!"
Chainmail is a Victorian neologism, designed by "historians" who preferred to look at artwork rather than artefacts. There is no other kind of mail to distinguish it from.
2) The riveted links certainly sound like a good start, but just because they've been riveted instead of butted [1] doesn't mean it was done well.
That said, I think most half-assedly riveted mail is still better than butted.
[1] butted - bent in a circle until the ends of the wire meet. riveted - bent in a circle until the ends overlap, hole punched in the overlapping piece, and a peg jamned through the overlapping area and (theoretically) welded into place. Some hobbyists and unscrupulous manufacturers just bend the peg.
To paraphrase (in other words mangle a quote) "Nothing makes me feel more alive than the feel of cold, chafing chainmail against my skin."
Jerril, I'm familiar with many kinds of mail. I sent some of the particularly archaic type this morning by dropping it in a big blue box.
Its long its tedious but the only way to really trust the mail you are wearing is if you make it yourself. You might not always have time with the zombies at your back (those people from Britain have it real bad their zombies seem to not be of the slow shambling variety, but like of a rabid dog variety they just bolt after you at high speed! Its like they know you have zero chance of having a gun on you and figure WTF lets chase the living buggers down) but the downtime between attacks can be more of a killer if you don't have something to do, making your own mail is one of the ways to while away the hours waiting for rescue... if you don't do anything you might just get it in your head that glock your using for personal protection along with your bolt action rifle might be better used on oneself rather than the enemy. We need everyone in the war against Zack.
Aluminum mail? Please. I suppose if the zombies are toothless...
...and never wear it just out of the dryer...man that stuff stays hot...
Heh! I just looked up "Mail (armour)" and find it funny that anyone would call a phrase in use for 300 or so years a "neologism."
if you are serious about zombie protection DON'T BUY THIS. go for some nice titanium shark armor with welded links.
Funny, I was thinking just the other day that shark armour would be good against most zombies. Possibly not Resident Evil-class mutant zombies, though.
@4 so what's scale mail?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Scale_mail_detail.jpg
I think the scale would be better, no caramel apple colored zombie teeth sticking out of the holes (unless you wore it upside down, then . . . oops)
Takuan: Beat me to the punch.
I've always thought that motocross body armor would be the ideal choice for most zombie apocalypse situations because it's pretty durable (durable enough for most zombie bites) but still relatively light weight, which is far more important in the long run.
Mail may be stronger, but it weighs a ton, and I'd much rather sacrifice a little toughness for the ability to pick myself off the ground and run away to (relative) safety any day.