07-30-2008, 08:40 PM
One other thing occurs to me, prompted by the mention of "greaves that don't extend much past the knee": Essentially, they double as knee pads. If you happen to be crouching or kneeling where the ground is rocky rather than soft or grassy, that protection may be worth the weight.
I note that knee pads are often an item of armor on modern soldiers and special forces, so they must be seeing some utility to them (though I grant that Romans didn't drop to one knee and aim a rifle, as I learned to do in the Marines...).
I'm guessing the decision to add something like that to one's personal gear would have been an individual choice, just as it often is now. If you want to spend the money on it, if you're willing to carry it around, then you can wear it when you want it. (I imagine the members of the century joking about the newbie bringing gear that they assume he'll wind up discarding.)
I note that knee pads are often an item of armor on modern soldiers and special forces, so they must be seeing some utility to them (though I grant that Romans didn't drop to one knee and aim a rifle, as I learned to do in the Marines...).
I'm guessing the decision to add something like that to one's personal gear would have been an individual choice, just as it often is now. If you want to spend the money on it, if you're willing to carry it around, then you can wear it when you want it. (I imagine the members of the century joking about the newbie bringing gear that they assume he'll wind up discarding.)
Wayne Anderson/ Wander
