I'm looking for opinions. Obviously the best solution is to have both speed and endurance, but what do you think is more important? Agile and quick or tough and strong? In referance to suits, not body.

Gadgetastic!

I'd say it depends on what you're gonna be doing. I myself would lean more towards agility since my fighting style when in confrontations is the Dick Grayson style: Move more, get hit less. This doesn't mean I'll be going without any armor but I will cut down on it in non-vital areas if it turns out it slows me down. I'll find this out once I can get a hold of the chainmail I was going to be wearing over my arms to protect from slashes. I hope it doesn't inhibit movement too much but I get the feeling I'm gonna have to find something else.

Well, from my experience it's not Speed OR Endurance.

It's speed AND endurance OR Size & Strength.

Slow twitch Mucsle Fiber gets used for longer work outs, running distance, hitting the bag etc.
Hence you get speed & endurance from it.

Quick twitch Fiber is used for Weightlifting & Quick bursts of Power, picking up stuff. Tackling people etc.

When I was Powerlifting I was 230 Lbs. hardly did any Cardio & could Bench a Buick practically. Quick twitch.

Nowdays I've dropped about 25 Lbs. Do Cardio Everyday , and a ton of Kettlebells as well. Slow twitch.

I'm not quite as strong, but I'm much more agile.

You best bet is to try & find the blend of the two for what you do. But yeah Speed and endurance usually go hand in hand, it's not a toss up.

Gadgetastic, for suits I come down on the side of speed, mainly because I think most RLSH are dramatically overestimating the threat out there. Somehow active gangbangers in LA get along without full body levelIII armor suits -- and their lives have to be more dangerous than mine. So I'm not saying "shorts and a t-shirt," but speed is a priority.

Also I think "looking like a superhero" is greatly underestimated as a design consideration. People seem to dismiss its advantages in comparison to looking like a commando raider ninja guy... but there are advantages.

I'm with Superhero.

Superhero's right and his info is valuable... but the question is actually about clothes, not bodies.

It might be perfect for you, depending on what you have in mind. But just consider whether or not what you intend to do would be easier if you have a more superhero-esque brightly colored ninja suit (or at least maybe chrome accessories).

That's all. Maybe it's the wrong approach for you, but the superhero appearance has some advantages. "Commando raider ninja guys" are more suspicious from a cop point of view, I think.

With the cops around here I could be dressed as Barney in the middle off the day at a festival and they'd still stop and question me over the guy carrying a rifle

As pointed out by others in my uniform thread I do agree with them and you on the black ninja style being more suspicious which is why I'm going to most likely go with blue for the main part instead and the batons I'm trying to get do have a chrome look to them.

The ninja look is my prefered look since it's my martial arts style. I don't wanna go with a super bright ninja suit since I don't wanna deal with people calling me a Power Ranger.

That's cool. Being a ninja is cool -- I don't have anything against it generically speaking. I don't even have anything against the whole hyper supreme commando ninja thing, either... it's just not my schtick.

I'd love to combine the super hero and ninja thing but my method would probally get me not only arrested but sued for copyright infringement for dressing in a suit as Leonardo from the TMNT incorporating a ballistics shield as the shell.

I think it's safe to say you have more firepower than most of us though, SH, so you don't have to worry about sacrificing that one as much.

Mr.Spock said:

Quote:

This much is certain

But it's still a good formula to follow.

True enough.

I think SH was right on the money anyways; Speed and endurance will be very closely related when developing protection/costuming...

If you can move fast and efficiently, with very little encumbrance or additional weight, you will be able to also go for longer.

As you start to add bulk, you'll be able to take more punishment, but you will be slower and be able to go for less time.

I look for a balance between the two since I'm a pretty fast and agile guy, considering how stocky I am. My fighting style, and the fact that I carry no weapons, demands that I get into corps-a-corps... so I have to equip myself to block and strike with my limbs, while protecting myself from close-quarter weapons- stab, slash and blunt trauma.

Tengu, your name gives you the advantage of being able to have major Japanese influence in your kit... which was light-weight, modular and reasonably comprehensive. You can go from lightly armoured ninja style to decked-out modern ronin with a modular armour system.

Gadgetastic, you need to take into account what kind of rlsh you are. Be very honest with yourself, and judge your fighting skill level. Decide if you are the type to engage and commit to it if you feel you must engage a criminal. For instance, if you decide you have a high skill level and are going to fight to the finish, then a medium amount of protection is prudent, as long as you can perform all practical skills in uniform. If you have a low skill level and are not willing to commit to physical encounters, then you need little armor other than a vest and some good running shoes. The best outfit you can have is one that enhances your strengths and helps to compensate for your weaknesses (That's why I patrol nude, ) Hmm...anyhow, let us know what your type of rlsh is.

"Think of yourself as a Tank" makes a lot of sense. It also reminded me I had been thinking of trying some laptop cooling fans for in my helmet.

I'd say that as you do that, people might find they can go further with certain attributes if they make little choices to compensate. Like you can stand more armor if you do things to stay cool and hydrated (like bring a camelbak or at least some water source).

Look at the North Hollywood Shooters from 97. (On youtube. The actual footage not re-enactments) Larry & Emil wore a TON of armor & carries large caliber asault rifles.

For what the usually did, Hit armored cars, This getup worked great. Jump out of the car, Blow away the guards of a armored car, take the money bags, split.

This formula worked for a year & a Half & they made 1.3 Million dollars doing it.

BUT they were just hoping out of the car, blasting away, & getting back in the car. They never had to walk anywhere (These were big boys too)

NOW watch the footage from the Hollywood shoot-out. THey are virtually impervious to Pistol & shotgun fire, but they lumber down the street like monsters completely weighed down. They changed their MO (Started hitting banks) but didn't alter their gear.

They had Fire power & Protection WAY covered, but totally sacrificed mobility to get it.

See?