At first I was a bit wary of spending almost $50 on one of these sight-unseen, but I was VERY pleasantly surprised by what I received: The swords are of excellent design and quality, and you quickly realize how Actionflex can sell these swords at the price they do -- they are absolutely amazing. I ended up buying two more and they are one of my kids' favorite ways of spending the afternoon (i.e. attacking Dad). I would agree that for true ''full-contact'' sparring you would want some headgear (and possibly a face shield), but even a full-power whack with one of these won't leave any bruises. I'm so impressed by these swords that I'm planning to purchase some other Actionflex weapons (escrima and/or staffs) in the near future. Money very well spent.