The Kite Shield vs ALL OTHER SHIELDS FROM HISTORY!

I have often said that the Kite Shield is the best shield in history, so here are my reasons for that opinion.

[IPostSwords]

The spadroon is the best shield. The enemy sees it and instantly feels compelled to surrender so they can ogle your blued and gilt glory.

[IoozeAddict]

Heater shields have the advantage of protecting from cold weather, whereas kite shields can just be blown away by the wind.

[greatsummonerheronnet]

I want someone to look at me like shad looks at kite shields.

[ironencepersonal]

"When you're wearing full armor, the situation where you want a shield is to protect yourself against those weapons that can offend you"

...

*Gets smacked by a Mace*

Me: Wow, rude.

[nicholassnider]

Each shield was built for a specific purpose. Kite shield is a Jack of all trades, master of none. The "redundant" portions of the Hoplon was so no one shield took a full blow. The impact was spread out to essentially 3 shields which gave the user a lowered chance of injury. Also, the phalanx spears sat in the dips of the shield wall which gave better control and less fatigue. Spartans also wore heavy leg armor that was well suited to handle pretty much anything they would face so their shields didn't need to extend down.

The Roman shields were curved so they could be easily rotated ot off the way enough to thrust out with their swords and be brought back into formation quickly. And with it being rectangular they could be used in the tortoise formation which was highly effective against massive amounts of arrows and even more dangerous items. Romans did an awful lot of sieging so they didn't just have to worry about arrows. Rocks, arrows, oil, all sorts of stuff dropped from walls.

A good analogy to your point is saying we should just use pick up trucks for all deliveries. They're faster, more nimble, can fit in more places, have better fuel economy, can pull a trailer and are cheaper than semi's (lorries).

[jackjohnson]

Damm, those kite shields have so many straps that you could sell them as bondage equipment.

[DoctorFail]

why even bother with a shield when you can just have plot armor

[captaint.tearex]

Consider this:
A dragon with kite-shaped scales. The ultimate lifeform.

[nohotliquids]

I think forgot that the KiteShield++ can also be flown to pass the time between battles.
less bored troop ≃ more enthused fighters XP

[nosajimiki]

"When you're wearing full armor, the situation where you want a shield is to protect yourself against those weapons that can offend you" Is in many ways a great argument for the hoplon. I love how much importance Shad puts on context, and when he talks medieval period, he tends to really know his stuff. Unfortunately, he often misses the mark on context when talking about the ancient era. Hoplons were the shield of choice used by Greek heavy infantry who typically already had significant armor coverage. Kite shields, heater shields, scutums, etc. were all great at stopping swords and arrows, but your shield arm could still be broken through the shield by a heavy weapon. In contrast, hoplons were laminated with leather between the bronze face and wooden backside to compress on impact which modern impact tests have shown to significantly reduce the impact felt vs these other lighter shields. Continuing with this thought process, the "wasted" size of the hoplon was about making sure that shields interlocked to distribute impact across multiple soldier's arms; so, not only did the shield individually resist impact better, but in a shield wall, there was a multiplying factor interlocked shields gives you that adjacent kite or heater shields do not. If you want a lighter shield more built around profile optimisation, sure, the kite shield makes since, but if you want something that can stop a blunt trauma weapon hoplons were the better design.

[adamvillari]

Shields are all based on tactics. Both shields you compared it to were unit based shields.

When the kite shield was introduced, warfare already evolved to smaller quicker formations.

Plus it came from a completely different outlook on tactics. So hard to say. An opinion argument is hard to win. Cool info tho.

[Azdaja]

This is all redundant anyway as we all know from the great scholar known as "Hollywood", a sword will just LIGHTSABAAA straight through the shield like a knife through butter, then through all layers of armour and flesh and back out the other side. ;)

[Expax]

The scutum protects from people stabbing AROUND the shield which, seeing as the Romans were commonly out-numbered, could be a hassle. The kite shield is very thin at the bottom, meaning people could most likely manage to stab around the shield and hit the legs of their opponent.

[rudolphantler]

The police issue riot shield is the best! It has a window! :D

[banjobill]

"The kite shield is better than every other shield in history"

*Only uses three examples*


Still great video, very detailed yet concise.

[MadNumForce]

If the kite shield is more versatile to use on horseback, it's really the only advantage it has over the scutum. The scutum is the king of infantry shields. What you see as "redundancy" in how much the scutum covers the legs is actually a huge advantage in combat: you can't move the tip of the scutum aside. Behind a scutum, you need practically not move to defend, basically just lower it a bit to protect your feet, or duck behind to protect your head, even if your opponent's got a spear. While the extremely narrow bottom of the kite shield can be easily moved aside, and just a bit of poking here and there opens an alley to one or the other of your legs.
Also, because the scutum basically hangs from your shoulder, your arm nested in the curve of it, your hand firmly gripping the solid maniple, you have excellent control of it in every direction, while the soft strap arrangement of the kite shield allows it to twist and move around, and you only have relative control of it, and actually very few of the bottom tip, especially against blows that will push it aside.
And third huge advantage of the scutum: you can punch with the bottom edge of it, putting all your body mass behind it. It's a skull-cracking type of "punch", and can easily throw the opponent off balance. If he's got a shield, you can basically break his nose or teeth with its own brim, with such a powerful blow, and very quick to deliver and recover from.
Gladiators and legionaries have proven it's excellent both in solo, and in formations, against a huge variety of enemies and threats. The Scutum is the Master Shield, period.

[shadfacts]

Shad Facts: Thanos tried to snap Shad out existence. Today he is only remember as a comic book character.

[sierra]

The kite shield is the best because you can entertain children when not fighting.

[tamamatu]

The Roman and Greek shield were designed for a very specific fighting style compared to the kite shield which was just designed to protect you from being killed.

[mrplt]

Enemy: *knocks my weapon out of my hand*
Me: *spears their foot with my kite shield*
Also me: Oh I'm sorry, did I break your concentration?