LARP Quarterstaff - Monster

This quarterstaff, Monster, has become my primary LARPing weapon. It's lightweight, squishy enough not to hurt, and durable. The pictures above are from after this Monster's been through a LARP and a scattering of other duels. It's survived getting jammed into snow drifts, bent to extremes, and so far it's needed minimal repairs. The smaller spikes tend to fall off, but that's mostly due to my laziness. I could just carve flat spots for them into the foam that they're glued to.

Getting used to the feel of a quarterstaff is very useful if you (like me) are the kind of LARPer who loves his light-as-a-feather swords. The elegant techniques that you already have from swordfighting apply to the quarterstaff, too, and the new skills you'll learn from the staff also apply to heavier boffers.

Building Tips:
1. The foam pipe insulation has to be cut lengthwise so that it's not loose.
2. Filament wound epoxy tubing is as fantastic as it is expensive. You don't have to use it, but if you do, the only place I've found it is online. Get a short, 5' rod and stick a longer, but slightly thinner fiberglass rod from a reflector up the middle. Wrap tape around the fiberglass to keep it in place, and around the exposed ends to get them up to 1/2" thick.
3. Cover the outer rod with double sided tape before you add the tubing.Don't stick the tubing together before you put it on the rod. Wrap it around the rod instead.
5. If you want to paint your rod, cover it lengthwise with lots of little strips of electrical tape. Don't stretch the tape or you'll get wrinkles on your staff.
6. Use the extra foam to make tips for the ends. They should be at least 2 inches thick, because they'll compress quite a bit. Make sure they're very securely attached the quarterstaff or they'll fall off as soon as you stab something.
7. I used 2" x 1/4" craft foam to make those spike wraps. To make the spikes, I layered the foam and then carved them out.

The dimensions:
68" tall
1 1/2" thick
1/2" thick core [The core is made of a 5', 1/2" filament wound epoxy tube with a longer 3/8" fiberglass rod up the middle.]
1/2" thick foam: Self seal pipe insulation, fits 1/2" copper pipe, highest quality I could get.