OK New? Yes. About to question certain logic points? Yes. Troll? Nope! Having been a previous LARP dork i can say a lot of this with fair certainty. I see a lot of mentions of medieval styled armors. It is one simple fact that all that metal makes a hell of a racket. Ever hear a Knight get off his horse at a Renfair? Sounds like someones dropping a bunch of pots. Just walking down the street is gonna be like turning on a can opener in the cat ladies apartment. Chain-mail (while not difficult to make with a single pair of tin snips, a large screw driver and a ton of heavy gauge wire) is still going to be heard from twenty feet away unless the person was barely moving at all. I see a lot of good ideas from modern arenas; leathers, motorcycle suits (though I question mobility), kevlar. These would be good for the sole survivor to remain quiet and undetected as he combed his way through the cities and towns looking for supplies. Here is what I will say about the medieval armor; They would be damn effective in combat situations. A Sweeper squad utilizing gear like this, but perhaps more modernized (I picture the motorcycle suit plated up), would walk through a horde with little problem. The goal being to wipe out the zombies, all the noise would be justified. My point is that I think there can be different uses to the different types of armor. You aren't going to bring a lawn mower to a logging competition. Each tool has its purpose and there will need to be many to fit the different play styles.
