Scale mail is a form of medieval armor. It consists of a soft leather coat with hundreds of overlapping pieces of metal attached. Which looks much like scales on a fish or reptile. This armor is a common item of equipment in many Fantasy Role-Playing games.
Scale mail is an older type of armor that never became very popular in the western world. It is as heavy as chain mail armor, while being more time consuming to make. Not to mention the fact that it requires much more maintenance, and does not provide the same protection as chain mail. However, this armor is also very flexible, which has made it fairly popular among some eastern cultures.
Dirt, sweat, insects, and odor are a real problem with this armor. The leather it is based on is hard to keep clean, and the armor is just too complicated to replace on a regular basis. Scale mail also must be repaired almost constantly, because of the sheer number of the scales, some are bound to come loose or fall off every time this armor takes a hit.