[HoneyBadger]

The PHB is wrong. Very, very wrong-deceitfully wrong-which is why I mentioned Gary Gygax. He's one of the two original inventors of Dungeons & Dragons. Here are some of the reasons, from another post I wrote:

"I think it's hilarious how scale mail is so often interpreted as having been somehow inferior to chainmail. It wasn't-infact it was a good deal better, since you've got overlapping *plates* of metal protecting your vitals, instead of a fine metal mesh.

Chain was cheaper to produce and repair-especially poor quality chain, but the only type that was-maybe, arguably- as good as scalemail, protection-wise, was high quality double-chain, which put two layers of chainmail on you, which ofcourse was nice and heavy.

And in any case, scalemail of comparable quality would have distributed it's weight across the body more comfortably, and it simply was easier to create lighter versions of scalemail than it was chainmail, because the quality of steel could be regularly higher in a plate than a wire, in a midieval forge. The only real advantage a suit of chain armor has over scale is a slight increase to flexibility, but their are ways around this, and the factor would still be small."

Here's an experiment you can try at home: Take a piece of modern, high-quality stainless steel wire. Bend it into a bunch of rough circles-as many as you feel like making-and hook the circles together. Stab at it repeatedly with a steak-knife. Now, do the same with a pile of like 10 dollars worth of U.S. nickels all piled together. See the difference? I bet your wife will when she notices what you've done to the coffee-table.

(Disclaimer: No, this is NOT a good idea, and I don't recommend you try it at home. Infact, don't. I'm just saying it's possible to try, but I won't be responsible for any injuries to you, others, antique furniture, and so forth, so don't sue me, I don't have any money, or any possessions, I don't have a real name, and I don't live anywhere.)

To continue,

Very simply: chain has gaps. It's one layer of interconnected wires with air in the middle. Scale doesn't have gaps, it's got overlapping plates. Layers of them. Those plates are also hand-forged. You can't really forge a wire as well as you can a plate, because a wire has quite a bit less surface area. It just doesn't work as well-atleast not by putting in the same amount of time in a smithy.

Scale is heavier than chain. It's more flexible than a breastplate-and quite probably offers better protection against certain impacts-like maces and clubs-because it's got lots of moving parts, and it can be used to cover more of the body than a single large plate can-because the scales are small, but it is somewhat less flexible than chainmail.

It's definitely-hands down, every single time-better protection.