The lifespan of an ommel is significantly more than that of a human, to the point of currently being unknown. They do eventually die of old age, and their bones, hooves, and teeth are harvested for their great strength. Ommel bristlers apparently have even greater lifespans than normal ommels, which, along with the fact that a given herd will only have one bristler at a given time and the fact that they do not shed their hair during the winter, makes materials made of their distinctive barbed hair incredibly rare. Currently there are three known suits of ommel bristler armor and six known ommel bristle weapons. The locations of most of these are lost and the only reason they are not assumed destroyed is their incredible durability.