I'm 17 years old and next month I will be umpiring my first full season of baseball from ages 10-19. I've started looking for equipment and I was sondering if some of the veterans on here could answer a few questions for me. 1- Which would you recommend, the Davis feather (regular) mask or a hockey-style mask? 2- Is it true that the chest protector is the most valuable piece of equipment you can wear? 3- I'm looking at Davis shinguards that wrap around the knee and have an instep in them- good idea? 4- What kind of shoes would you recommend for the plate- steel toe or something else? 5- Is it worth it to buy combo pants or should a buy a pair each of plate and base pants?
If anybody has any other equipment advice I'd love to hear it. thanks
