[nickrego]

I have been using a Golf Towel, hanging on the backstop by the hook that comes with a Golf Towel, ever since I started umpiring. And I started out wearing a mask. I was taught to do this by one of the more experienced umpires of my first association. Many others in my association have picked up on doing this (and they all wear masks).

I ordered 5 extra Sweat Pads from All-Star. I then sewed them together, along with the one that came in the helmet, in pairs so I have 3 nice thick pads, which work much better than the stock single pad (I sweat alot). I also ordered two extra chin pads. I change pad sets between games.

Also, the cooling feature of helmets are specifcally designed for a head with no cap, and a breeze provied by the baseball gods. If you have a cap on, you are going to overheat...period. Now you have a cap and a helmet holding the heat in your head.