I regret my sarcasm about taking a hacksaw to a brand new product. I should have stated what any experienced official would have stated.
If you wear bifocals, the seperation between lenses is as wide as that bar. If the bar blocks your vision of the ball, then you are standing to close to the play. One has to understand the concept of angle versus distance to fully appreciate the fact. You are not looking into the helmet, your looking out of it. The converse is if the bar blocks you vision of the ball, pray for the bar to protect you and thank God it is still there.
The other hangup appears to be the chin strap. What other sport allows a participating member to remove a helmet during live action? Comments were made about the ability to take off the helmet in one motion. You need to remove a mask to run faster or see better. Those chinstraps promise additional safety and eliminate the need to carry the helmet around on the ballfield. Why would one need to remove an umpire helmet?
Any future improvement in safety will have to look hoakey. Check out the protection around the neck, forehead and facial cage. Compare it to forehead, face grill and throat guard on any HSM up to latest Shock FX designed for baseball. Make the call.
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