I'm looking to buy a new base jacket and would like some input from the forum. I'm looking at the:

Honig's (K17B - HONIG''S MAJOR LEAGUE STYLE JACKET BLACK with WHITE TRIM) http://www.honigs.com/detail.asp?Cat=2&Sub=42&Item=353
vs
POS (MLC2 - PRO-STYLE UMPIRE JACKET, Lined, Pullover with Half-Zipper) http://www.pluspos.com/product.asp?which=673

or

Other recommendations.....

thx

I'd say it depends on how quickly you need it. Speaking from some limited experience, Honig's will have it to you in a couple of days. +POS on the other hand seems to have indifferent deliver times and can take quite a bit longer.

That's about all I can help with.

probably could flip a coin.....
 

having had gear from both of these manufacturers, I expect you could flip a coin and do well....Both are high quality.

Having said that, I guess since I wear +POS gear and uniforms, I'd go with the +POS since I have a thing about mixing logos....But I'd feel comfortable wearing both.

As a matter of fact I had the opportunity to see a comparable jacket made by Dalco this weekend and it seemed very servicable........It would probably come down to who could get it to me fastest. If it was backordered with +POS, and I could get it from Honigs right away, I'd go with Honigs in a heartbeat.....

The last thing I'd recommend doing is doing a quick check of your association and doing brief survey of your partners....always found that is a good thing to emulate the uniform of choice of the chapter...

Stan

I have ordered plenty of things from +POS, and unless it is backordered, you will receive the item in timely fashion, just like with Honig's. I am wondering how someone who has never ordered from +POS can make a statement about having to wait until next year? Just asking, please don't blow a gasket.

OK San Diego Steve...I work five miles from the +POS warehouse and they single handedly make it impossible to do business with them. Their equipment is dated, their service is horrible, and unless you are a Minor League umpire they don't want your business (or at least come off that way). I have tried sending our umpires there because I want to make it work, just because of their proximity to our 325+ umpires.

Out of principle, I dumped all of my POS gear and uni's and deal with only Davis and Honigs. I don't think I'm in the minority here.

To add another vendor to the mix....I use the Davis Replica pullover. It's a great jacket and I find that it keeps the wind and rain out during the early season.

Lawrence

MY experience
 

FVB9,
Now thats an opinion I can respect since you ordered the gear and had issues.

I know that people have had issues with +POS but to be honest I have not. I have ordered a large amount of product over the years and have gotten it all. Any issues I had with product was resolved timely. I ordered a new pair of plate shoes during the december sale and they were on back order, but I recieved them a few weeks ago and Im very satisfied.....

I also have a good selection of Honigs gear and find them excellent to deal with as well......coming up here in the next month or so, my favorite uniform item will be my long sleeve Honigs jersey......

Stan

Be careful and make sure your state or association rules permit the stripes on the shoulders.

Okay Fox Valley Blue 9,

I have been ordering from +POS for 20 freakin years, and unless they are out of an item, their service has always been good for me.

You have done business with them, so my question wasn't for you. It was intended for the person who said "I've never ordered from them" and went on to give an opinion as to when you would see the jacket arrive. It was a cheap shot at a company of which this person has no personal knowledge.

Unless a query is directed at you, let it go, at least until the person it was directed at has an opportunity to reply. Thank you.

[Edited by SanDiegoSteve on Feb 20th, 2006 at 06:00 PM]

Dude, you need to relax. I was simply responding to your guarantee you WILL receive your items from POS in a timely fashion. I wish that were true Steve. If you've had no problems with them, then you are one of their happiest customers. But I think if you took a straw poll out here, the overall satisfaction of the big 3 (Davis, Honigs and POS) would be largely in favor of Davis and Honigs...and don't think that the guys running those two businesses (Scott Ehret and Bill Honesey) don't realize that.

+POS has claimed they had my order ready to pickup before (i dont live that far away either, 25 minutes maybe) and then i got there and no one had any idea what i was talking about, and then i was eventually told that the order was shipped. quite a few days go by and i call and the order wasnt shipped like i was told, nor was it at the store like i was originally told, and they ended up not even having the size shirts that i wanted (they were backordered for months before i even ordered, XL shirts must be popular).

they dont seem too organized to me, but sometimes things come at the drop of a hat, and most of the time if you go to pick it up things are alright. ive taken my business to honigs for the most part, which is where i got my pullover from which i like very much, so thats my recommendation.

edit: excuse my bad grammar, the flu is getting to me

You are not alone, my friend. I've dealt with +POS since the 1980's, but haven't purchased anything from them in many years. Their customer service is what drove me away. Their quality is subpar, and they make you feel like it's a privilege to buy from them.

Davis and Honig's all the way.

------

Lawrence, the major league replica from Gerry Davis I find to be awful. A couple of my D-II partners last year wore it, and compared to the Honig's K17, the Davis one is far inferior. Its vinyl-like material makes it feel as if one's wearing a loud, crunchy, plastic thing.

The K17 from Honig's is by far the best type of pullover I've worn in a very long time. Note to those considering it: the K17 plate style--the one with no elastic bottom--runs quite large and roomy. Trust me, you'll feel like you're swimming in it. The K17 base style is more fitting. It's comfortable when you pull it on and isn't as roomy. I would not recommend it when doing the plate. If you're going to buy just one, get the plate style and tuck it in (as you should be doing anyways). BTW, the plate style has the pocket while the base style does not.

Re: Same old same old
 

I'll join you, Steve, in making comments about +POS. As a Chicagoland resident, I'd love to say this Chicago area based company was great. They're not, and this is coming from someone who has known Buck and Sylvia Parsons for years (Sylvia, of course, having passed away not too long ago). When I worked in the northwest suburbs, I used to stop by there and have lunch with them, oftentimes with Joanie, too. Our Association at that time had a 20% discount program with them--not too shabby. We purchased 90% of our stuff from them for many years, myself since 1982.

Sadly, their customer service went to hell, their products' quality went south, and things changed, dramatically.

Truthfully, I don't give a rat's @ss if someone blasts me for criticizing +POS.

[Edited by Brad on Feb 21st, 2006 at 01:11 PM]

thanks to ump25 for a relevant and informative response. you guys get hung up on such nonsense.
any other base jacket recommendations are welcome.
thanks.

You're quite welcome, ggk. Wise and objective I am. Petty nonsense and ranting posts I do not like. :D (even if Brad DID have to be a bit puritanical and erase my statement of what the +POS acronym actually stands for. :p )

[Edited by UMP25 on Feb 22nd, 2006 at 10:21 AM]