The Holy Grail of umpire gear

[mrm21711]

Originally Posted by Emperor Ump

That's what I was thinking.

And Kyle admitted he got a concussion while wearing one.

[kylejt]

Originally Posted by mrm21711

And Kyle admitted he got a concussion while wearing one.

Two successive blasts during a game. The flatness of the mask didn't help either. Instead of deflecting the balls, it absorbed them. It went up for sale the next week.

[johnnyg08]

I did get blasted a couple of times last year...

do you have a link of the mask that you claim is lighter than this one...I'd be interested in getting one of those...I had to take my lower pad to a leather shop to have him patch the holes in my mask because I couldn't get a replacement lower pad.

[JJ]

I used one of these for four years - got a free replacement when they were recalled - and never had a problem with them. Other umpires would marvel at how light they were. I went to a single bar two years ago and like it, as well.
A buddy wearing one of these +POS masks got drilled two years in a row and got a broken nose EACH TIME. +POS paid the doctor bills (I was surprised). I called my buddy Pinnochio for a year after that

JJ

[Matt]

Originally Posted by JJ

+POS paid the doctor bills (I was surprised).

I'm surprised, too...that the doctor wasn't backordered indefinitely.

[GarthB]

Originally Posted by johnnyg08

I did get blasted a couple of times last year...

do you have a link of the mask that you claim is lighter than this one...I'd be interested in getting one of those...

Be careful. Light is good to a point, but so far, each of the popular "ultra light", "feather light", "Zero Gravity", etc masks have been found to have weaknesses.

Most are made of aluminum alloys, or are constructed with hollow metal tubes, or both, and have had issues.

A possible exception may be the Nike titanium mask, which so far, has only been made available, I believe, to MLB umpires.

I have owned the Plus Pos Zero Gravity, (bent to hell the third year) and the flatter profile lighter Wilson mask that was the rage last year (a couple of headaches...the flatter profile doesn't deflct the ball or spread the impact as well). I went back to my old West Vest midway through last year.

As backwards looking as it may be, the best combination of safe, light and accessible might be that old West Vest.

[MadCityRef]

Perhaps gentlemen it is not the masks but your positioning.

A full-on hit to any mask can cause a concussion. A glancing blow to a properly fitted/adjusted mask should cause it to move (spin).
Take any hit to the mask and it doesn't move, it's on too tight. The energy of the blow is being absorbed by your head, not the mask.

[BretMan]

Garth, I believe that you are right about the Nike titanium. As I mentioned here last week, our local association was lucky enough to have MLB umpire Tim Timmons address our last meeting. Tim is from this area, his father was a longtime member of out association and both came up through our ranks. Both remain honorary members. Tim is kind enough to stop in each year before heading south for Florida.

The subject of masks came up last night and we were told that Nike produced a limited run of only 300 titaniums. Most all were earmarked for use in MLB.

Tim also told us that he went to a helmet a few years ago, but found it personally uncomfortable in the heat. He went to a lightweight mask and got his bell rung a couple of times, then switched the Nike mask and hasn't had any problems.

Being exotic material and in limited production, we were told that the NIKE's ran $1000 a copy!

[johnnyg08]

well, it will only be the MLB guys who can afford those at $1000 a pop...Nike can keep 'em at that...I'll keep my +POS ultralite...when I've been blasted, mine has also twisted off.

[JJ]

Originally Posted by BretMan

Being exotic material and in limited production, we were told that the NIKE's ran $1000 a copy!

Will they take a check?

JJ

[GarthB]

Originally Posted by BretMan

Being exotic material and in limited production, we were told that the NIKE's ran $1000 a copy!

I think that's a slight exaggeration. A Nike rep told me that they would wholesale for $300 and that a MiLB umpire paid $600 for his.

[Mark T. DeNucci, Sr.]

The graphite mask being discussed that +POS sold under its nameplate was made by AllStar. I have one with the AllStar nameplate. I bought it brand new from Torch's Referee & Umpire's Supplies in 1998. It is extremely light but I do not use it in cold weather. I used to use it for both baseball and fastpitch softball but have used exclusively for fastpitch softball the last three years. I have taken numerous shots to the face and have never had a problem.

The stories about how guys have had their graphite masks crack when it by a batted ball coming back at them probably happened during cold weather. Torch even had a customer who suffered a broken nose when his graphite mask broke after being hit by a batted ball Spring 2001. The ironic thing is that the summer of 2001, I umpired for Torch in the AAU Boys' 16U National Inv. Baseball Tourn. and he was behind the backstop when I took a shot square the face. The sound was very load and he had a very shocked look on his face. But I just looked back at him and grinned. I hadn't felt a thing.

MTD, Sr.

[kylejt]

There were two Nike masks on eBay last month. If I recall correctly one went for $180, and the other a little less.

http://www.hitrunscore.com/12720706-...face-mask.html

http://www.gerrydavis.com/Merchant2/...egory_Code=MSK

http://www.ump-attire.com/Merchant2/...DIAMOND-UMPIRE

Look closely and you can see that these are all using the same frame. I've got a Schutt, and although I love the lack of weight, I did get knocked pretty hard in chin last year. I think the padding is a bit on the pansy side, and I'll upgrade that pretty soon. I still wear my WV when I know I'm facing a fireballer.

[GarthB]

Originally Posted by kylejt

There were two Nike masks on eBay last month. If I recall correctly one went for $180, and the other a little less.

I doubt they were Nike titantium masks. If they were, sombody got a great deal.

[kylejt]

Originally Posted by GarthB

I doubt they were Nike titantium masks. If they were, sombody got a great deal.

They sure looked like the one that Posada was wearing last year. The listing has expired, or I would have posted the link. I'm not sure what would make them so desirable, aside from the cool factor. Surely not 600 dollars worth of cool, but you never know. Of course the same could be said of that Douglas West Vest I sold for nearly three bills. It's like P.T. Barnham said......