The Holy Grail of umpire gear
 

Here it is, and I wonder how high it will go.

I don't particularly care them, after getting a concussion wearing one, but some gear heads will sell body organs to get one. My used one fetched $175 several years ago. I'll be this pulls three bills plus.

I'm guessing the warranty isn't valid.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA:IT&ih=005

...actually if you want to talk about the 'holy grail' of umpire gear, it would be the Riddel Power chest protector which normally sell for around $500 any time someone puts it up for sale on ebay.

How dissapointed I was, to find out the holy grail was this POS, and NOT an air conditioned cup holder.

PT Barnum said.....

Holy Grail???? This P.O.S.?

Are you kidding me?

Hey, I've got air conditioned cup holders in my Escalade. Pretty silly, but they work.

I've had, and sold the Power cp on eBay. It got none of the frenzy that the POS mask got. Again, I didn't really care for it. Bad visibility, and I took a beating in it. It's just that it has a cult following.

That mask would look great on a new "Jason" type movie killer.

Other than the blue, green, and red masks some umpires steal from little league catchers equipment bags, thats about the ugliest mask I've ever seen.

How about an air conditioned CUP for those really sweaty, humid nights

I have this mask and personally love it. Yes, the sight lines could be better, but you can't beat the weight...I think I paid $100 for mine on Ebay too...but that was 6 years ago...you can't get the replacement pads anymore either...sweet mask...if you're looking for a lightweight mask, this is your answer.

I got one. No problems.

The new Schutt/Diamond mask is even lighter, and has better visibility. The SUL is just a collectors item now.

I have one of those +POS masks, though the pads don't look as new as the ones in the e-bay picture.

I liked that +POS mask and was surprised they discontinued it. (Some defect?) If I didn't have the All-Star kevlar helmet, I'd still be using it. I think getting replacement pads is a problem, though.

Guess I better set up an e-bay account.

Wasn't the carbon-fibre mask pulled from production because some of them shattered?


Tim.

Yep,
 

"Wasn't the carbon-fibre mask pulled from production because some of them shattered?"

Yes Tim, the combination of sun light, heat and the carbon fibre made the mask brittle and would break when hit by a foul ball.

+POS even did a recall on the mask and their insurance provider gave a cutoff date for any liability issues.

Regards

That's what I was thinking.

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.

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.

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 :D

JJ

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

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.

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.

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!

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.

Will they take a check? :rolleyes:

JJ

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.

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.

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.

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......

I have 4 Honigs K91's with doeskin pads. I have taken several direct shots and never left the game or taken more than a minute to recover. Only one shot bent the frame and I put it on a table vise and bent it back and it is still in use. No concussions, no headaches.

My wife says I have CRS disease (can't remember sh*t) but I think that is more age related than shots to the mask related.

Don't ever bend a bent mask back into shape. You will weaken it.

...and THAT is GREAT advice. Or is that "ad-vise"? :p

JJ

News flash!
 

One day before the end of the auction, this guy lists another new SUL200. Talk about stupid, this joker just undercut his original mask with another of his own. What an eBay rookie move.

The logic of this escapes me.

Ever take a nail and bend it several times and have it break into two pieces. It also weakens the weld points on the mask. If it bends once, it will bend again, only easier.

Mask frames are heat treated metal, designed to absorb shock and rebound. An impact with sufficient energy to bend the frame has weakened the metal. Bending it back will further weaken the bar, putting in jeopardy of failing if hit with sufficient impact again in the same area.

Think of bending an aluminum can tab back and forth. It weakens more with each bend, finally breaking. mask frames are more brittle from the heat treating.

Point of story.

Wear a helmet.

Originally Posted by 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.

I'd say that was spot on, Deej.:D

I've spoken with a couple of MiLB guys who were offered the Nike Titanium for $300. So far, however, I have not spoken with anyone who purchased one.

I think this is +POS selling off its inventory. Wouldn't count on a warranty.

Nike Mask
 

The Holy Grail
 

I always thought it was a Carlucci cp. I am lucky enough to have one and it totally rules and has from day one. Fit me perfectly out of the box and I have taken three direct, hard shots with it that I have shaken off easily.