Naw

The bars are real thin. It's very distinctive and worth every penny of the $190 price tag.

Really.

Once one gets a few feet away bars which are slightly thinner are not noticeable.

I think it's an expensive mask. Wilson charges a premium for state of the art, like any other innovator.

I like mine.

Like I said earlier, 3 games pays for it.

I got my Titanium in late July and have been hit 3 times with good shots, no dents, no pain.

As far as throat coverage goes the mask covers about an inch more then my Honigs Single Bar that I had before.

Now that many of you on here have some games already under your belt for 2009...let's bring this thread back to life. What are your thoughts on this mask? The lower padding seems somewhat excessive. Please post some thoughts on here...I'm seriously considering this mask, but would like more reviews. Is the padding leather/doeskin/vinyl?

As the owner of the Wilson mask since July 2008....
 

I will respond as best I can to Johnny's Q's/comments. Mine is the "new view"/Lower profile style.

For me there is nothing better. It is so light.... The lighter color of the metal seems to allow for a better field of view. I used to wear a six or eight stitch hat on bases and four stitch on plate. Now I wear a six stitch for both. Saves about $100 per year as I had five different hats for all three of my associations I work (HS group has three different hats).

I looked up Titanium and it's properties and discussed it with a metallurgist/scientist and an aircraft design guy. The only "natural enemy" of Titanium is high heat above 600 degrees which is not really very natural is it. No rust, no dents, ever, according to these guys

As for the pads. They are leather two-tone doeskin. Very light. They take some getting used to due to the width and as you say "Seem excessive" but they don't interfere with anything. I tried some Honig's traditional doeskin pads in black and it looked fine but felt different and I have now gotten used to the newer Wilson pads. They do absorb a lot of energy.

I liked it so much the first day I wore it that I put all three of my other masks up for sale immediately. I had two new-views (black and gray frames) and a Honig's traditional in Navy. All of them had Wilson tan doeskin traditional style pads. I also had black Amara Suede Wilson Wraparound pads which I sold with the two new-views.

I highly recommend the Wilson Titanium mask. Get whatever shape you desire now that it comes in traditional and new view.

I don't think you will regret the purchase. I sure don't

Plus, it looks very cool. Almost everyone wants to look at it and touch it.

As an aside: I worked a scrimmage at Kentucky yesterday. One of UK's catchers, Nidiffer, wore a Nike Titanium mask with royal blue pads and a royal helmet without ear flaps. The cool thing about it was that he wore the bill of the helmet forward like a hat instead of backwards like a catcher usually does. I asked him it was due to the light weight of the mask. Of course he said yes. It looked pretty cool. His Nike Titanium was slightly lighter in weight than mine due to his Nike cloth pads and the fact that I wear a dangler and sun visor/shade in my Wilson.

Good luck with your decision. Hope this helps.

Worn mine for 3 plate jobs now, and I love it. I changed the pads out that came with it, and replaced it with doeskin, b/c I like em better. Great view, nice and open/bright, and great weight. It was a great buy.

where are you finding the replacement pads for that mask or will any doeskin replacement pads do the job?

The mask is made from a titanium alloy, which means that the titanium is mixed with other metals (probably aluminum and vanadium). Its corrosion resistance and rigidity will depend on the relative proportions of the different metals. I have no idea what those are.

I like mine very well and plan to use it all season.

I echo these sentiments.

The pads are actually calfskin/vinyl, and seem lighter and softer on the surface than even the doeskins. I also agree whole-heartedly that the silver bars are easier to see through.

Resiliency: I have been drilled as hard as with any mask, and it's so light, and the pads are so thick and soft, that it shakes it off better than any mask I have ever worn.

When you put this thing on, you actually have to look at it in the mirror to see that it is a full-size mask. It seems smaller than normal when you first wear it, because it just doesn't seem substantial enough at first. It just floats there. Absolutely remarkable piece of gear.

I now welcome LDUB and Mr. Umpire to chime in and automatically disagree as they do with everything certain people say.

Too much snow...
 

I haven't used mine yet (Wilson new view Titanium)....need a foot or so of snow to melt first.

I replaced the 2-tone pads with solid black - taken from an all star mask that I retired, since i don't like the wrap-around pads.

Added a dangler because the throat protection is 3/8 - 1/2 " less than on my black Wilson A3009 original single bar w/ amara.

I may put original doe skin pads in....although I'm torn between the cool look of black pads with the silver frame vs. tan w/silver...

Great view - can't wait to use it!

Hock9

p.s. As a total 180 degree opposite comment, I'd love to get my hands on an old Rawlings bar mask I used about 30 years ago. Rawlings model "AM" or "KM"....with no ear protection, no throat extention, and big (probably 3/4" thick) bars....something I'd love to get and hang in my basement. (Some of you may recognize the one I'm describing - used to be worn by Lee Weyer, Satch Davidson, probably others).

I actually acquired two sets of replacement pads from guys who switched them out like Durham. Otherwise, you can get the Wilson two-tones at BTL: (http://www.btlofficialsgear.com/deta...&category=1471)

They're not identical to the titanium's two-tones but they're pretty close:

http://www.btlofficialsgear.com/catI...C131_large.jpg

This is where I got em.

http://www.honigs.com/detail.asp?Cat=2&Sub=36&Item=907

Thanks Kevin...what material is the tan colored (inside)? it's not all (black & tan) vinyl is it?