Smitty Brand Dark Grey Pants
 

Please bear with me, i know that dark grey pants have been discussed before and yes I did the search feature but my question wasn't answered.

Yes, I know that I should just buck up and by the Honigs Poly-Wool but honestly I can't justify them for the amount that I am going to wear dark colored pants. Not many in my area actually will use the dark pants for HS or summer ball, maybe 5-8 people (out of 70) might have them. Also the college assoc. I belong to approves the use of them, but it's my first year in the assoc. so I don't know how many use them. I don't have many college game due to my own availability and as a first year guy.


There are two Smitty models that are available and I haven't really seen the dark pants in person, other than the Poly-Wools (which are out of the question). The older Smitty doesn't not have an expander waistband and this years model does along with being a slightly darker color (according to ump-attire.com).

Is the older model the same color as the dark that is more of the standard Honigs color or are they lighter. The thing I'm worried about is the color being between the Honigs charcol color and the heather grey for Fed ball, and that's the reason for the "slight color tweak" for this years model

If anyone has any answers or tips any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance

Contact Jim Kirk directly.

When did they change the Smitty models from "older" to new?

Last year, and then again this year.

Smitty Pants Truly Charcoal and Not In-Between
 

Someone brought a Honig's poly-wool by the booth at the NCAA clinic in Chicago, and we compared them side-by-side to Smitty's newer darker model with an expandable waist. The color is basically identical to Honig's poly-wools. I say basically because there is an ever-so subtle difference due to a difference in the fabric. Hope that answers your question.

Jim Kirk
Owner
www.ump-attire.com

It was me who brought them and compared....
 

the Honig's and the Smitty brand dark grey. There is so small a difference in shade you could not tell from 10 feet away even when the differing pants are right next to each other. On a ball field you would not even notice.

As to the difference between heather and charcoal, I worked the entire HS post season and summer in poly-wools with partners in heather. No one said a thing and I don't think anyone noticed including my very eagle-eyed assigner who is his own brand and species of uniform nazi. He has been know to take games away from guys for uniform violations. He watched me do two plates and two base jobs in the post season without a word about uniform.


If money is really tight the Smitty brand will do you good in the short run but I don't think they will last all that long. I would plan on buying the Honig's for longer use and wear. (unless something better and more affordable comes along.)

Buy the friggen poly wools and stop whining about the money. They are less than one game fee more than the other options and will last twice as long. Go work a Little League game after your next regular Saturday assignment and make up the difference. Sheesh.

Charcoal gray is now an approved color with the NFHS! They look much better and they are worth the price; clearly separates the Baseball group from the Heather Gray of Softball.

I do American Legion during the summer, and last year I bought a pair of Smitty base pants just because they are lighter and cooler than my Honigs poly wools.
They worked fine & looked fine and I wouldn't mind recommending them, but remember they won't last as long as the Honigs.

Listen to this man!

By using this game-fee purchasing formula, you can wind up with a far more vast collection of premium gear.

And no beer money...

My wife and her expert game-fee snatching abilities would disagree with you.:D

Buy the Diamond bag with all of the secret zippered compartments to hide the cash. It only costs two game fees. :)

OK...in all seriousness...I agree that one should invest in the proper equip. if one wants to be taken serious. I also agree that the monopoly that Honigs has with many associations is bull doo doo. In my HS and JUCO assoc. we have the option of wearing the Honigs or Gerry Davis pants, as long as both umpire's match. In the GBL as well as D1 conferences, Honigs woolies are the only pant allowed. Hope this helps.

To give you an idea how anal some conference assignors and umpire developement personnel can be, I was dinged a few times last year for wearing my Carlucci ball bags. It was their opinion that they just didn't fit the image. I still wear them as they are without a doubt, the best ball bags available. IMHO.