The most expensive mask

[cardinalfan]

I think my head is worth $545... but I bet my wife doesn't!

[Welpe]

I do not wear helmets, so no, a helmet priced at 444 USD would not be worth it to me.

[johnnyg08]

So would you spend $550 on the mask cardinalfan? There are thousands of umpires out there who don't use it and are safe w/ their < $200 masks...

Certainly it's 100% your choice..but it seems like an unnecessary expense for no guarantee that it's any safer than a $100 mask.

[Kevin Finnerty]

Originally Posted by johnnyg08

Certainly it's 100% your choice..but it seems like an unnecessary expense for no guarantee that it's any safer than a $100 mask.

Guarantee?!?

Come on, Johnny ... The strongest materials, the best coverage---of course it's safer than any mask. We're not going to start this again are we?

I'm an old school mask guy like you, but I am not going to assert that a mask could possibly be as safe as a HSM.

[johnnyg08]

nah...didn't intend to start an argument/debate over what's safer (although when I reread my post...it does lean that way)...I agree that the HSM has better protection than traditional masks...i don't want to hijack the thread down that path...

[Kevin Finnerty]

Geez, when I re-read your post, you seemed to be saying HSM, but didn't specify.

[LDUB]

Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty

Guarantee?!?

Come on, Johnny ... The strongest materials, the best coverage---of course it's safer than any mask. We're not going to start this again are we?

I'm an old school mask guy like you, but I am not going to assert that a mask could possibly be as safe as a HSM.

Of course the HSM protects more of the head, but for a straight on shot do you have some type of information to back up your claim that a HSM is safer than a standard mask? If you don't then you have no way of knowing which is safer.

[greymule]

After decades with various masks, I've used that Kevlar All-Star helmet for the past four seasons. Although the link doesn't give a model number, it's undoubtedly the UMP2000. Incidentally, $545 is pretty steep. It listed for $395 when I bought it, and the selling price was $320.

All-Star makes a couple of much less expensive helmets that look very much like it. The distinctive difference might be the color of the cage, but I'm not sure. The MLB catchers' helmets are identical, except that they don't have the "Pro-Tanium" cage and do of course have the team artwork.

At any rate, it's a superb piece of equipment. Not heavy, great vision, total protection. Engineered to deflect almost every shot, so jolts are rare. Another advantage is that it always cleans up to look new (except the pads, of course).

Disadvantages are those inherent in helmets. A bit hotter, despite the advertising claims. Hard to pull it off and keep your hat on. If you don't wear a hat, you have to find a way to keep the sweat out of your eyes. And shots that hit the "Pro-Tanium" cage sound like a firecracker going off.

One other point: the vision is so good that you really don't need to take it off. I always do, though, just because that's the custom.

By the way, I've never personally seen another one in use by any umpire not in the pros.

[Kevin Finnerty]

Originally Posted by LDUB

Of course the HSM protects more of the head, but for a straight on shot do you have some type of information to back up your claim that a HSM is safer than a standard mask? If you don't then you have no way of knowing which is safer.

I answered this, but I guess my response violated some kind of rule about how you can respond to certain insiders, irrespective of how they treat you or others.

Well, let's see ... no, I don't have any scientific studies. The protection is just superior, sir, with all due respect. But if you don't feel that's the case, then, of course, I no longer believe that's the case.

How's that?

[LDUB]

Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty

I answered this, but I guess my response violated some kind of rule about how you can respond to certain insiders, irrespective of how they treat you or others.

Well, let's see ... no, I don't have any scientific studies. The protection is just superior, sir, with all due respect. But if you don't feel that's the case, then, of course, I no longer believe that's the case.

How's that?

So you admit to not having anything to back up your wild claim. Currently no one knows which is safer and for your to pretend like you do is just incorrect. You saying "the protectiuon is just superior" does not make it true.

[Kevin Finnerty]

Originally Posted by LDUB

So you admit to not having anything to back up your wild claim. Currently no one knows which is safer and for your to pretend like you do is just incorrect. You saying "the protectiuon is just superior" does not make it true.

Thank you for being there. It's nice to know there is someone out there to rely on for the ultimate point of view.


For the record: I have caught with a Rawlings, an All-Star and an Easton and taken many high velocity blows. I have recently tested the Shock FX by being purposely drilled by college pitchers. I have taken straight blows to the grill with four different buckets and every single one of them offers a less jarring blow than any mask. The Shock FX is the most resilient of them all. Even a decent bucket offers a less jarring blow on straight shots to the face than any mask after years of personal testing. Everyone I have ever known to discuss the subject makes the same attestation. Every single one.

Luckily, I am blessed with an open-mindedness that doesn't cause me to doubt absolutely everything unless there is some $cientific $tudy to prove whatever point that the interested parties want proven. I am neither that naive, nor that gullible, nor that intractable.

Yeah, right, "currently no one knows which is safer," except all of us who have used both extensively for many years and dozens of blows. I'll continue to pretend that I know that a bucket is safer, while I continue to use a mask for umpiring.

$cientific $tudy ...

[cardinalfan]

Originally Posted by johnnyg08

So would you spend $550 on the mask cardinalfan? There are thousands of umpires out there who don't use it and are safe w/ their < $200 masks...

Certainly it's 100% your choice..but it seems like an unnecessary expense for no guarantee that it's any safer than a $100 mask.

Heck no. Just a joke.
I alternate between a Wilson Shock HSM and a conventional mask.

I would like to see a picture of the mask, though. Just curious.

[Kevin Finnerty]

I have a Shock FX that I have only tested, but never used in a game. I would use the HSM if I was injured, like Johnny said (although I wouldn't require surgery first), or I would get the All-Star if it was lighter and more effective, which it probably is (I was at Honig's on Tuesday; I should have tried this thing on). If I was into skiing or golf or tennis, I would drop a half a grand pretty quickly and pretty often. My pastime is baseball, and I get to keep the crap that I buy to equip myself. I was the best-equipped coach with the best-equipped kid; now I'm the best equipped umpire. (My dad's one of those bass players with five custom-made basses---it's genetic.)

There was a kid who was the catcher on our travel team in the early 2000s (he's a D-I freshman now). He was taking a pitching lesson from the late Dave Smith in 2003, was working without a screen, and took a liner in the side of the head. He suffered an eggshell fracture of the skull and was airlifted right off the San Diego State mound and hospitalized for a month. He hung it up as a pitcher, but re-emerged as a catcher months later wearing the super duper $500.00 All-Star HSM. It was sweet then; I am sure this one's even sweeter.

Effin' Kevlar, man! And for only 7.6 game fees!