The most expensive mask

[canadaump6]

Another one. Here it is:

http://www.honigs-canada.com/detail....ub=36&Item=790

Even for a mask that gives the best view, protection, comfort, and appearance (if you like HSM's), would you be willing to pay this much?

[johnnyg08]

no...the only way I could justify it would be if I had brain surgery or something like that.

[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...

[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.

[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!

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by canadaump6

Another one. Here it is:

http://www.honigs-canada.com/detail....ub=36&Item=790

Even for a mask that gives the best view, protection, comfort, and appearance (if you like HSM's), would you be willing to pay this much?

Nice of them to go to the trouble of posting a picture of the $500 mask. What, not in the budget?

[Kevin Finnerty]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

Nice of them to go to the trouble of posting a picture of the $500 mask. What, not in the budget?

The one thing about Honig's is that they couldn't care less about the photos.

[briancurtin]

Originally Posted by canadaump6

Another one. Here it is:

http://www.honigs-canada.com/detail....ub=36&Item=790

Even for a mask that gives the best view, protection, comfort, and appearance (if you like HSM's), would you be willing to pay this much?

No.

[SethPDX]

Um, guys:

That price is Canadian dollars. The conversion to US dollars might still make it relatively expensive.

[Welpe]

Originally Posted by SethPDX

Um, guys:

That price is Canadian dollars. The conversion to US dollars might still make it relatively expensive.

About $444 USD per my previous post.