Pants deal-Official's Call on Ebay. Reviews?

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by JimKirk

Correct. The 3/4 width - not the height of the loop - indicates that it's a wide-sturdy loop (vs. a thin loop) that is typical on umpire pants. If umpire pants don't have loops tall enough for a 1 3/4 belt to fit through, then you can't really call them umpire pants.

Jim Kirk
Owner
Umpire & Referee Equipment & Uniforms

Yeah, 3/4" did sound a bit small. I was thinking 1 3/4" but the 3/4" threw me.

[senorazul]

These are supposedly maufactured by Smitty.

[falsecut]

Met the guys that own the company at a clinic here. Bought some of their stuff, and it seems to be good quality. Didn't buy pants so can't speak directly to that. They didn't have part of what I wanted with them so shipped it separately, and it was done quickly enough.

I'm glad we aren't restricted to charcoal gray here yet because mine are still on backorder with Honigs.

[jkumpire]

I just happen to live not too far from the Officials' Call, and since I had a DH near by today, I stopped and said hello.

Evidentailly the OC boys have come up with a new lighter mask, made of Magnesium. They showed me the mask, and the thing is as light as a feather. Since I use an HSM I really don't know what is light, or not light these days, but... Other than the awful Champro pads they put on the thing, I was impressed with the mask. It weighted almost nothing in my hands, and they said it was stronger than the Titanium masks. Compared to my old single bar from the late Cretaceous period, there is no comparison.

Evidentially these guys have connections with some Chinese factories who makes gear for them. They said that they had a first run of 72 of these new maks and just about all of them are spoken for at $129 per mask. Get 'em while they are hot I guess.

Also, the pants they sell are also branded as Smitty's pants. I assume that means they came from the same manufacturer.

[BretMan]

The Official's Call shirts- sold under their own label- also appear to be identical to the Smitty shirts, judging from the photos and descriptions on their website and on eBay.

Besides the mask, they are also selling chest protectors and shin guards branded with their own logo. Haven't figured out yet if these are designs exclusive to Official's Call, or "re-branded" equipment from another manufacturer (maybe Champro?) in the same vein as the shirts and pants are re-branded Smitty apparel.

[jkumpire]

If all these businesses are selling the same stuff, something is wrong. I like the OC guys, I have known them for several years. But I would sure like to see some US made stuff instead of stuff made in China. And some stuff that is different than everyone else's gear.

It seems like everyone is getting their stuff from the same 4 or 5 cheap labor factories in Asia. Not good.