Majestic Navy
 

Shirt is endorsed by MLB. That makes every other brand a replica.

I tried new shirts this year and got them from Ump Attire. I didn't see anyone talk about them, but may have missed it. They are the nylon breathable mesh umpire shirts for 29.95. I haven't used them when it is hot yet, but they are a great shirt, lay nice, feel kind of like a jersey and look great.

Then the replicas are nicer than the "endorsed" shirts, because these were crap. You'd look like a complete tool wearing them on a field.

Carrot and Stick
 

Carrot: I looked at a large Majestic umpire jersey hanging in my closet. The stitching appeared solid with no loose ends. The fabric's color was more MLB blue than navy blue, but it wasn't faded or pre-washed or pre-shrunk. The fabric had elasticity to allow the CP, without going one size larger. That carrot alone was worth the price I paid for it. The OP didn't rate this valuable feature. I have no clue how the shirts you saw even resemble mine.

Stick: The Dalco Athletic mesh shirts are so cheap on sale that I can afford to buy 2, 1 for BU and 1 for PU duties. The dark navy color, polyester durability and mesh material is worth a few U.S. dollars. A hot summer breeze evaporatively cools my upper torso, without the need for more expensive Chinese-made brand names that "wick-away" my shoe money. The OP didn't mention which brands often go on sale and which brands never go on sale.

When I was tossing around the idea for the review I contacted owner Jim Kirk regarding his Ump-Attire breathable mesh shirt. He said that they plan to retire the shirt this year and offered the Ultimate Umpire Shirt to test. The Ump-Attire website states the Ultimate Umpire Shirt will ship on March 30 and sells for $32.95. It is an outstanding shirt that scored highest in testing.

You may also be interested in checking out Jim Kirk's blog. It is both informative and straight-forward.

The Smitty Name
 

I can't believe that some people in this forum are so narrow minded as to not buy a piece of equipment or apparel because of the name. The name "Smitty" is derived from the creator of the Smitty Lanyard, Brett Smith. When Mr. Smith invented the Smitty lanyard he created the Smitty Lanyard Co. The company has evolved to now include apparel (it should be noted that Mr. Smith no longer owns the company). If you have legitimate reasons for choosing one brand over the other that is fine, and I think that honest assesments should be given and taken into consideration. But are you really not going to wear something because you don't care for the name? By the way guys, the pants are polyester. They didn't shrink over the winter...perhaps something else expanded.

Winner winner, chicken dinner!
I was simply making a joke about the pants shrinking, but nobody got it.
I gained a few pounds since last summer, and those Smittys just don't fit like they did!

Sorry, but when the company got bought, good, old American greed set in, and they went on the cheap, and put out the worst slacks in the industry--or among the worst. And one of the problems is that they were sized incorrectly, some by as much as an inch. The waistband material also shrank--even in cold water. And the clasps and buttons came off after very little use. So if they were tight, there were reasons. And unless you know what you're dealing with, it's easy to gain the impression that they suck just because of the name. No, they suck because they are (or were) cheap crap.

According to Jim Kirk at Ump-attire, they resolved those problems, but they still turned me off to the brand, because I don't care for companies that profit too grandly by cutting corners like that. The shirts are admittedly very good, but that is apparently an area they either corrected, or didn't cut corners in the first place. All I know is that with two pairs of unusable slacks, tailoring and shipping, the Smitty's company screwed me out of over $100.00, and I don't think that getting fleeced like that should go unmentioned.

I won't buy any more Smitty pants. I bought a pair of base pants last summer because they were cheap(er) and I heard the lighter weight was cooler.
They were sized wrong from the start. I thought I was buying them a size large, but they were snug. I had already had them hemmed, so I couldn't return them. I gained a few pounds over the winter, and now I can't wear them.

I learned my lesson. My preference is Honigs poly wools. I'll stick with them.

You're lucky that you didn't order two pairs of their useless crap. They're so bad and in such disrepair after only a few wearings that I can't even donate them to a young umpire like I do with other stuff I try and can't use. They're so bad that they're embarrassing to give away.

Yeah, like the last two +POS shirts I bought. I gave them to a teenager who was getting started in Little League. Saw him later that summer and wished I had just thrown them in the trash.

It ain't the name, it's the experience, which was horrible. I developed the habit long ago not to give businesses the opportunity to screw me twice.

As usual, Mr. Umpire and I agree completely. As far as the 2007-08 vintage slacks, the name should be "SHlTTY."

Just curious
 

For those of you that are so jaded by the Smitty slacks (which I've found to be very good), what happened when you contaced the retailer that you purchased them from? I bought mine from Purchase Officials, and had a problem with the clasp on my first pair. They immediately sent me a new pair and took back the ones I had already worn, and I had mine almost 3 months. They said they were aware that some of the clasps were faulty and were happy to replace them. They said that Smittys was also aware of the clasp and sizing issues and has corrected them for this year. The pants that I receive this year are great. The sizing, color and claps are awesome. I will gladly pay half of what others are charging for pants that are just as good. Everyone else I've recommended the pants to love them as well.

For Chrissakes, you sound like the marketing rep for Smitty. Some people like them, some don't. What's the big deal? Does everybody have to agree with you? I haven't tried any Smitty products, and after your efforts of tiresome promotion, I most likely won't.