Umpire Shirt Comparison Review

[piaa_ump]

I really appreciate the efforts you put into this review...Its not often you get to see that much detail on a products in a non sales related viewpoint....

Good job!!

[derwil]

I had great luck with Smitty brand apparel in Basketball. I also have an Umpire shirt and pants and have no complaints so far.

[bossman72]

Originally Posted by MrUmpire

From first hand experience, Smitty pants are horrible. That experience is enough to keep me from buying the shirts.

I'm with bobjenkins here... I've had nothing but good experiences with Smitty, ESPECIALLY their pants. I've had a pair for about 4 seasons now, and they hold up incredibly well. They have not discolored one bit, unlike my Cliff Keen pants which turned a pink hue at the end of my first season with them.

[cardinalfan]

I had a bad experience with Smitty pants. I bought a pair of base pants last year for American Legion ball because they are lighter weight and cooler.

I only wore them a few times, cleaned them, and hung them in the closet. Got them out this year and they had shrunk! No joke! They're much tighter in the waist than they were late last summer. Bummer.

[Forest Ump]

I bought the Smitty pants this year. I liked the look and the feel of the pants. I was disappointed with the belt loops of all things. They advertised 3/4 inch wide loops on their new pants. The loops were barely 3/8 inch wide. Not enough for a wide belt in my opinion. I sent them back and got GD's.

[jkumpire]

Originally Posted by cardinalfan

I had a bad experience with Smitty pants. I bought a pair of base pants last year for American Legion ball because they are lighter weight and cooler.

I only wore them a few times, cleaned them, and hung them in the closet. Got them out this year and they had shrunk! No joke! They're much tighter in the waist than they were late last summer. Bummer.

I had the same thing happen to me, and wore the Smitty's (charcoal colored) four times last September and October. Looks to me like the waist band bunched together.

I have a pair of Cliff Keens which are okay, but I would much rather have the Honigs GD's, or a pair of Fetchhimers (if they still exist in charcoal). Now if +POS still existed.....

[Kevin Finnerty]

Originally Posted by cardinalfan

I had a bad experience with Smitty pants. I bought a pair of base pants last year for American Legion ball because they are lighter weight and cooler.

I only wore them a few times, cleaned them, and hung them in the closet. Got them out this year and they had shrunk! No joke! They're much tighter in the waist than they were late last summer. Bummer.

Before they got their problems straight (allegedly), the Smitty's slacks had sizing issues, clasp issues and workmanship issues. They were the worst slacks I ever tried.

If they solved those problems, great, but I still threw away 100 bucks trying two pairs of this inexcusably poor crap (slacks, shipping and tailoring). One pair was worn and washed three times, and the other pair was worn and washed twice. Two pairs of slacks: two improperly sized pairs of slacks with clasps that are tearing out and pocket buttons that fall off and waistbands that bunch. They sucked as badly as a new pair of slacks can suck. No such problems with any other brand.

The shirts are pretty good, however. I'm open-minded enough to say it: they're good shirts. Irrespective of all of that, the Smitty's company is a typical American company willing to take any shortcuts in quality and workmanship in order to make an undeservedly high profit at the expense of forever angering scores of members of their customer base. And the only way they'll ever know is to watch their sales disappear like they should after foisting this unusable crap on us.

... Name change!

[jkumpire]

Hands down the best shirts are +POS if you can get them.

[Publius]

Originally Posted by jkumpire

Hands down the best shirts are +POS if you can get them.

Spoken like a man who has never owned a Logo Athletic shirt.

[ManInBlue]

Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty

typical American company willing to take any shortcuts in quality and workmanship in order to make an undeservedly high profit

Way to support the US!! And when they take it over seas and Americans lose hundreds of jobs, will you be happy then?

I deal with many overseas companies. Don't talk about shortcuts and poor quality until you've dealt with other places. Plus, the quality of US products has increased drastically over the past few years. Further, you don't know that these weren't outsourced to a foreign company to have them cut and sewn, then sold here.

Sorry to highjack the thread - this just didn't sit well with me since I work for a US company that takes quality quite seriously, as do our customers.

If this is your view, buy foreign and watch our economy continue to plummet.

[Kevin Finnerty]

Originally Posted by ManInBlue

Way to support the US!! And when they take it over seas and Americans lose hundreds of jobs, will you be happy then?

I deal with many overseas companies. Don't talk about shortcuts and poor quality until you've dealt with other places. Plus, the quality of US products has increased drastically over the past few years. Further, you don't know that these weren't outsourced to a foreign company to have them cut and sewn, then sold here.

Sorry to highjack the thread - this just didn't sit well with me since I work for a US company that takes quality quite seriously, as do our customers.

If this is your view, buy foreign and watch our economy continue to plummet.

Then, yours is not a typical American company. And why are you arguing, when you're making the same point that I am?

And I have enough dealings to know what I am talking about.

Perhaps you should finish reading what is written, comprehend what is said, and then you wouldn't have to go off.

[jkumpire]

Originally Posted by Publius

Spoken like a man who has never owned a Logo Athletic shirt.

I owned 12 of them at one time, and I still have 2 that I wear. I loved the LA shirts too.

[JFlores]

The Smitty Shirts are pretty good actually, I cant complain. The pants on the other hand, seem to be a bit tight. Maybe they should write up a review on pants?

[ManInBlue]

Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty

when you're making the same point that I am?

I'm not making the same point. I was defending US companies. Most US companies take business to Asia b/c the work/product is cheaper, not always because of improved quality.

You may be correct that in the past US products were less quality oriented than in other parts of the world. It is no longer that way. Thus "typical" US companies no longer fit that bill.

Further, the profit margins on the majority of products is not nearly as high as people think. Retail/list price is rarely paid by anyone.

Perhaps you should finish reading what is written, comprehend what is said, and then you wouldn't have to go off.

I did.
I did.
That's why I had to.

If you left something unsaid that should have been implied, it got lost after the US bashing. Maybe you should have said it.

However, this has nothing to do with umpiring, so let's just agree to disagree and go on.

[KJUmp]

Originally Posted by whaaat

what about LeTrell umpire shirts? anyone ever hear of them? they are offering free # with their shirts. iron ons at that!

Where can I purchase a LeTrell umpire shirt? I have not seen their shirtlisted on any of the on-line official's supply sites that I've visited. I got one of their basketball referee shirts (a hand me down form a vet in my assoc.) and it's a great shirt IMHO. Good construction, washes well, very comfortable, looks good..(at least on me). I'd love to get a few of their umpire shirts...any info you could provide would be appreciated.
Thanks,
KJump