Charcoal Grey Pants Recommendations

[BretMan]

My first two pairs of Smitty's just arrived in the mail yesterday. I chose this brand based on favorable reviews in this, and other, forums. They look good and I like the fit. Of course, being a "cold climate" guy, these won't get field tested for another couple of months.

But my order was not without problems- which is one thing I don't like about mail ordering gear. The problem was something that many of the folks here won't be concerned about, unless they also happen to work softball.

The charcoal grey pants were fine and as advertised. I also ordered a pair of navy blue pants, which were advertised as also having the expansion waistband. Much to my dismay, upon receipt I found that they did not!

A call to the supplier prompted them to call the manufacturer. Come to find out that there was a last-minute production change on their navy pants. The explanation I got was that the navy pants were changed to a "western cut" pocket (prefered for ASA and NCAA softball) and that change prevented the maker from producing these pants with the expansion waistband- despite this feature being advertised in their 2010 product literature.

So, I wound up with one pair of grey pants that I'm really happy with and one pair of navy pants that I'm not quite as happy about.

[ajjl22]

FYI, the honigs Poly wools are dry clean only

[Kevin Finnerty]

That's why we wear the back-up ultimates or the GDs when we work in exceedingly hot or dusty conditions.

[bob jenkins]

Originally Posted by ajjl22

FYI, the honigs Poly wools are dry clean only

I have heard that they can be washed, as long as they are not over-dried.

[Kevin Finnerty]

You spot wash them literally by hand, then hang them to dry and press them. If there's no dirt involved (just perspiration), then I steam them with one of those hand-held steamers and they come out nice and rosy. If there's a cold-weather game, in which there is very little perspiration (especially base games), I just do nothing, give the inside a light spritz of febreze and/or give them a touch-up pressing.

I actually drop them off at my dry cleaner only once or twice a year.

[zm1283]

I wash the poly-wools and hang them to dry. Iron them on one of the lowest settings and they're good to go. Mine get waaaay too wet and dirty in the summer from sweat and dirt to just spot clean them like Finnerty does, and I'm not taking them to the dry cleaners every week.

I'm going to buy another set of plate and base pants. They'll be either the Smitty or Honigs Ultimate pants. The Smittys I had last year (The non-adjustable waist) were just okay. The waist bunched up on them. Has anyone worn the Honigs Ultimates and the newer Smitty pants?