Why is that? Do most of your partners work in a league that requires them? Most of the guys I work with have them, too, and the only reason I can discern for them doing so is to give the appearance that they work higher levels than they actually do. That, or they just think it looks cool for some reason.

No HS, college or summer amateur league in our area requires numbers, yet a sizable minority wears them.

Well, the association of which I'm president and for which I assign (spring college and summer collegiate) has required them since our inception in 1988. Consequently, many guys I use have them. In addition, one of the other leagues for which I work requires them. This results in most guys having them. Even umpires in other associations who work games I assign have numbers.

Very few around here do not have them.

Just curious. Another regional difference, I guess.

Our HS umpires wear them for evaluation purposes.

Jacket
 

I am pretty sure the jacket we received is a base jacket. That is why there is no pocket. I have seen guys in the past that had the base jacket with the white stripes with no pocket.

Elastic bottom = base jacket
No elastic bottom = plate jacket

However, the no elastic bottom/plate jackets run VERY big. I don't like them. I use the elastic one, tuck it in, and carry my lineup card holder in my ball bag or back pocket.

For whatever reason they don't sell the one with the blue stripes in the open-bottom version.

Anyway...waste of money having to buy a jacket for a June and July league. I sweated through my pants halfway through my plate job yesterday so I don't think I'll be wearing that waste of money any time soon. Maybe I'll wear it while brushing off the snow on my car.

I ordered some shirts and numbers from a supplier and they convinced me to let them sew them on (new service). I described how my other shirts looked (distance off the shoulder, etc.) and they started giving me a hard time that "it couldn't be done that way". They finally listened and told me they understood.

Lo and behold, I get the shirts and they are a DISASTER. Did not follow instructions that they claimed to understand and the quality was horrible. Took a picture of my old shirts hanging next to the ones they prepared and the difference was obvious. BTW - they have a policy that embroidered shirts are not returnable - which I completely understand.

Sent them the picture and did not hear ANYTHING back. Nothing, I did not request a refund and the complaint was fairly mild. No acknowledgment whatsoever. Poor Customer Service if you ask me.

Now I only purchase the bare minimum from them and the vast majority of my business goes to the folks at UA. NEVER had a problem with them.

If a supplier needs to be told how to affix numbers on an umpire shirts, it's a huge red flag. The numbers should be affixed by every supplier in the one correct way.

Post who it was so others don't get numbers attached by them.

I hesitate to name them since they may have gotten their act together and this is may no longer be an issue. The quality issue was that the stitching was too far in on the "outer" color which enabled the numbers to curl.

Also, I had numbers and patches sewn on locally prior to this, so my intent was to have all of my shirts match. I am not saying what they did was "wrong", but it was not to my request to which they had agreed.

The part that stuck in my craw was the complete lack of acknowledgement of my dissatisfaction on their part.

So, I take my business elsewhere.

If anyone is THAT interested, I will pass the firm along in a message.

When I started out officiating in 2001, I got all of my stuff for both basketball and baseball from Honigs. Good quality, good service and I was satisfied. I noticed a trend over the years though; prices went up and quality went down. Their shirts seem to be made from different materials and are cut differently every year. I also noticed that their ultimate umpire pants fade badly. My originally charcoal gray pants now look more like heather gray after two seasons. I've never had a customer service issue with them.

The quality and price issues encouraged me to look elsewhere and today I buy nearly all of my gear from Ump Attire. I think Jim Kirk seems to make a real effort to listen to his customers and get himself in tune with the umpiring community. I've also been happy with their prices and quality. To me, Honigs seems to have been top dog for so long that they've started to take their market position and customers for granted, which is a very unwise move. With the proliferation of internet business, there are a ton of places officials can get their equipment.

I have always ordered my shirts and pants from Honigs and know how are sized for what I need to order. How does UA's sizes compare to Honigs' sizes? Is a 2XL the same cut from both. I have always liked the length of Honigs. Are the UA shirts long too?