I had a newer official today ask me if I thought he should buy mesh. He had an equip vendor today tell him 70% of us are wearing mesh.

I can see mesh in summer and rec.....in high school though?

I told him just that but I am curious the thoughts of the board.

Sure wish that search function worked.

will neve wear poly again if i have the choice..
 

mesh is so much more breathable, and as long as my partners are wearing it too...we are all a lot more comfortable...it's not the mesh that you can actually see thru...some mesh shirts have big holes...the new mesh shirts are just breathable...you can't actually see thru them..they still look professional...

One size does not fit all.
 

I personally like the cotton/poly blend or just the polyester. I think they look better and come out the bag looking better. Hardly anyone wears the mesh type of shirt. Ultimately like shoes, pants or lanyards this is a personal decision. You will find all kinds of examples of why people feel this way and people feel that way. I do not like the mesh mainly because games are inside and it is during the winter. The temperature in the gyms can be from one extreme to another. I also do not sweat that much and I use undergarments that keep your body cool like McDavid and Under Armor. Now this is just me. What works for me might not work for you. You have to come to your own conclusion.

Peace

70%? Sounds like you were getting a sales pitch. :rolleyes:

I wear the mesh shirts because I find them much lighter and more comfortable. There are only a couple other refs in our assoc that wear mesh. I guess I am a trendsetter. :)

Z

Personally, I wear the polyester, as I think it looks better. But I also don't sweat very much, so the fact that mesh is more breathable doesn't matter to me. As far as 70% of officials wearing mesh...no. I only know one or two officials who wear mesh.

In our association, everyone wears mesh. When I first started officiating, I was told to carry both poly and mesh to a game to make sure that we were all wearing the same type of shirt. I can't remember ever wearing the poly shirt. I don't even bring it anymore. Everyone I work with wears mesh.

68% of all quoted statistics are made up on the spot!

I agree with that 110%.

Where are you from?

Put me down for the poly, I am not a fan of the mesh.

IMO the poly has a brighter stripe appearence and looks more crisp then any mesh I have seen yet. Plus, I use velcro to attach my certification patch (as needed) and the velcro strips do not blend in very well (when I need to go patchless) on the mesh as compared to the poly.

Micromesh for me.

I prefer the micromesh for comfort. However, it's not as durable as the others. It will not look new as long.

If you want the look of the polyester shirt but most of the benefit of the mesh, try the McDavid Intera Stripes.

One caution, don't ever put any of the Intera, Dri-Fit, or CoolMax type fabrics in the dryer with a fabric softener sheet (e.g. bounce). It will ruin the wicking properties of the high-tech fabric.

I wear the micromesh from Honig's. It works and looks just fine. There is not much difference in the winter, but it is vastly better in the summer.
When standing about 15 feet away it appears very close to the cotton/poly shirt. I don't even try to match my partners. For me that it is such a minor detail. Should we match shoes too?

I just recieved my first micro-mesh from officals choice.com It looks and feels great. I really cannot tell the difference, when looking, between it and my poly Hoings shirt. I am reading that it may not hold up as long so I will have to wait and see but from first impressions it not only looks but feels great. I think they are on sale right now 2 for $20 as well.

Gray shirts??
 

I recently got picked up by a Men's assignor that requires his officials to wear the gray shirts. So I just purchased the gray shirts and noticed a big difference in how those shirts feel. Is that the same type of fabric or feel of the mesh shirts? I do like the way those shirts feel, I just do not know if they will hold or look as good. But that is my opinion so far, I will have about a week to find out for sure when I have a scrimmage.

Peace

In the league I work in primarily, we do three games back-to-back-to-back most of the time, so mesh might be a good thing for me to look into. By that third game, I'm usually pretty hot in the poly.

I've never seen guys in the grays. Who uses them, JRut?

I carry both in my bag and I match my partner. I prefer the mesh but here in Texas it is hot, expecially when you get 1000 people crowded into a gym that seats 800. You are in Ohio. Different story. When in Rome....

I actually just recieved my first mesh shirts today. They are that "new softer mesh" the officials choice is plugging everywhere. But the one thing I gotta admit, the shirts are much lighter (the weight) and cooler than my poly shirts. I haven't tested them out in a game yet, but plan to do so this coming weekend. The great thing about them is that unless you're eyes are about a foot away from the shirt, you can't tell it's mesh.

No one in this area allows them that I am aware of. I am talking about college ball. The assignor wants officials to wear the gray in his conferences that I just got hired in. I have not been an advocate of the gray at this point. Maybe I will change my mind after this season.

Peace

Well, congrats. I thought maybe the NBA hired you, since they wear gray. :)

Which conference, Jeff?

There was (last year? prior year?) a specific NCAA directive that the gray shirts were not allowed.

I am not going to say it here.
 

I realize that, but he wants his officials to wear these shirts. I do not make the rules I just follow them. There is a reason those shirts are selling. There are a lot of college officials that are allowed to wear them. I know I would have never bought one of those shirts if I did not have to wear it during the season.

Peace

Just to finish the thought, I received my mesh shirt yesterday and it is suh-weet. It's so much lighter.