Well, this post goes beyond just shoes, so that's why I made it separate....

Anywho, I'd like to get a few new "outfits" for the upcoming season, and I'm curious if anyone knows a website where I could get such items as shirts and (polyester) pants, in addition to such accessories as a magnetic pre-game board.

I'm aware of such sites as calltheobvious.com and Officiating.com's online store. If anyone is aware of a good way to get quality equipment at a decent price through other means, please share the wealth!

P.S. Is it uncommon to replace your gear after only one season? I'm a first-year going to second-year official, and my pants look like they've been through the war. Any washing suggestions? I'm an unmarried male who does clothes in only two categories....white and not white, and I wash eveything in warm water :D

My wife gets a few years out of all my clothes, but she is anal about the laundry...

Try http://www.refandsport.com. It is a local joint, they may not have the bball catalog on line yet (they go by seasons), but call them and they will get one to you.

Here's a website for ordering officiating items. It's http://www.honigs.com

I'm not familiar with the sites you mentioned, therefore my frame of reference in terms of quality and cost comparison is limited.

In my opinion, after a year, you should only have to replace shoes. The other items: shirts and pants should last for a long while unless of course, your weight increases. If you only had one shirt and one pair of pants and had a demanding schedule, I can see why your attire looked as though it had been through war. Not knowing what your economic situation is, I would advise you to invest in at least 3 new shirts and two pair of pants. A few of your games ought to pay for this cost.

Add a third category to you wash cycle: Officiating clothes. Wash them separately, in cold water. If you must dry, use the permanent press cycle or air-dry cycle. I find they hold up better if you simple take them from the wash and hang-dry. Good luck in your second season.

Danvrapp,

Honigs is the only place I shop for hoops and diamonds.

http://www.honigs.com/

Two three day delivery. College and HS stuff.
Haven't been disappointed.
Nice people.
Only this year's shoes were bought somewhere else since I started.

That polyester stuff washes easily and should last 3-4 years... mileage may vary. (Take the kleenex outa the pockets.)

mick

Dan,
The sites mentioned about uniform supplies are all good, Purchase Officials Supplies (calltheobvious.com), Honigs, etc. Invest in 2 maybe 3 sets of uniforms, especially if you are single and wash your own clothes. More than one pair of shoes is also recommended. (Order some Griffin's shoe polish or something that will put a shine on your shoes that will take away that grayish look. Let the previous night's pair of shoes air out and remove the rubber insoles (i.e. SOF Athletic's Plus, etc.) I also use shoe trees for my shoes(plastic ones at Wal-Mart work well). Wash your uniform in cold water and either air dry (by hanging them up) or on low heat and wash them separatly from you other laundry. (I too had to wash my uniforms for awhile and making it an extra load was a pain, but you don't want other clothes to possibly bleed onto your shirt.)
Look the part, dress sharp. Have a good second season!!

--Fox40

First let me say I have no affiliation with any retail entity. I used to buy Sansabelt slacks, but I found a great substitute. JCPenney's has a polyester slack that I found in one of their sale catalogs last year where two pair sold for less than $40 for both (you had to buy two to get that price). Plus, they were already hemmed, which some of the others don't include.

I recently bought a pair of the new Lamisil rubber shoe inserts for wearing to the office and they feel great. I am considering buying another pair for my ref shoes. They cost me about $14 per pair.

The Officials New Clothing
 

I go a little crazy when it comes to referee clothing. As far as taking care of my equipment I have a program that I will share with you including some websites to purchase merchandise.As far as purchasing my clothing everything is Black and White. Meaning, I only buy Black jockey straps, Black socks,Black compression shorts and tights,and Black undershirts.With this process I am able to wash all of these items with my Black and White shirts together.These items are only washed and rinsed in cold water.White clothes seperately of course.White clothes hot water wash and cold water rinse with liquid detergent and Clorox bleach.I only wash on the gentle cycle, and I use liquid detergents(Tide,Clorox2,and allways use Downy). My pants I never put in the machine(Too many lint balls)I send my pants to the dry cleaners.Shoes:The new patent leather by Converse,2 pairs one for indoors and one for outdoors.Runin Ref by Converse Mid-Cut 2 pairs, they take Leather Luster real good plus they are only for outdoors.I also have 2 pairs of Converse Black and White shoes low-cut for recreation games(they too take leather luster real well) Now here are some good websites for equipment.
http://www.erefstore.com
http://www.HoningsWhistleStop.com
http://www.officialswear.com
http://www.sportsofficials.com
http://www.lesterupstatesports.com.
http://www.PioneerSports.com

BTW - Jockey brand makes some briefs in black that are specifically designed for wearing during sports. (Juulie - stop reading now) They have a "special" front flap design that, well, shall we say, prevents flopping, similar to a jockstrap.

I bought them at a Jockey factory outlet store and I believe they sell them on their website, although I haven't checked in some time.

I also highly recommend compression shorts. The nice thing about wearing black underneath is that if you split your pants, no one notices but you.

Yeah - suuuuuuuuure.

hoops and diamonds
 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mick

Quote:

[i] Honigs is the only place I shop for hoops and diamonds.

Mick, does your wife appreciate getting all that jewelry? :)

Chuck

unmentionables. . .
 

Mark, why do you need the "special" flap if you're also wearing compression shorts? I wear compression shorts too, and the only flopping in my games is done by lazy defenders.

Chuck

Re: hoops and diamonds
 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ChuckElias

Quote:

Originally posted by mick Quote: [i] Honigs is the only place I shop for hoops and diamonds. Mick, does your wife appreciate getting all that jewelry? :) Chuck

We share the wealth....
31 years in 7 days. ;)

Sounds like you only have one set. That just won't do. I would recommend at least three sets. Alternate them and you'll get as much wear as you would from 5 single sets. Washing them every night takes it's toll. Two pairs of shoes is also a good idea. Two pairs will last as long as 3 single pairs.

I've told this story before. My fly ripped on a brand
new pair of sans-o-belts during the first qtr of a girls
game. It wasn't long before everyone in the entire gym
was snickering, black compression shorts notwithstanding.
I normally carry an extra pair of pants & shirt, but for
some reason that night the extra pants were not in my
bag. The girls were great about it. Towards the end of
the game some bench warmers were getting their time. We
were lining up for free throws and one of the subs kind
of pointed at my "area", mumbling that I should check the
barn door. In unison 5 starters said "He knows, he knows!"
Now I carry about 12 pounds of safety pins.

While I agree that multiple sets are a must, it is more for efficiency rather than longevity. A given pair of pants and shirt will last a certain number of games no matter what pattern of wear you choose. Wearing daily and alternating between two uniforms would be no different that just wearing a single uniform but working every other day. Each uniform will last the same number of games. It really doesn't matter frequency at which they are worn. Each washing does take it's toll, but you wash the uniform once per game/day worked. 50 washings per shirt is the same no matter how many other shirts you mix in to the rotation or how long you wait between washings.

Shoes, since they are not laundered MIGHT benefit from alternating. They need to dry out and overnight may or may not be enough. If you are concerned about it, just get a room-temperature (or low heat) ski boot dryer. It will circulate air through and the shoes will be completely dry in 2-3 hours.

Personally, I have 5 pairs of pants, about 7-8 shirts (some micromesh, some standard poly), about 5 sets of black compression shorts, 5 black Dri-Fit sleeveless undershirts, 5-6 pairs of black socks, and 2 pair of shoes.

The shirts I choose to match my partner if they have only one type (I prefer the micromesh). The shoes I choose depending on the game. I have an older pair that I prefer but is getting old. I wear the newer but less perfered pair for the physically less demanding games.

I would like to try the coolmax or intera ref shirts.

[Edited by Camron Rust on Sep 13th, 2001 at 01:16 PM]

Re: unmentionables. . .
 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ChuckElias

Quote:

Originally posted by Mark Padgett Mark, why do you need the "special" flap if you're also wearing compression shorts? I wear compression shorts too, and the only flopping in my games is done by lazy defenders. Chuck

It's a "big" issue to me ;)

Actually, if you asked my wife, she'd say it was overkill ;)

I've purchased pants from both http://www.calltheobvious.com and http://www.honigs.com. Some interesting differences:
<ul>
<li> Honigs offers pants only in even sizes (e.g., 32" waist, 34", 36", ...) <br>whereas CallTheObvious has all sizes (e.g., 32", 33", 34", <b>35"</b>, 36", ...) <br> With no belt, having the right size is valuable. :D
<li> Honigs pants have a black band on the inside. CallTheObvious is white :(. Depending on your shape, that can matter. At my age and shape (OK, age doesn't matter), I've had the waistband fold over after I've retrieved something from the floor. Its easy to manage, but I'd rather have it black and not easily noticed. (<font size=-1>I know, losing some weight might just avoid the problem. But the issue here is recommendations on buying equipment, not exercise and diet.</font>)
</ul>
I too have several shirts and choose micromesh/poly according to the weather. Don't buy the cotton-poly combination -- it looks terrible after a few washings. (Little white balls crawling all over you....) :(

As for how long stuff should last, I think avoiding the dryer will increase the number of cycles your clothes will last. So, have enough to allow them to air dry. I sometimes compromise and use the dryer set to no heat. (There is no chance I can "air them out" to rewear without seeing the washing machine. I couldn't tell if someone was implying that or not....)

Be sure you find black tees with a vee-neck. You need the tee under the shirt, but not the odd stuff at the neck.

Good luck.

FWIW, I've not had any problems with the cotton-poly combination shirts.

Honig's for everything.

To avoid those "little fuzz balls" on the pants, turn them inside-out before washing. (That's a Hint from Heloise).

It's basketball - RUN FOR IT!

Actually, from a women's point of view things do look a little different, but I'm not sure why Mark P. doesn't want me reading about his jock strap issues, when I've subjected him (and everyone else on this board and THAT OTHER board) to my harangues on Nike sports bras.

Here's how I handle the laundry issue: actually, women's sweat is chemically different from men's and smells different. If I have one or two jr hi games on a certain day, and I didn't do an awful lot of running, I will wash that outfit in just cold water, no detergent, no heat. This does add to the longevity, although I'm not sure a man could get away with it. I don't use the dryer if I can avoid it, because the dryer definitely detracts from longevity.

There's no question that alternating shoes increases longevity, and also helps maintain fit. This has been proven scientifically. I don't see why it couldn't be true for garments, too, if they are air dried.

Juulie - I guess it's just because we sometimes work together and I would feel uncomfortable if you asked me to "bring it up" in pregame ;)

Okay, I promise!!

About the shoes, I would not recommend using a boot dryer routinely on leather anything. Shoe trees are a good idea but use wood shoe trees if you want to have them absorb perspiration. Just my two cents.

what about converse patent leather shoes, where can i find them? do any of you have them?