I'm going to post this in the basketball forum since these two makers make v-neck shirts and the basketball guys may be more familiar with these shirts anyway.

I'm looking for a microfiber shirt (not a micromesh) for football and my research tells me these two are the only suppliers of that type of shirt.

If you've worn both, which do you prefer and why? If you've worn one, talk about what you like and dislike. Do they run large/small? Velcro tabs on the back of either collar? Long tails (very important -- at least, no short tails)? Honigs (I think) had a shirt in the late '80s that had a very short front tail (it was split). They corrected that later, thankfully.

I own the Official's choice basketball vneck shirts, I officiate basketball. Good luck attempting to get your order as Official's Choice has the worst customer service and support.

Know nothing of "the Official's Choice", but I did use to wear a McDavid shirt. When the sun shone directly on it, which it often did, it felt like the fabric "heated up" and made me hotter. I guess I don't describe it very well...

I'd go for something like this instead:
http://www.honigs.com/detail.asp?Cat=2&Sub=28&Item=216

I got one of these shirts for this fall. The fabric fells great. Much better than the poly only shirts. I haven't worn it on the field yet though. One thing I will say, the sizing is a little weird. Depending on your size, you might want to order a size bigger.

I have a McDavid. I, too, felt it was a little heavy and heated up a ton. Plus, the collar is gigantic - I didn't notice that when I bought it, but I did when I put it on for the first time. I would have returned it but I had already had a placket and flag sewed on. Live and learn.

I bought a micromesh and now wear that instead.

Where do you get your micromesh shirts from?

I just got my new Ultra Mesh shirt made by Cliff Keen. It is extremely light, feels great and has two inch longer tail. It is a sharp looking shirt.

I bought the micromesh from Honigs but wasn't thrilled with the sleeves. The black lining at the end of the sleeve was less than stellar workmanship - kind of uneven and folded under in spots. I get tired of shipping back and waiting for another package back so I decided to just live with it. The shirt is fine as far as coolness but I like the micromesh from Cliff Keen that I have for HS. If I buy another it'll be a Cliff Keen.

If this fall is anything like the summer has been so far, I'm going to be needing that micromesh a lot.

I wear the McDavid shirt currently, and it can get pretty hot in there, plus the collar is huge, and the zipper doesn't stay up (I use a smitty lanyard). I just ordered a couple of the Official's Choice shirts and am waiting for them to arrive, so I'll let you guys know more when I get them. I wesr the OC shirts for basketball and I love them. Hopefully this transfers over.

Hey there Ref18 - your basketball ref pants were shipped out this morning by Canada Post - Expresspost.

But why order your football gear from OC. We are only 45 minutes away, and fully stocked. We offer great service, just ask Juggling Ref.

I needed IAABO product, and the officials choice is the only ones that I know of that sell it.

Okay, you are forgiven. Actually, we are not too big on basketball, but are growing. I am still trying to get a handle on what the refs are wearing in Canada.
Grey, grey pinstripe or black and white.

Most of Canada they are wearing the straight grey shirts with the black v-neck collar and black cuffs on the sleeves.

In Hamilton, we're the only board in the area that wears stripes, and because of IAABO, most of us get our stripes from the officials choice.

The grey pinstripe hasn't caught on up here, and I hope it doesn't, IMHO, I thought straight greys looked bad, the pinstripes look worse.

I don't like the grey either, but have to have them. My problem is that I have not been able to find a manufacturer of plain grey. I don't know if anyone has a plain grey shirt and can give me the manufacturer's name. For stripes and grey pinstripe, I have Cliff Keen.

What is the IAABO shirt from OC? What is that they have on it that requires you to order from them? Perhaps there is something that we can do with our shirts to make them compliant.

IAABO stands for the International Association of Approved Basketball Officials. They have a crest that IAABO members wear on the left side of their chest, the Officials Choice has the licensing to embroider this crest onto their products.

As for the plain grey, have you ever heard of a manufacturer called, "Althletic Knit". I have a grey shirt that they manufactured, as well as a few other officials I have worked with.

Many thanks. Yes, I have heard of Athletic Knit. I looked at their football jerseys once and was not impressed, but did not check out basketball. I will give them a look.

Their basketball shirts are pretty good, a lot of the Ontario refs wear them.

I think saxon also made them at one point, but I'm not sure if they still do.

I may be in the minority, but I have had some pretty good luck with Officials Choice. In fact on two separate occasions they have sent me more than I ordered. Usually they send duplicates of items that I've ordered. Can't complain about that.

I do like there micromesh shirts. They are very comfortable and appear to be normal shirts from a distance. In addition they wick the moisture away very nicely.

My only complaint with OC is the shipping charges. However it does appear they have lessened them somewhat so maybe our complaints are paying off.

Just my two cents worth.

I agree completely, I've dealt with the officials choice a few times now, and never had a problem. I'm hoping for some extra stuff in this shipment :cool:

I guess that is where I have gone wrong. At World of Sports, we check and double check every shipment before it goes out. We want to make sure that the customer gets everything he ordered. Unfortunately, this process does not allow us to end up shipping extra products. I am going to have to change our procedures. :D

Have a great day.

Keith, I received the shipment today, thanks a lot, when I need new pants you'll be sure to hear from me.

That must be why everyone else has so many problems getting their shipments. :-p

Received the Intera shirt in the mail. Bought 2 of them from the McDavid site, and they would both go back except I needed one tonight to wear to a scrimmage. Now, one of them is going back and I will likely try and sell the other one, either here or on ebay.

The damn thing is heavier than the NORMAL Powers shirt -- at least the Powers shirts I bought 10-12 years ago for basketball. The collars stick out halfway to the ground, and did I mention the thing was heavy? I'm at a loss to know what McDavid felt the purpose of their shirt was. I have all kinds of microfiber clothes from workout clothes to golf shirts and shorts, and the key thing on all the stuff is lightweight material. The old, doubleknit polyester didn't really soak up sweat too bad, and this one doesn't seem to perform much better.

Anyway, its not going to cool down in Texas until mid-October. Is the OC shirt lightweight? Should I just go straight to the micromesh?

Sorry but Plus Pos has the worst.
I'd go with the Cliff Keen.