Shoes
 

Anyone have a recommendation (good or bad) on shoes that would be suitable for grass or turf?

Pull up Eastbay.com and look through the baseball turf/trainer shoe section. Mizuno makes some decent looking stuff and even has some all-black selections if your area still requires it.

http://www.eastbay.com/Mens/Baseball...y?cm_REF=Black

I've worn these the last couple years - good on grass, even when wet, and very good on turf.

REEBOK NFL REFEREE II LOW QUAG : Honig's Whistle Stop - R045 - REEBOK NFL REFEREE II LOW QUAG

However, since I like the Reebook Zig's so much for BB, I'm have to give these a try.

REEBOK ZIG MAGISTRATE BLACK/BLACK: Honig's Whistle Stop - R739 - REEBOK ZIG MAGISTRATE BLACK/BLACK

I wear the new balance 995 in the 3/4 (high top) they have a "turf" bottom but have held up fairly well (3 years old and still look like new) and don't get plugged up as easily because the turf bottom isin't as deep and "grabby" as an actual cleat is. I purchased mine from Officially sports in Pittsburgh. their web site is www.purchaseofficialssupplies.com

Is it possible to color over the white part at the bottom? We have to have all black shoes.

They actually are all black. There is a little bit of the arch support (which is grey) that wraps around the sides from the bottom and is slightly visible. However we also are required to wear all black and these are worn by several of the guys in my chapter. So I wouldn't imagine there being any problem with them.

The NCHSAA recently announced that NC officials would be allowed to wear shoes with up white on them. It's opened up a lot more options.

Just bought these. They make a black/black version as well. The basketball Zigs are the best shoe I've ever worn. Hope these prove to be as good.

Reebok Zig Magistrate

All black shoes is an old, archaic rule that needs to go away for all officials. Nobody cares what shoes an official is wearing, except officials.

I bought the turf trainer version of those Reeboks last year. Didn't wear them in a game, naturally, and I am glad I held off coloring them in.

While I applaud us (NC) allowing white to join the 21st century, I hope some among us don't screw it up. Those "clown shoe" Nikes that the ACC wore were just plain old fugly.

I too wear the New Balance. I have two pairs even tho we work almost exclusively on turf now in Seattle and a quick brush ill bring them right back to looking good most of the time. The lower part can easily be turned black with a Sharpie. They are very comfortable and give great traction on turf fields. Honig's sells them (they bring a truck to our first meeting of the year and more& more of our guys are using them), but check out ShoeBuy.com. They often have sales and you can get shoes at 25-40 % off. Honig's had them on their spring sale.

I totally agree. And my crew for the State Finals last year wore the Adidas version of shoe that was common in the "Alliance" (Group that assigns the Big Ten, MAC and MVC) at the college ranks and was worn often. Not a single person said a word to us about what shoes we wore or even complained that we were not following NF or IHSA procedures. I am starting not to care one bit about what color the shoes have on them and I am a little old school too.

Peace

After yesterday I can recommend to NOT wear any Air Max styles from Nike, at least during a extreme heat wave . We were on turf in a passing league tourney and one of the guys on the crew had a pair. It got up to 114 on the field at some point. His little air pockets were swelling up in the soles.
He would put ice on the lid of his cooler during breaks and soak his heels.

Personally, I like all-black because some of the white stripes, zig-zags, whatever, look clownish. Also, a "uniform" means all the crew members should wear the same design. I could maybe go with some white if all of the crew looked like a team.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Is it not uniform to wear the same style in shirt or pants? Because if you look at many different uniform items like shirts, pants or even flags and bags they are different too.

And since shoes are so personal of a feel and not every shoe is going to be sold all black, not sure what the big deal is. The fans or coaches never say a word about our shoes.

Peace

I like those Adidas Turf Hogs but shyed away from getting them because at the time I only saw collegiate officials wearing them and didn't want to stand out as a poser.

I have a pair of NB 995s that are two years old and holding up well still. I use them for both football and baseball. I'll probably replace them after this football season. I tried on the Reebok Magistrates but they are too narrow on my feet unfortunately.

I do want to try the NB 950s but not thrilled about the MLB logos on them for football.

Well I was given my shoes. The "Alliance" gave guys working D3 their shoes for free and they did not fit my crew chief, so I took his. I loved them and wore them most of the season. I also work college football so those were the shoes that most wore. Sometimes you have to wear what feels good to you and not everything is for another motive, especially when it comes to shoes.

Peace

Don't misunderstand me, I wasn't calling anybody a poser. I was afraid of looking like or being perceived as one. Now that I've gotten a few years in here in my chapter, I'd be more likely to wear them if they worked for me. I have wide feet though so it's hard to find shoes that fit well other than NB.

I was not offended by what you said one bit. I simply am trying to make the point that shoes are so person and what feels good should be worn no matter what others think. Now if you live in a place that requires only all-black shoes that is fine. The problem is it is hard to find a shoe that is made that way anymore. And the shoe companies are not doing us a favor and making them all-black, so you have to go with what is available. I just think we need to get over a logo or a little stripe on the bottom that is all.

Peace

When our state started allowing white on shoes last year, I went to the Adidas Turf Hog. Very comfortable on both grass and turf fields, although I always change out the manufacturer's insoles for thicker one on all my sports shoes.

Uniform? Team? How many teams have you seen wear all the players were wearing the same shoes?

Officials wear different belts, different styles of shirts, pants, different Northwestern style socks. Some wear lanyards, other finger whistles, different types of flags, bean bags and down indicators.

Personally, I don't think it matters whether two officials has a Nike Swoosh on their shoes while the three others have the Reebok stripes. It's just black and white. As I said, I've purchased a pair of the Zig Magistrate shoes. While I'm not crazy about the white sole, they shoes feel great!

To each his own.

If there are different shirts or pants in our crew I have never been able to tell. I don't care about fans or coaches. We have our own standards of dress. Must be my military experience, but I like a "uniform" appearance. Those shoes that are not sold all black are made black by our crew members to make us look like a team. "Attention to detail," as I heard so many times in the Navy. It pays off.

Actually you can tell the different shirts apart rather easily as well as pants, especially the black style all have a little differences you can notice quickly if you are familiar the styles. Most of the time you do not have to be very close either to tell the differences.

Then what do you do when someone has a shoe that is black because they either had to black them out or the sole of the shoe has gray or black and the other crew members are not so obvious?

The point is we can nitpick all these things. I just know that I am not going to wear a shoe you like because they feel good on your feet. As stated before, no one cares about this but officials. And if we all have to be the same, we better buy everything from the same company or order the same brand or we will not be perfectly uniformed.

Peace

The white on the shoes look better with the black pants. All black shoes, to me, don't look very good. On my crew we all wear the NFL Reeboks (not Zags) and they're good shoes. I'd like to see what Nike comes up with for the NFL guys. For subvarsity (and on varsity with others not on my crew) everyone is going to have their own different shoes -- Reebok, Nike, Adidas, NB -- its all good. The only reason you can tell who's wearing what on TV is that they show the officials up close. From the stands, no one knows what the wing on the other side of the field is wearing.

I couldn't care less what anyone thinks about my shoes. I wear running shoes for hoops and have a difficult time finding mostly black ones. Several years ago, I told my college supervisor it (the running shoes) had to be that way and he said it was fine.

You can get these shoes for as little as $30.00 bucks at Academy. The shoestrings will wear out before the shoes will.

Can anyone comment on how the Reebok Zig shoes fit (either football or basketball)? Do they run big, small, or true to size?

Thanks.

Lengthwise they fit about right but they seem to run narrow. I wear a EE to 4E in NB but have been able to wear most other shoes fine so I don't know if it's Reebok sizing or my foot size changing.

You too? Here's a picture of my feet:


http://images.fineartamerica.com/ima...e-sizemore.jpg

I have a wide foot with a high instep. It makes it difficult to find shoes that fit properly without having to purchase a 1/2 or full size larger.

I've always liked New Balance because they were available in wide sizes and was disappointed when they discontinued my old shoe and replaced it with the 950s.

I've had good luck recently with Reeboks. I wear the Low Quag for football and baseball (bases) and have a pair of Field Magistrate plate shoes.

I've also found that my feet have grown about 1 full size over the last 10 years.

You're lucky, I wish I could fit into the new Zig magistrates as I really like them. They are just too narrow. I still see the NB 995s kicking around, I may just pick up another pair of those.

I just bought a pair of Turf Hogs for this coming season.

I normally wear a size 13E. The Reeboks aren't available in a wide shoe, so:

In the basketball Zigs, I bought a 13.5 and they worked great.

In the football Zigs, I ordered a 13.5 but they're just flat out to small, width and length. Returning them for a 14.

I got the New Balance 950 low cut. The size 13 fits well. Just a tiny white baseball logo on the heel and tongue I easily covered with boot black and they are good to go. Thanks for the help!

On the football field it works to a fault. Unfortunately, the officials community is too small of a market to demand many manufacturers cater to our needs. But that aside, the DoD has varying allowances for the nature of member's equipment in garrison. It's hard to find boots that don't say "Belleville" on them, and my last DO always had sunglasses with a giant Wiley-X logo on the side. Even in a deployed environment, way out in the sticks, the Army's grunts and even the snake-eaters types personalize their equipment or customize it a little to make it work better with their bodies. This even includes colors on weapon components (analogous to flags/whistles, etc.) This does include wearing glasses, footwear, or MOLLE attachments that have logos on them. I've never heard of a Specialist getting even a "counseling" session for it. ... Probably also helps that at those places, you almost never seen anyone above O-4.

Point is, while the military example on the surface (for planned formations) works quite well, once you get into the day-to-day operations, the military example breaks down quicker C-5 in the Med.

Reebok Zig Magistrate FB Shoe
 

Football now has an answer to the Reebok Zig basketball shoe. It's called the Reebok Zig Magistrate and it is awesome for turf or grass and are incredibly lite weighing 1.75 lbs for both shoes. You can find them on our web site at
Officiallysports.com or call us at 412-635-9949

I'm looking to buy a new pair of shoes this year, and I think I've settled on Reebok.

Can anyone give a comparison or opinion of the REEBOK NFL REFEREE II LOW QUAG versus the REEBOK ZIG MAGISTRATE??

I know the Zigs are new, and the Quags are tried and trusted. I'm just on the fence right now as to which one to go with.

I wore the Reebok Zig all spring & summer to umpire in, and I'll never wear another shoe until they quit making them. I have a pair of Zigs in casual wear on my feet right now.

As I said earlier, the Energy Zig Energy is the best basketball shoe I've ever worn. Haven't worn my Zig Magistrates yet but anticipate they're going to be great.

But if your foot has any width at all, you're going to have go up a 1/2 or possibly a full size for the best fit. I had to go up from a 13 to a 14 in the Magistrate.

I just bought a pair of 3N2 Momentum shoes. My bad ankles need more support, so i need a mid cut shoe. I bought these shoes they do not come in all black. They have a little white on there, which i blacked out with a Sharpie and then shoe polish. They also have a gray plastic/rubber logo on the side, which i was able to take off without any harm to the shoe. These shoes are very comfortable. Because my ankles are so bad i ahve to have mid cut shoes. These are great shoes and i am looking forward to wearing these all season.
I did not buy the NB shoes because i dont like the cleats on the bottom. They are not very good in wet weather. These shoes have excellent cleats/studs.

I wear these as well and love them. I did notice I slipped a little on wet grass so you want to make sure you take short steps and not over stride.

I'm also hoping that PA comes into the 21st century and allows us to wear some white in our shoes. Very limited selection when you need to go all black.