Has Fech lost it?
 

I have both Fechheimer and Cliff Keen umpire pants. The CK pants appear to be of noticeably superior quality to the Fech's. They have a better waist band, better/stronger belt loops, and a stronger double clasp vs. the Fech's single clasp, and the fabric feels heavier.

I know Fechheimer was purchased by Berkshire Hathaway (Warren Buffett's huge conglomerate), so I wonder if cost cutting is showing up in reduced quality?

On a somewhat related note: does anyone know if the darker / charcoal gray used by (some) baseball umpires is less prone to fading? Quality umpire pants (even the Fech's I'm complaining about) last far longer than the heather gray lasts. I hate retiring pants in otherwise good condition because they have faded so badly.

The quality of the Fecheimer is poor at best. I've found that the sizing is way off. I normally wear a 40 waist, and I had to order 44 for them to fit properly. And you're right, the weight of the fabric is much lighter than others. If it wasn't mandatory to wear them in ASA tournaments, I absolutely would be wearing something else.

I've tried these and Honigs and I've not had a problem with any.

I do prefer the lighter fabric of Fechheimer's, but they could stand to loosen up the backside of the pants for more comfortable fit and movement.

Fetch pants
 

:mad:I purchased 3 pairs of the heather pants 3 seasons ago. I have 4 - 5 other pairs to go with these, so it is not like they get worn every day. They are beginning to go PINK:eek:. I purchased the dark gray last year, Gerry Davis pants, and they show NO fading. The waist band is comfortable too. I like them and will continue to recommend them. I hope NFHS allows them next HS season.

Yeah; they fade to a brownish/pinkish color. They don't fade where the sun don't shine (if you know what I mean :eek:), so you have two-tone pants.

No, that's NOT what I mean... I mean behind the ball bag, belt, etc. ;)

I had my (heather grey) Flecks for over 7 years. My plate pants are over five years old and they are my only pair. Only sight fading, but no pink hues. No fading or pinkness in my four pairs of base pants.

I believe it is more the care of the pants than any other factor. I wash my pants in only detergent, no fabric softeners, cold wash and rinse. And only air dry, none of my pants have ever been in the dryer.

BTW, I've never seen a pair of navy pants fade. :D

fading pants
 

:rolleyes: I think my wife does put the pants in the dryer to get the wrinkles out, not totally dry, then hangs them by the bottoms to completely dry. This could be the problem The DAMN dryer! You think:confused:

I think the drying makes them smaller, well, that and a few trips to the concession stand for a Hess breakfast sandwich.

My point is that I don't suffer from pink-pants syndrome.

grabed pants in the dark the other day (didn't want to wake the wife) for a friendly that night. The coached asked if ASA had gone pink. I told him no I was supporting breast cancer awareness.

I don't buy that... how would the detergent or dryer decide not to fade the fabric that is under the belt or behind the ball bag?

Maybe it is a combination of things such as detergent, fabric softener, etc reacting with the sunlight that causes the dye to fade.

Nah... they just fade. I use a very mild detergent, wash in cold water, triple rinse in cold water. They just fade.

Besides, if the dye is all that touchy to ordinary laundry practices, it is their (the manufactuer's) fault.

I say it is the heather gray color - it just does not stand up more than a couple of years to constant exposure to the sun. Most dress slacks don't have such constant exposure to the sun as part of the expected use. Neither do most other uniforms that Fech specializes in (USPS, e.g.). Umpire uniforms are in the sun when being worn for their expected use. Either the manufacturers don't use a sun tolerant dye (too expensive?), or heather gray is a inappropriate color choice for such use.

Whatever, it fades. I was just wondering if the darker gray is more sun tolerant.

:) Smooth, and for a good cause! :)

GD pants
 

The darker gray Gerry Davis pants are the bomb shnizzit! No fading, way comfortable, Keep the crease like no other and look ten times sharper than the pink heathers. Wake up and let us look sharp!:eek:

Do you have dry cleaning in Minn. ? :p :D

Depends on how close the rock is to the creek ;)

Yeah, like I'm going to run to the dry cleaner every time my uniform needs laundering... If heather gray requires dry cleaning to not fade, yet another reason to change color.

It seems like something "fading" (ie: getting lighter in shade) would be completely different than "changing colors" (ie: going from grey to pink).

I wonder....

How many of you work high school ball, where the required shirt is navy blue with a RED t-shirt? How many times have you thrown all your umpire clothes in the wash together, heather grey pants along with red t-shirts?

Might this explain why some folks report no problem with pink pants? Perhaps they do not routinely mix the colors together.

None of my umpire unis are red; My Honig's plate pants faded to an almost brownish color, not actually, literally pink. My Fech's are fading to a more graceful light gray, but whatever, they no longer look the best, and in another year or so will likely tend toward the brownish color, too.

The effect of sun (UV?) on dye is not a pure lightening effect, but frequently has a yellowing effect.

BretMan, even if your theory had some validity to it, that wouldn't explain why the area where your belt covers stays normal color, unless you wash your pants with your belt still in place. Dave

How long are we expecting these pants to last/ not fade ?

I am repeating my objection to endlessly buying stuff just for a different color or design. I have 2 or 3 times as many uniform pieces than I need, and I strongly object, probably refuse, to buy more. This "shades of gray" stuff, logos on everything, stripes on jacket shoulders, worrying about fashionable color combos, etc. is a major waste of time and money; to the benefit of no one except the manufacturers. :mad:

There is no game that can not be umpired in a universal color choice of cap, shirt and pants color; with no logos or patches. :rolleyes:

Why would you wear a red t-shirt with a navy blue uni shirt? (Must be a baseball thing.) Whenever we wear navy blue unis, we are supposed to wear a navy blue undershirt.

I never wash the shirts with the pants when I was my unis. Don't want the micromesh getting picked by the sewn in shirt grabber thingy or the metal that is on the pants.

So all "For Sale" signs should be of one standard set of colors and scheme and not include the name, logo or slogan of the company contracted to sell the property, right? :D

But my wife says I look "hot" in my Sansabelt slacks and Cliff Keen stripes. I get a good pump going from the gym, show up and use elastic bands during pre-game. By the time we're tipping my guns are a blazing and I know I look good because of my Cliff Keen stripes and Sansabelt pants.:rolleyes:

Because it is the required undergarment color of my state high school association. Other than that, I can't think of any good reason! :)

I realize this will vary from state-to-state, or from one association to the other. But I presented this as possible theory of why a lighter colored fabric might take on a "pinkish" tint.

By the way, you're talking to a guy that just got done sewing all new light blue buttons on two different shirts where the original buttons turned that hideous pink/purple color.

Another experiment I might attempt is to try dying a faded pair of heather grey pants, either to restore the heather color or to match the new darker shade or grey. I definitely will be using an old pair of pants I don't wear anymore as my "guinea pig"!

Let me know if that works to a passable approximation of official heather gray. If you can make this work, I might try it, too. My Fech's still look good, except for the color.

For sale signs don't cost over $50 a pop, nor do you typically need more than one. :cool:

That is not true. The realtor needs a bundle of these signs and are the only ones who would care since those colors, logos and everything else on the sign represents their business.

the fech pants are way better for color and lasting no matter how many times you wash they dont fade nearly as much as other brands. I have worn honigs, dalco, cliff keen, sansabelt, gerry davis, and fecheimer and the color and wear on the fecheimer pants is far superior to these brands. The sizing does blow but other than that ... I love those pants.

Yeah, but realtors only need to buy one color, logo, etc. If you want to call more than one code (NFHS, NCAA, ASA, or even other alphabets), you need a bunch of combinations.

Yep, sort of the point.

I dont know how your nfhs commish is with uniforms... but we dont wear any patches or embroiderd shirts and 90% of the ASA tournements I have worked my partners dont have ASA shirts so in that case For at least NCAA NFHS ASA and most of the time pony bc it cant make up its mind on a uniform supplier I wear plain powder and good old heather grey western top pocket pants...

IMO, here is how this should all break out:

An umpire is getting paid to work games of a particular sanctioning body, the umpire CAN afford to purchase their specific uniform.

Each sanctioning body should have a maximum of two combinations, period. There is little to no need for any more and even that is too many in my opinion. If the umpire feels the need for his/her wardrobe to be the center of attention, s/he needs to find a modeling agency.

One sanctioning body should not be expected to adjust their uniform to accommodate another. As noted above, if you work XYZ ball, you CAN afford to purchase XYZ's prescribed uniform.

In turn, a sanctioning body should never change any non-safety part of their uniform without providing their cadre of umpires at least a two-year notice.

As I said, it is JMHO and I am aware this is not how it works in the real world as this thread is beginning to demonstrate.

In my area with ASA tournaments, ASA shirts are expected to be worn. Newer umpires get away with plain powder blue while they get set up and if we need 80-90 umpires you can get away with it. For the most part, you are expected to be in at least ASA shirt and hat as part of your uniform. Fech's are recommended but not overly pushed at regular tournies. For established "national level" umpires, you are expected to be in proper uniform at all times and an example.

Actually, I have no problem with this; I have several different shirts with logos, some without, and several different hats, some with logos, some without.

On the color issue, I just lament the fact that the Fech, CK, Honigs, etc., pants are still looking sharp in all aspects except for the fading of the heather gray. Fading is my only issue with heather gray. I dislike having to buy new pants only because the old ones are faded into a two-tone combination of heather gray and light brownish used to be gray.

How long does this take? Not long at all, even here in the northern latitudes. After a couple hundred games, the fading is noticeable (to me) and after a hundred more, they become bad looking and fit only for the most casual league game. I would imagine it takes even less time in TX or AZ.

The other point is CK seems to make a higher quality product overall than Fech.