First Team Wendy's! Happy Fathers Day to me!

[umpstu]

Apology accepted. 

 

First of all, sorry for your issues with Team Wendy. Always hate to here any umpires getting hit and hurt by wearing any equipment, whether we sell it or not.

 

Whether it is foam in a running shoe, in a mattress or in umpire protective gear, there is a susceptibility for these foams to break down for a variety of reasons - UV rays, heat, chemicals (including salt) are all things that can break down foam in different ways. 

 

From my limited understanding of foams, there are different types. Some apparently are higher grades, if you will, and more resistant to degrading. Foams traditionally used in umpire protective gear have been basic types. So, I assume, that translates to being more susceptible to degrading vs not. 

 

What I can't say for sure if how often you should replace your umpire pads; as much I can offer advice on often you should replace your running shoes. That, I would think, would depend on varying degrees of types of foam used by different manufacturers, frequency of use, amount of UV exposure, amount of sweat and other factors. And, no, there is no specific data in relation to umpire padding.

 

What I can say is that I've been around to hear all the conversation about time frames for mask padding replacement. Those conversations did not start with the manufacturers or the retailers. It started on the MLB level as a matter of umpire safety and within a year was both a point of emphasis at the MiLB level and discussed at length at the pre-season NCAA meetings.

 

So how often should you replace your umpire mask padding? 1 year? 2 years? 5? 10? I think the prevailing thought is that because it depends on all the factors I mentioned, the safe recommendation is to put a time frame on it that covers the range of possibilities. MLB, MiLB and NCAA all say every year. We have always said "at least every few years". Given a specific circumstance, it certainly could be longer. I can't disagree with you on that subject.

 

So who is right? I think that it is up to the individual to decide. There are lots of factors that dictate safety besides padding replacement, including padding thickness to frame shape to frame metal to how tight you wear your mask to where you stand in relation to home plate. I say given that you've got the potential of 2,400 pounds of force coming at your very important head, you should err on the side of caution in all these areas. That includes keeping your mask out of your hot car, as a precaution, as Paul mentioned in his original post in his thread.

 

Good discussion. Hope everyone is having a good summer.

I, too had a lot of pain after being hit in the mask while wearing Team Wendy pads.  Won't wear them.  That being said, I would definitely recommend using news shoes yearly, or at least arch supports.  If you do a bunch of games and are running around the field a lot your dogs take a beating.

 

I don't think it's a bad idea to replace your mask pads either. $40.00 to protect your melon is money well spent.

 

Disclaimer: I do not work for Ump Attire or any other sporting goods manufacturer or distributor. 

[Majordave]

Touché!

I'm done ranting. I know Jim and Paul and the entire Ump-Attire.com team just want to help. (No sarcasm intended). I have hot buttons. Never meant to offend.

By the way, I wanted to like the TW pads. Just didn't have the same experience most users had.

Thus my YMMV comments on many of my posts.

[BaltimoreUmpire]

I think replacing stuff depends more on game numbers not years, theres a big difference between guys doing 30 games and 100 games, my helmet should be replaced yearly it says on the label, but it lasted 3x that because of my lighter schedule than most, but companies say what they do because legally the stay on the safe side by doing so because they are confidant the gear lasts so long, by saying to replace it they protect them self from potentially over worn gear hurting someone