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Schutt Low Profile Chest Protector


Mizzou2016
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13 hours ago, StevenCraze said:

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=104365666

Not planning on buying one of these at this price, but does anyone know anything about these? Are they new, or is this a leftover from a failed product venture? 

@MadMax I feel like you're the guy to ask.

Guys, this is not new. We passed an opportunity to purchase for resell over a year ago. Only level this is good for behind the plate is T-ball. Interesting concept but not enough coverage.

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Wouldn't mind seeing something like this come to fruition sometime in the future if it's possible to make it work. Until that time comes I think the Force 3 is the way to go in terms of low profile and top notch protection. 

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Wanted to add what I posted elsewhere to provide more clarification to my comment above:

I'm glad this discussion was brought up. My comment stemmed from the lack of collarbone protection - a gap in this CP. This CP will work great as long as you don't get hit in any of the gaps.

When I umpired long before owning Ump-Attire.com was on my 
radar, I wore something I loved and bragged about UNTIL I took a shot that proved it was not appropriate for the level I was doing.

We have lost money in at least 3 instances because we sent items back to the manufacturer because it had gaps. In one case, when the DLG-LITE shin guards came on the market, Diamond added a larger size. That larger size had a gap just below the knee. We sent all of our inventory back. Diamond re-worked it the following year but for a year other retailers continued to carry this product. We lost money on the profit we would have made on sales from it, but I slept better at night.

Other items included Champro's first hard shell where the plastic plates ran vertically. It sold decently in its first year but in year 2, new inventory we received had plates farther apart than in year 1 - in other words, it had some gaps. We sent them back, and Champro eventually discontinued it in favor of a much improved design.

I would love to sell this CP if it had collar bone protection. There is debate on whether you really need that last rib covered given you may not take a direct shot there considering a more bent over stance. Some even say it's ok for softball umpires to wear soccer style shin guards (no knee protection). But collar bone protection for umpires should not be debatable.

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9 hours ago, LittleBlue said:

@JimKirk your last post is one of the many reasons that I shop at UA with confidence. You guys genuinely care about the officials who buy from you. It's also why I highly recommend UA to any official who does not already shop there. 

I second these sentiments. Never had a problem doing business with ump-attire, even in situations that would've been a headache anywhere else. The fact that @JimKirk is so involved in the umpire community instead of simply turning a profit is one of the most reputable qualities of both him and his company. 

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4 hours ago, BT_Blue said:

I'm taking part in this conversation about this on Facebook all with @tpatience and @grayhawk. Let's just say we are all :bang:,:banghead:,:Horse:,and :Facepalm: on this thread is both frustrating as well as asinine.

why bother ....most of those facebook pages are for people to argue just for the sake of arguing :no: 

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I think you even chimed in a bit Jeff.

I just feel bad for guys like Jim Kirk and Scott Kennedy that go on there to help and give an opinion from the stand point of a high end retailer of gear. And it Scott's case, a guy that has reached pretty much the top of amateur ball in the US.

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6 hours ago, Tksjewelry said:

Wow, that thing is glaringly inadequate and the fact that dicks is even selling that reiterates my issues with that company.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

I don't have high expectations for a retailer's umpire gear/apparel if it's a minimal part of what they do.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Alright, time for me to chime in here...

Yeah, I'm a big fan of the Force3 UnEqual, and possibly the most rabid apologist for Schutt here on U-E, but this thing worries even me. I like the ambition in the concept, but the execution is very much lacking.

The use of TPU-EVA foam (Schutt is calling it D3O) is brilliant. Because of D3O's structure, it is exceptionally light, resilient, and well-ventilated. Encasing it in a 4-way stretch fabric wearable shirt removes alot of the bulk and the chance of the protection slipping and shifting on you while in use. But if you tell me that there isn't a sliver of hard plastic in it, acting as a blast plate, I'm going to hand it right back to you and tell you to rework it and come back when you've got actual blast plates in it.

Otherwise, I'm looking at this in terms of who Dick's Sporting Goods may be targeting – softball umpires. This may be suited for softball, as a good number of top-tier hardshell units are overkill for softball, not terribly well ventilated (standard Wilsons), and usually scare off alot of softball umpires who don't like how bulky and bulge-y they make you look. Look, Honig's makes this for softball:
 k2.jpg

... so I don't see much difference between it and this here Schutt ShirtCP, in softball context.

Baseball, though? Not happening. I would probably draw the line at 9U. And that's 2.5 games of 9U, _solo_, to comfortably afford it. No wonder the junior umpires use their ol' catcher's CP or a bargain-basement Diamond CP for little kid games.

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