Want to know what I have?

[BT_Blue]

No... really... what the heck do I have here?

I came across this mask at a Play It Again Sports in Corvallis, OR (home of the #1 ranked Oregon State Beavers).

I am pretty sure that it is a Nike. While others have brought up Adidas. Neither of which would surprise me considering the (over)saturation of those two companies in the area. I am leaning towards it being a Nike due to its configuration and where I got it from. It weighs in at 1 pound and around .8 ounces fully put together.

I already have talked with @JaxRolo and @Razzer. Also got input from @Thunderheads What say the rest of you?

Also, thanks @wolfe_man for your help.

[wolfe_man]

At that weight - that's looking more and more like a Nike Ti.  Especially if non-metallic.

+POS has the lightest hollow steel mask I know of and, with pads, it's right around what you have.  Adidas is a third of a pound heavier than what's pictured above.  However, the ear guards are connected much more cleanly than any +POS or Adidas I've seen or held, so I doubt it's hollow steel.  

The Wilson Ti's are right about 1.1 lbs without a harness according to Ump Attire's website - and your mask is under that with a harness on the mask!

Great find!

[BrianC14]

Is it new?  Or has someone added powder coating to it?

Is that a store tag or the original tag ?   

 

[BrianC14]

4 minutes ago, wolfe_man said:

At that weight - that's looking more and more like a Nike Ti.  Especially if non-metallic.

+POS has the lightest hollow steel mask I know of and, with pads, it's right around what you have.  Adidas is a third of a pound heavier than what's pictured above.  However, the ear guards are connected much more cleanly than any +POS or Adidas I've seen or held, so I doubt it's hollow steel.  

The Wilson Ti's are right about 1.1 lbs without a harness according to Ump Attire's website - and your mask is under that with a harness on the mask!

Great find!

I was looking at ump-attire.com as well and wondering if this might be either the Wilson Ti or even a Dyna-Lite aluminum.

Edited to add:

But on further inspection, it's neither of those.   

[Thunderheads]

18 hours ago, wolfe_man said:

At that weight - that's looking more and more like a Nike Ti.  Especially if non-metallic.

+POS has the lightest hollow steel mask I know of and, with pads, it's right around what you have.  Adidas is a third of a pound heavier than what's pictured above.  However, the ear guards are connected much more cleanly than any +POS or Adidas I've seen or held, so I doubt it's hollow steel.  

The Wilson Ti's are right about 1.1 lbs without a harness according to Ump Attire's website - and your mask is under that with a harness on the mask!

Great find!

what's the +POS hollow steel weigh?  I bet you the All-Star FM4000 gives it a run for its money (weight wise)

[wolfe_man]

14 minutes ago, Thunderheads said:

what's the +POS hollow steel weigh?  I bet you the All-Star FM4000 gives it a run for its money (weight wise)

By itself it's like 12.5 oz per the thread here on UE.   I agree though, I have am FM4000 right now as well. Super light mask with great vision! 

I just don't like the way the pads sit on my face, but love the mask. I want to get mine painted black like @MadMax did with his in the Mask Porn thread.

[Thunderheads]

Just now, wolfe_man said:

By itself it's like 12.5 oz per the thread here on UE.   I agree though, I have am FM4000 right now as well. Super light mask with great vision! 

I just don't like the way the pads sit on my face, but love the mask. I want to get mine painted black like @MadMax did with his in the Mask Porn thread.

Hang on a second there rookie ... Max had his done LIKE MINE!!    And .... he doesn't have a custom sunshield like mine either  

 

[wolfe_man]

3 hours ago, Thunderheads said:

Hang on a second there rookie ... Max had his done LIKE MINE!!    And .... he doesn't have a custom sunshield like mine either  

 

A thousand pardons my lord!  LOL

Not to hi-jack this thread - but HOW did you get a sunshield in there?  I've thought of cutting one down for mine, but was afraid it'd crack and run.

[Thunderheads]

Just now, wolfe_man said:

A thousand pardons my lord!  LOL

Not to hi-jack this thread - but HOW did you get a sunshield in there?  I've thought of cutting one down for mine, but was afraid it'd crack and run.

LMAO!! I'm glad you took that the way it was intended ...it was indeed in jest! 

I scored it first,...w/ a carpet knife carefully, ...it took a long time, then you could actually use snippers to finish it ...then sand it.  PM if you want to discuss.....as you said, don't want to hijack this.  Sorry @BT_Blue

[Aging_Arbiter]

I'm going to go out on a limb here................and say.............the pads are definitely Nike.

[ofhs93]

The *real* question is what price were you able to acquire said mask for at an establishment such at PIAS? *chucke* I'm thinking you probably got a pretty darn good deal.

[midtnump]

3 hours ago, wolfe_man said:

By itself it's like 12.5 oz per the thread here on UE.   I agree though, I have am FM4000 right now as well. Super light mask with great vision! 

I just don't like the way the pads sit on my face, but love the mask. I want to get mine painted black like @MadMax did with his in the Mask Porn thread.

The curve of the frame is more than most masks on the market, and it does change how it fits your face.  Its that curve that deflects the baseball and in my opinion, reduces the impact. I have owned Nike's, Wilson, and others, this is the one that protects me the best, so I have always hung on to the 4000.  I did receive a mild concussion with my Nike Ti last year, but that was more  about how I was hit and not the frame. I reach for the 4000 most of the time. JMHO

[Replacematt]

Any chance you could remove the pads and harness and retake the third picture? That would be the view to confirm it.

[blue32]

23 hours ago, BrianC14 said:

Is it new?  Or has someone added powder coating to it?

Is that a store tag or the original tag ?   

 

Everything about it looks right except for the color, but maybe that's just the lighting or something? That's a great find if it turns out to be genuine.

[MadMax]

It's a Nike Titanium, one of the earlier "pure" ones. How can you (well, I, in this case) tell?

• It is the iconic planform.
• Arrowhead < > earguards.
• Curved chin guard with next-to-nothing forward rake on it; it is nearly straight down.
• Blunt-cut, solid-wire construction (in this case, titanium). Hollow steel has to be plugged and/or crimped.
• Uniform wire gauge used throughout (less earguard struts). The latest renditions on the planform have varying gauges.
• Gentle curve on the 90° bend at the upper corner of the earguard. Hollow steel will have a crimp. Lesser-quality shops will aggressively wrench that corner hard.
• The welds are so gorgeous, they're practically invisible. Latest renditions have sloppier welds as the shop is trying to meet quantity requests by a deadline (that's my professional guess).

That you bought it in what amounts to be a glorified sports equipment pawn shop shouldn't besmirch what this mask is. Buying it in Oregon is akin to buying a box of cigars in Miami and questioning whether they are Cubans or not. If the wrapper on the cigar says "Made in Havana", it probably was.

Now, I understand the skepticism. It seems that over the past 2-3 years, with UnderArmour ramping up its involvement in baseball, the other Big Brands are starting to get nervous. There has been such a mudslinging campaign against titanium, undeservedly, that Nike has likely scaled back its requests to the Asian (it may be China, it may be Taiwan, it may be Japan... don't exactly know) fabricator who holds that planform. With reduced work orders, that fabricator has likely entertained work orders from Adidas, Reebok and Mizuno, anyone with deep enough pockets and a fairly secure legal department (for contracts). Do notice, that we haven't seen this mask sold on the retail market. We see it supplied to various athletes or institutions so as to showcase the brand, and then from there, it hits the open market.

The one you bought, @BT_Blue, was either hot or one some College catcher or team equipment manager had "lying around" and wanted the extra cash, selling it to Play-It-Again. How fortuitous for you.

 Now, why you didn't ask your good buddy Mad Max first, I'm surprised, but not hurt; why you didn't buy two of them and ship one to Mad Max... I'm gobsmacked.

[blue32]

1 hour ago, MadMax said:

It's a Nike Titanium, one of the earlier "pure" ones. How can you (well, I, in this case) tell?

• It is the iconic planform.
• Arrowhead < > earguards.
• Curved chin guard with next-to-nothing forward rake on it; it is nearly straight down.
• Blunt-cut, solid-wire construction (in this case, titanium). Hollow steel has to be plugged and/or crimped.
• Uniform wire gauge used throughout (less earguard struts). The latest renditions on the planform have varying gauges.
• Gentle curve on the 90° bend at the upper corner of the earguard. Hollow steel will have a crimp. Lesser-quality shops will aggressively wrench that corner hard.
• The welds are so gorgeous, they're practically invisible. Latest renditions have sloppier welds as the shop is trying to meet quantity requests by a deadline (that's my professional guess).

That you bought it in what amounts to be a glorified sports equipment pawn shop shouldn't besmirch what this mask is. Buying it in Oregon is akin to buying a box of cigars in Miami and questioning whether they are Cubans or not. If the wrapper on the cigar says "Made in Havana", it probably was.

Now, I understand the skepticism. It seems that over the past 2-3 years, with UnderArmour ramping up its involvement in baseball, the other Big Brands are starting to get nervous. There has been such a mudslinging campaign against titanium, undeservedly, that Nike has likely scaled back its requests to the Asian (it may be China, it may be Taiwan, it may be Japan... don't exactly know) fabricator who holds that planform. With reduced work orders, that fabricator has likely entertained work orders from Adidas, Reebok and Mizuno, anyone with deep enough pockets and a fairly secure legal department (for contracts). Do notice, that we haven't seen this mask sold on the retail market. We see it supplied to various athletes or institutions so as to showcase the brand, and then from there, it hits the open market.

The one you bought, @BT_Blue, was either hot or one some College catcher or team equipment manager had "lying around" and wanted the extra cash, selling it to Play-It-Again. How fortuitous for you.

 Now, why you didn't ask your good buddy Mad Max first, I'm surprised, but not hurt; why you didn't buy two of them and ship one to Mad Max... I'm gobsmacked.

Wow. I'm impressed. Sounds like you did your homework on this mask. 

[BT_Blue]

I'll reply to the rest when I get a chance. 

But @MadMax, if there was more than one, you don't think I would have snatched them up if they were available? Especially at the price I paid!

The downside of finding this? I'm going to be going into these placesplaced all the time now hoping to find something like this!

[MadMax]

4 minutes ago, blue32 said:

Wow. I'm impressed. Sounds like you did your homework on this mask. 

I'm a Designer by trade & training. Whether that be graphic, spatial, environmental, lighting, sound, product, packaging... heck, even landscape... you go through the entire process when investigating an item or solution.

You know that phrase, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?" Not so in the product design and manufacturing industry. Here it is, "Replication is the quickest and easiest way to increased profit margins. Push it until a patent stops you." If that mask planform that Nike uses fetches such a premium price tag, why would the other Big Brands do anything beyond walking in to the fabricator, waving a wad of cash, and requesting that same mask planform? Why go through all the trouble and rigamarole (and cost) of designing and developing your own unique design?

Ah, that would mean you're All-Star.  

[BT_Blue]

6 hours ago, ofhs93 said:

The *real* question is what price were you able to acquire said mask for at an establishment such at PIAS? *chucke* I'm thinking you probably got a pretty darn good deal.

That is the best part of the whole thing. $25!

I wish it had black pads. As they are quite nice.

[blue32]

1 hour ago, BT_Blue said:

That is the best part of the whole thing. $25!

I wish it had black pads. As they are quite nice.

Oh great, just what I needed, another person looking for black Nike pads. 

[tpatience]

1 hour ago, BT_Blue said:

That is the best part of the whole thing. $25!

I wish it had black pads. As they are quite nice.

I'll buy it off you for $50.

[BT_Blue]

2 hours ago, tpatience said:

I'll buy it off you for $50.

The pads? Deal!

[BT_Blue]

2 hours ago, blue32 said:

Oh great, just what I needed, another person looking for black Nike pads. 

Would be nice. But I don't care if the pads are Nike or not. Now the throat protector? That might be another story. 

[blue32]

1 hour ago, BT_Blue said:

Would be nice. But I don't care if the pads are Nike or not. Now the throat protector? That might be another story. 

I picked up a 4" with Nike logo on it on eBay a month or so ago. There is still a listing for that and a couple of 6"

[ofhs93]

6 hours ago, BT_Blue said:

That is the best part of the whole thing. $25!

I wish it had black pads. As they are quite nice.

WOW!!!