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Razzer

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Posts posted by Razzer

  1. After talking with Mad Max on friday I guess I should chime in and tell you where I am at right now.

    It is true I am now working full time on what I will say is a Hard Good legacy project(s) which will be 3 products with a distinctive Brand name under the UL branding. These will be protectives based products that will be tested this season at both MLB and MiLB levels with a soft launch later in the year. I am lucky that I have those contacts to bring products to market but started out the opposite way until the pro umpires started to contact me after they had seen my products on armature umpires at camps or clinics.

    A few years ago I went down the CP replacement pad option and had everything ready to go and a very good price point to work with but there were just too many variables to deal with until I found the solution to make the pad work on so many protectors. I am not going to say how I figured it out but I know you will understand why. This project remains viable and still may come to the market but right now I am concentrating my efforts make my version of the ultimate protective chest pad. Retail this replacement pad would sell for $79.99-$89.99

    I have used and owned most of all of them and I see what works and what doesn't work so I think I have a good starting point. My two go to units are the Carlucci and the Power but I cannot make both. We all remember Reebok Magistrate plate and base shoes, we all remember they felt like slippers and we wish they would come back. That is both CP's I mentioned and they are also not coming back. Modern foams combined with breathable fabrics  with an ABS shell can be achieved and retailed for $150-$179.99 if sufficient units are produced.

    The best solution is my version of the Power and that is where I am heading.

    Stay Tuned

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  2. On 3/12/2023 at 4:14 AM, BT_Blue said:

    Coming to an Ump-Attire website near you. Courtesy of a joint venture of @Razzer, @JimKirk, and @concertman1971... the newest CP on the market! (Note... name to be determined at a later date).

    I also went down this path about 16 months ago and also used a great foam called poron and they were ok but the foam will not take many washing cycles

    This 4mm foam is open cell when hit it allows air to escape but goes back to it's original shape. Closed cell foam does not

    Not going to go much further but if I do the foam must be removeable to the user.

  3. On 3/20/2023 at 8:35 PM, BT_Blue said:

    I can't recall where this thread is at. But Quinn Wolcott is on the dish for Mexico-Japan. He still has his trusty Nike Ti. But has ditched the tan Team Wendy pads for the graphite All Star MAG pads.

    He has worn Honigs pads for most of his time in MLB

  4. 6 hours ago, gnhbua93 said:

    Everything is relative. If you look at Ray's chest protector harness first design and the leg guard straps both look very similar to the All-Star delta flex, what came first the egg or the chicken.

    We have a saying in my country: Thief who steals from a thief have 1,000 years of forgiveness. 

     

     

    I was making the triangle donut 30 years before AS sold it. My harness was originally for hockey goaltenders still using a chest pad and shoulder pads that were separate units

    As for the shin pads strap design, that also was made for goaltenders back in the day to eliminate back off the knee fatigue, still in use today but way more advanced than the shin pad catchers and umpires use.

    I was also making mask harnesses for goaltenders way back in the day

    Most of my ideas being a goalie were for catchers and then I got into umpiring while still playing hockey and baseball.

     

    • Like 5
  5. On 1/21/2023 at 12:11 PM, BT_Blue said:

    Wasn't Ray working on something like this a while back?

    Still am working on it. Major issue is the many sizes of the breast are. I have adapted a few things to make it work but not ready to talk about it just yet.

    Talked with a few hockey Mfg's and they were not interested even though they make female shoulder pads...that tells you everything and why no baseball or softball company has made one.

    • Like 1
  6. Here is what I have been working on

    The XL Lineup Folder which has launched and is selling very quickly

    New and improved Weather-Tech Ball Bags also selling very well and being used at the MiLB & MLB Levels

    New Dark Navy Weather-Tech Ball Bags which will be available end of Oct

    New Shoe Bags Sets available end of Oct, very excited about this project

    Two other projects are in the works but I am not going to say what they are just yet.

    That is it for now

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  7. On 9/2/2022 at 2:04 PM, wolfe_man said:

    You mean these? They’re not in stock evidently.

     

     

    0227BDED-B157-4836-A040-8B84893D9076.jpeg

    DAAE38C3-C940-47DE-9495-AC8193ED00E9.jpeg

    3C2726A9-CAA0-4F0C-9986-F1A129D49ACD.jpeg

    CD1236C8-C9E7-4D48-9D58-046881F4F969.jpeg

    Before I retired in the spring I used the F3 shin pads, they were the best around that worked.

    The only thing I did not like was the ankle protection, nothing more than a round disk with material and it hurt when you got hit.

    I made these comments on a few sites including contacting F3, The Best Shins Never Made including a mock up. I was told there was no need for an ankle protective win like the Wilson.

    Well I am glad they listened because they now have the best shin pad ever made.

    best shin pads never made.png

    • Like 1
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  8. On 5/3/2022 at 7:03 PM, Rock Bottom said:

    Are the UmpLife bags too big for guys only getting 2-3 balls max per game? I'm seeing great reviews, and have seen them in person, but they just look really big.  Although I guess having too much room is rarely a bad thing compared to too little.

    Ok 2-3 baseballs you will have room, ask for 3 more decent balls to work into the game. At the end of the night they will look the same and you have kept the game moving along.

     

    • Like 1
  9. On 4/24/2022 at 11:22 PM, Ump242 said:

    Someone was saying that you can supposedly still get the reeboks in Canada, the magistrate type reeboks which I found surprising.  I just don't know if that's a thing

    Every now and then a box or two show up at the Reebok Outlets

    I have not seen them in a couple of years here in Ontario

    • Like 1
  10. On 4/13/2022 at 9:46 AM, Thunderheads said:

    I should let Ray answer, but ....if I remember correctly, this pad should accommodate most all of the common chest protectors out there ...

    Right now I will be concentrating on the Gold after market pad. because there or 1000's of them and they need an upgraded pad.

     

    • Like 1
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  11. Max is correct...it can be done and will be done offering better protection by using modern materials. It does not have to be TW grade

    I have a production pad almost signed off on which will keep you Gold lovers very happy. Low profile pad, just velcro your Gold carapace  on the front and you will have low profile and protection.

    • Like 5
  12. I did an autopsy on the F3 V1 last year...nothing special in it

    Neoprene cover for the housing a rubber membrane or hard black foam with loose fitting Kevlar backing

    The dead weight of this cp is the rubber membrane or black hard foam...feels like a rubber product

    Fire away if you want to kill it

    • Like 1
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  13. I believe he's referring to:

    1. "OutWest brothers agreeing to market UmpLife products as his exclusive supplier in US, then making their own versions of his products to sell at cheaper prices." Absolutely not true at all. I agreed to sell them products with my logo and OW the on it with the condition they could not customize and UL products they purchased. I started getting photos sent to me with custom graphics which I did not do. I was trying to help OW with products and they threw it back in my face. I cut them off and a few weeks later they Knocked off three of my products. UL products are available through me or Ump-Attire.com.  UA is my only Distributor World Wide and it is a pleasure working with the staff and President and CEO Jim Kirk. Our deal was never signed on a paper, it was a handshake based on trust. I cannot say that about a small company I tried to help.
    • Like 5
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  14. 4 hours ago, BT_Blue said:

    I actually got placed on the list for non umpire things on my own page. But that is irrelevant to the conversation.

    I absolutely deserved to be removed from the group though. As once I was blocked from seeing his own content, it just became another umpire group (though much better moderated than many) that I was a part of. So I started making recommendations to questions that involved competitors of his as well as his equipment.

    So now I am in the dark as much as the next guy.

    Back to Ken's point on this though (and yes... we have a wonderfully random @Fittske24sighting). Does anyone know if Ray has made progress on his padding he was promising? That it would be a one-size-fits-most padding. Or is it another project that is constantly in the works like the plate coat?

    Plate Coat is done just two many variables to contend with including the size range

    It would be like buying pants that fit in the waist but you need to cut 8" off the leg

    Replacement Pad is done, with Covid and no Baseball for 15 months it was a tough call to order or wait.

    More on the Pad later

    Not going to comment as to why people get blocked because this is not the place

    • Like 3
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