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Just wanted to check to see if anyone knew if Tony at Mask-It was still doing masks? I did see he had some health stuff he was working through though so understandable if not. If he is not, do you guys have any recommendations of other providers you have used to have your mask frames done?

No, the Icon is the traditional, “old way” mask shape. The Force3 Defender is indeed a different shape, because of the different pad tab locations, and the deeper dimensions. The other significantly different shape is the All-Star FM4000 (Mag or Steel), where the visor is reduced to a slit because the forehead section is slanted and shallow. Your best bet is going to be All-Star (the old one, for the FM25), Champro, or Diamond – https://www.diamondsportgear.com/products/diamond-sun-visor-for-umpire-masks-fm-visor to reiterate – Force3 will not work.

We’ve got a thread for cool masks, but not for CP. Post away with your customized, rare, or just favorite CP that you wear, as well as what was done to it

We all know about the “unicorn” chest protectors. Riddell and All American come to mind. What are the equivalents in face masks?

WOW! I thought that was a mis-type! Honig's masks...$10...navy or silver! https://honigs.com/products/honigs-pro-line-mask-frame?variant=42621915660538 ~Dawg

I don't get it personally. I mean why call it something already in existence? Especially, when so many of us know what a +POS Zro-G is in reality. That's a Wilson aluminum frame with black TW pads... it's neither a Zro-G or a +POS. Odd. The Honig's frame masks are still selling on the Honig's site really cheap (navy and silver models are under $10 new for the frame!), so they must have just bought some frames from them, slapped some pads on them and then labeled it as "NEW". I'm surprised to see they're selling that well - but I'm glad for them because Pat and the team at Purchase Officials are truly good guys who do a great job!

Nope. Nope-ity nope-ity noooooooo. The Force3 Defender would not be financially viable with the outer frame being aluminum, and would be impossible if the inner (foundational) frame was aluminum. It has to do with the welds, and the amount of force that those welds are experiencing while the springs and shocks are being activated, loaded, and released. Steel cannot easily weld to aluminum. The very parts that comprise the shocks and struts, and hold them in place, are steel. Of course, those parts have to be welded to something, so that rules out aluminum right there. It has to be steel. In fairness, the outer frame is fastened to the mounting plates on the inner frame, so it could be aluminum... but why? The risk would be that the much stiffer aluminum would stress its welds, and potentially rupture them far sooner than the steel version, while the springs aren't even being engaged. Remember – catchers abuse their masks by tossing them on the ground, dropping gear on them, letting them fall off the bench, aside from the routine abuse they experience by impacts. For this reason, aluminum catchers masks never took hold in the market... and Force3 is a catcher's company first (rightly so)... despite being started by a former umpire. Why's that? Because who squats on the MLBU "Exclusive" Contract??!! Yup. Wilson. My canned answer, as usual. If that outer frame was going to be a lighter metal than steel, then titanium would be the next viable option. Microfiber -lined pads? Yeah, that time has come. Leather has no performance or functional benefit over microfiber, save one – abrasion resistance. If an umpire's mask is not to ever hit the ground anyway, then why not offer black, tan, grey (and navy! ha!) pads with microfiber lining?

It's better, because it's powdercoated, not vinyl-dipped. Vinyl... only belongs on turntables, not on houses or masks.

Is this sarcasm? Good man, despite being the Road Umpire, and traveling relatively light, I’m somewhat vain about my equipment & gear selection. While I advise all umpires to travel with two masks (even if HSM user, have at least a basic TM as spare), I have… five. 😎 Of course, each one is a different color combination. - 2 of the harnesses for those masks? Ray did them both, and 1 has “Mad Max” on it, while the other has the HWUS logo on it. - Plate Umpire Folder-Book? Ray did it. - CP harness? Ray did it, complete with “Mad Max 6” all over it. One of my colleagues was in the US Army, in Armor, and wanted “Dream Destroyer” and a tank… Ray killed it, with an oncoming Abrams tank beneath an arched “Dream Destroyer”. - Ball bags? Not only are they from the first batch he produced, but of course they have “Mad Max” on them. - Shoe bags? Ray did them. - Shin guard harnesses? Ray did them. Ha!

I've seen a few people around who seem to specialize in some of the other masks, but was wondering if anyone does the F3 ones? My F3 (picked up used, but in good condition) has worn poorly after a season of play. I attribute this to using a metal indicator, which has done a number on the paint in a few places. I've got the new version showing up this week, but would love to get my old one cleaned up enough to be a decent looking backup.

I still stand by my statement. It seems like a good 60-70 percent of MLB catchers use Force3 masks. With some organizations practically making it a requirement that if you use a TM it will be Force3 in their minor leagues (this of course doesn't hold for guys that were not drafted by said organization). I can remember the Giants broadcast bringing up "the mask with the springs" just about every time Bailey would take one off the mask and shake it off.

Good catch! Them doing an aluminum frame or something, at least one of the two, would be really nice to help reduce weight. The only major complaint we all always see when it comes to F3 masks. If they can get the weight down to under a pound (or even just close to that), I think it will improve sales for them. Especially with seening the mask just about every day on their TV for 8 months straight.

I would love to see them put the plates on the outside. But that is just me. Also hoping it could be a non leather mask pad option. Since that is my only hang up on getting one of their masks.

Wolfeman answered that the two square were actually the K-4 masks from Honigs with TW pads. He wasn't sure why they called it that. The other pic was of the original, no longer available, ZROG mask that +POS used to sell.

BTW the silver masks were $8 as of last week. I picked 2 up. Steel construction I think, they feel heavier than aluminum, but lighter than the Wilson 26oz masks... I'd say 20ish oz... No I'm not trying to suffocate myself in the last photo, just showing size

242, I hate to break it to ya, but you're giving a report on a house fire years after the house has already burnt to the ground in a mighty blaze, and several of us were either witnessing it directly, or were trying to put out the inferno with what water pistols we could. +POS abandoned (retail) operations well before 2020... about, what say @wolfe_man, 2017? 2016?... Dan Parsons (the younger) tried to continue his father's innovations, and he showed some real potential (the ZRO-G mask and CP, and the Cobra CP), but ultimately, got in over his head. Then, he got caught up in a PayPal loophole (scam) exploited by several ne'er-do-wells who purchased with PayPal, then cancelled as soon as he shipped, with PayPal issuing a refund, but the products would be delivered and not returned. At that time, PayPal had no safeguards (for the vendor) on that. For that last span of time, Dan was only taking orders from customers known to him; thus, several of us had to either call or email him directly. Even then, it would be hit or miss as to if the products would be delivered. When they were delivered, they were as good-quality as we expected them to be. In the end, it wasn't enough. Several of us actually tried to figure out a way of getting the Cobra CP and the ZRO-G mask sold through other more reputable and reliable vendors, such as Ump-Attire. I genuinely wanted to obtain the planform for the ZRO-G and the MAG-T (bonded magnesium mask; very rare) masks, and "shop them around" to other vendors as lower priced alternatives to the wretched DynaLites (dipped masks suck). That Honig's K4 was always a good alternative, in its own right. Hollow steel, with huge (ie. forgiving) ear guards and the additional crown guard, the chisel XCG that would support just about everybody's dangling TG, and a very accommodating bowl shape that didn't feel cramped when you put any mask pads of your choosing in it. The frame was available in 3 finishes – black, silver... and... ahem... navy (now, why oh why would an umpire mask be made in navy?... still??!! Could it be a few holdout states??? Hmmmm???). Best yet, you the umpire-customer would be given the options to choose the frame, choose the pads (type and color) you wanted in the frame, and any of the additional accessories, and the whole thing would be bagged, boxed, and sent to you, exactly how you ordered it. +POS did the same thing with the ZRO-G, albeit you couldn't get the Team Wendy pads thru +POS like you could from Honig's. Yeah, how's that for customer service, Wil-slugs? +POS is gone. But... certainly not forgotten. I emphatically want (and hope) that those guys ( @Cavalier1948 and @Umpiresrock74 among others) who are doing pad retrofitting on Golds would get ahold of either the ZRO-G or Cobra CPs, and really examine how +POS did laminate foam, using technical mesh, closed cell foam, and open cell "sizing" foam to produce a highly effective foam vest that performed vastly better than a Wilson sofa cushion, and was (often) 1/3rd the cost!!!

I do think we are dwelling on what Rock74 said as a "team Wendy mask" vs "a mask with Team Wendy pads." I say this because multiple retailers have done this. Including Gerry Davis and "friend of the website" Ump-Attire. Best guess... they have extra frames of now mis-designated Honigs hollow steel single bar masks and have decided to pair them with TW pads and sell as a set.

@Umpiresrock74, a few years ago All-Star made a tubular metal throat guard similar to the 2nd image posted by @The Ripper which was designed for use with both the Mag and Steel masks. Colloquially, that throat protector is referred to as "the bird cage" and has now been discontinued. They pop up here and on EBay from time to time. I paid $50 each for 2 of them last year. I don't know why something so popular and still in demand was discontinued. It has a very unique and distinctive look and I get a lot of complements on mine. ~Dawg

The mask is wicked light and the pads feel great on your face. It takes a little adjustment to use the mask, but once adjusted it's a great mask. It looks great, feels great and protects well - especially if you pair it with a skull cap. Without the skull cap, I'd recommend using a TW pad on top or accept a greater risk of getting a concussion as the top pad is too thin and will crush to the bars on a hard impact. It's one of my two favorite masks out there today, with the other being the Nike Ti.

Hello fellow Umpires hope you’re having a great day! I’ve been watching different Umpires for a while and have noticed that the Umpires that wear Nikes have similar and different looking masks. The thing that differs the most are the bars on the Nike. Some appear to be bigger, wider and more forward while others seem to be further back and smaller. I have some pictures I posted on the bottom for you guys to check out. Does anybody know why this is and where do you get the Nikes that Quinn Wolcott and Mark Bass have in the photos, if anybody knows? Hope everybody has a good rest of the day. Happy umpiring! Quinn Wolcott and Mark Bass: Other:

AGAIN, guys ...... discussions like this need to go over to the equipment board (general) in the future so the discussion can happen there. This thread is for us to all show off our masks (photos) w/ descriptions. Conversations with good info will tend to get lost here.

MLB was having supply issues with Nike last year, so I was supplying them their Nike masks last year. They are the same frame. Mike(818)298-1376

That's a really, really tough thing to claim. The Nike "Icon" Ti held that spot for close to 20 years, mostly due to the hush-hush, wink-wink clandestine way in which you obtained one. That reverence has waned, though, partly due to Wilson's efforts (to kill the desire for titanium), partly due to several entrepreneurial efforts to augment the supply of the "Icon" despite Nike's limiting / ending(?) the production of them (a good thing, don't get me wrong!), and partly due to the mortality of the mask itself – it still can bend or break, and it's (still!) not cheap to repair or replace. And then you've got the butchers ( @tpatience, et. al.) who chop the "unicorn's horn" off. 😱🤬 That last statement (bend and/or break) is what afflicts so many other potential "unicorn" masks. There's the aforementioned Mizuno 2QA-121, a simply gorgeous mask equal to the Icon in simple elegance, but because it is hollow steel, still has a propensity to bend. And it ain't cheap to replace, either. The Riddell Power mask was a lightweight lark compared to the other double solid-wire masks from Rawlings, Louisville Slugger TPX, and Wilson back at that time, but it still suffered from the same ugly vinyl-dip cladding that plagued all masks from 1970s-90s because paint and powdercoat technology was far too expensive for sports equipment. Aluminum is much lighter weight, and reduces the likelihood and extent of bending, but... I don't know... it just lacks soul. Diamond set the entire industry on its head by making the iX3 line, but it never gained traction in the catchers' line of masks because of the frequency of abuse vs. cost to replace. If Diamond had actually made good, robust pads for the iX3 from the start, they may have made a splash so displacing, the pool would still be refilling to this day (the iX3 debuted in ~ 2011(?)). But then Wilson realizes that Diamond iX3's are on the faces of most of the MiLB umpires, and finally produces the DynaLite model in an aluminum, and now it's a "seen one, you've seen 'em all". So that brings us to magnesium. By nature, it has to have the angular, gothic, blade-like shapes to it (because it is cast-molded), so it lacks the elegance of the titaniums and hollow steels. They won't bend, and will very, very rarely break, but can they really be regarded as unicorns? There's the Nike "Teardrop", a hollow steel mask they produced for retail sale (as opposed to the "Icon" planform, in titanium and hollow steel, that they only supplied, but did not sell in retail). It turns out, it was designed and produced in conjunction with Mizuno. I think this is a unicorn. I regard the true Mizuno Titanium as a unicorn. You talk about rare. Woof. There was a model, back in 2014(? -15? -16?) introduced by +POS & Champro, that was bonded magnesium alloy tubes. Totally slipped through the market, nearly unnoticed. +POS called it the MAG-T. It had all the functional benefits of magnesium (lightweight, wouldn't bend, etc.), but also the simplicity of a wireframe mask. Why it didn't stick is beyond me. I would also consider some of the more... exotic... Belgard masks as unicorns. Stuff in the States, here, has lost its luster.

Maybe I am over analyzing this, but, I still see Mona Lisa Vito, stating 'BAM! do you think the person that you just called out on a bang-bang play gives a duck about if you are wearing combo pants on the bases?' As I am reading this thread, I sit here with different experiences than what is being stated. I am not discounting anyone's experience on this subject or how they view the issue. Mind you, from past posts, anyone can get the picture that I am not a fashion icon. I can't tell you what other umpires' equipment/clothing is. I don't care about colors matching bags to hats to masks as I keep it simple. (I do care about neatness and presentability, though.) I perceive I am below the level as most of the regulars here due to limited experience and camps attended. Maybe you can call me content with the level I am at and what I wear. With that being said, I have never heard of an assigner, instructor, mentor, or senior umpire (for whatever that means) mention not to wear combo pants on the bases - to me or anyone else in listening distance. This site is the only place I have heard it. Maybe due to my flat ass, bowed legs, and giddy up, everyone feels to leave it alone with me, IDK. Well, anyways, gave me an opportunity to post Marisa's picture again, that has to be worth something.

If you were truly worried, you could always prop up the front (opening side) with a scrap piece of 2x4 and then I can guarantee it won't open. I've never had any trouble though with mine as-is. Honestly, this is the best method I have found for working out of a car trunk/SUV. The gear bags are huge and you have to dig for stuff all the time which is irritating. But the bins are semi-translucent, so you can see what is in each one much quicker and it stays in place. The bins will hold two masks side by side in the larger drawers, your CP or shins will fit in the next one and so forth. Or you can choose to put your mask any of the smaller drawers as it'll fit there too. One small bin can hold a mask, skully, hats or spare parts. There are a lot of options, especially if you use hat & shoe keepers outside of the bins which will free up even more space. I use the clothes bar across the rear seat and these bins in the back and I can keep everything very neatly organized. It also helps me to clean each piece of gear before I put it back into my car and storage area. I use a version of the Finnerty bucket, it's a foldable fabric bin that's available from any box store for $6-8. It's lower profile than the bucket and can hold more too - but you can't sit on it, so there's a con also. The main decider for me after consider I work 99% of the time from my car and not a locker room was cost. A new gear bag is $115-200 whereas these new are under $40. And I don't need a bag at this point - and even IF I did find the need for a bag, then I have a huge rolling duffel that I can use that's bigger than any of the existing ones on the market - and it'll still fit in my trunk, so I won't be spending $$$ on gear bags anytime soon. YMMV