BT_Blue

Agreed. Both masks will serve your umpires well. Recommend getting nice pads to go along with them. The All Star LUC pads and Team Wendy are great choices. Also get a flex harness either through Ump-Attire or Out West. Your umpires will thank you.

As stated elsewhere on these forums. The sunshade does nothing to keep the sun out of your eyes. It is merely for looks or to keep the sun/rain off the bill of your cap.

Any old sun shield will work. I had an All Star one on mine.

@MadMax while I am a known "chopper". Alas I can not take credit for the handiwork. It was like this when I bought it from @acpar72

Some of the best and most effective sunglasses I ever wore were ones that I bought off the rotating display at gas stations and truck stops!

TRUTH!

Of course im cheating a bit since I got my mask after it was cut

@Richvee the answer is money and very strong lobbyists! There is an episode of Adam Ruins Everything where he goes into this whole thing and how insane it is that you more or less will pay more for the same pair of glasses just because of the name laser cut on the side. https://youtu.be/CAeHuDcy_bY

I do also remember there being a thread on here about adjusting the top pad of the Force3. Basically, out of the box the pad sits a little to low on the top bar. So you would just undo the top pad velcro and pull it tighter over that bar. It will lift the padding just a bit. Thus increasing the view window just enough that it won't push down on the bill. Plus... you get the added extra padding over that top bar.

Yes and no. The issue with the Adams/Diamond one is WHERE it hangs. Don't forget, originally masks never have the extention.

@kylehutsonsame here! As the year wore on, I would want to work less and less.

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

Not sure how something that goes around your neck can help protect your brain. But I'm also just a normal idiot in the crowd. So who knows.

Also a shoe cobbler will work as well.

Oh yeah! I wouldn't let my worst enemy out in that thing! Go look at the Champion P200 chest protectors.

Plus there have been a rash of guys hanging it up lately. @wolfe_man do you have anything still laying around

So first of all, is it an original WV? I.e. the one with the velcroed on floating chest plate? Secondly... is it a Wilson or a Douglas? I'm pretty sure you know why I ask the second question. I'm a big big fan of the new(ish now) Cobalt. So that would be my recommendation. But I also won't knock someone for going back to what you know and what works either.

Interesting you consider the Champion to be "bulky". Honestly... I have always wanted to try the V1 conversion a few guys on here have done. By connecting a WV Gold carapace to the V1 body. My (most likely) MAIN ONE AND ONLY complaint about the Force3 chest protectors is that the plastic plating is inside the cp. In my mind (in backwards as it can be some times). I feel like the WV mod is safer than the current top of the line F3.

My first mask I chopped was a Diamond. I had a weld break on the extention mid season and started wearing a throat guard over it as extra pprotection. I either had to wear it behind the extention which would push into my CP and push the mask up my face. Or I would wear it Adam Hamari/Bob Davidson style. And it would stick out at an angle. Sent it to Tony and have done it with every mask since.

The obvious answer is always Gunmetal!

@Rock Bottomwould it be better with a lighter material cage?

Don't know if this is still the case. But last time I bought Honigs (decade plus ago when the style was the thing stripe down the side) the sleeves for the moisture wicking undershirts they sold were longer than the sleeves of the shirts.

Living just outside of Portland, I can vouch for how many uniform ideas they can come up with. Especially during the early 2010s

I was just about to tag Trevor as the main proponent of this practice

I've had to seriously cut back over the last few years. My work week has been 50-60 hours per week. And the last few years I have started getting the "daddy, why can't you just stay home on the weekend" thing. It was getting harder and harder to give a straight answer while not cracking a frown every time I had to leave for a game.