DerekGDS

Protective equipment currently enters the US duty-free. A proposed 10% blanket tariff on Chinese imports would apply to gear from China, but most protective equipment manufacturing (for umpires) occurs outside China, primarily in Vietnam, Thailand, and Taiwan.

That is honestly hilarious. Is this pricing in response to a government RFP…

HDPE is high-density polyethylene. The big thing is its ability to disperse impact energy better than ABS. It also weighs less and is more flexible than ABS. Laminate foams are more common now, but in the most general sense, they are a combination of foams with different properties to achieve the desired protection while typically aiming for a lower profile. Most protective gear at some point was some form of medium-high density open cell foam and for some brands it still is.

I'm surprised these devices can't be easily self updated via firmware. Are there no competing products?

No, those pants were never sold retail. That fabric is 120 gsm, so what we'd consider ultra-lightweight - they wont hold a crease.

It's showing Jan 1 but I highly doubt that. I'm not showing the lab dips/fabric dye swatch approved yet. My answer is I don't know. I'll look into it more and shoot you a PM when I have a realistic range.

According to our system it is showing me Thursday, Oct 31.

They are available in pleated. Looks like those recently came in and are waiting on photography.

I don't know if Douglas has an established MSRP honestly. We sell it for $230 but we only do that because we don't stock it. To me, $290 would make reasonable sense knowing the wholesale pricing.

This is accurate.

We've been experimenting with this a lot. Everything from blends and how we weave yarn, UV stabilizers/additives, dyeing but it all comes with costs. In some cases they are significant and in some cases I'd rather not have CA Prop 65 warnings. We start to get into the price point of performance outdoor gear with some available solutions and I believe that'd be a pretty tough sell. Nevertheless, I think we made some good progress with our BFX Pro fabric providing the stretch without the Spandex (which is more sensitive to UV rays) and the weave which helps reduce UV penetration but I do believe we can do more. It's just finding the happy medium that won't cause the cost of manufacturing to sky rocket.

@Jackrabbitslims Yes it's a Smitty dark charcoal color match. The HG for the BFX Pro will match Smitty's "Heather" Grey which is really just a light grey. That screen shot is from some unreleased changes. It will be very limited stock and I do not have an ETA on availability but it's being produced at the request from some NCAA umps.

Davis Core Lightweight Fabric weight is roughly 150 gsm (Lightest) 100% polyester (no stretch) One Fit: Straight Davis BFX Pro Fabric weight is roughly 176 gsm (Lightweight/Midweight) 100% Polyester (Lycra T400 so you get stretch on the horizontal axis) One Fit: Straight (not like our other Straight fits, its actually an aggressive straight fit with minimal excess fabric) Davis 94X V2 Fabric weight is roughly 254 gsm (Heaviest) 100% polyester (no stretch) A lot of different fits: Tapered, Straight, Classic The Core Lightweight would seem to be a good option, and it is a solid pant, but the fabric is woven fairly tight so it is actually less breathable than the BFX Pro. The 94X V2 is heavy, but that fabric isn't woven as tight as the Core Lightweight so for a heavy pant it breaths decently well. The Core Lightweight admittedly does have a weak point. While we haven't had any reported failures that I can see, it does use a plastic track in the waistband. Overtime this is going to be an area that is most prone to becoming brittle and breaking. We have another pant being released late spring, that is designed for the hottest and most humid climates but I cannot really comment more than that at this time. It will be the most breathable pant we make, but it also means less structure. It will be harder to hold a crease, if at all which some people may not like. We know our public information is rather poor, but the team is working on it...

It’s being put to good use!

Same fabric and fit as the MLB side panel.

We don't make the convertible with grey shoulders, but we do make the shirts. I won't comment on brand qualities since I am clearly biased but there are some independent reviews available on the site. I think a few other folks on UE have purchased them as well.

They do not. (99% sure) Windpact can be used in basically any form factor with an open cell foam. They're just specifically designed for the Evoshield which as pointed out may not be the best option for a specific frame.

God forbid they have any operational expenses, they're already running at a loss at those prices. /s I'm sure @Razzer will take care of this real quick with a DMCA takedown notice.

Sorry - At the start of the sale it was very overstock and now it is not overstock at all! If you want to grab a few PM me and I'll sort it on my end for you.

Yeah get your favorite navy shirts while you can!

Don't tempt me. Considering many association handbooks just say "Navy blue" shirt, I cannot see any reason why someone wouldn't wear a navy shirt outside of the "traditional" style.

A little heft and increased durability are indeed the reasons. There were concerns about abrasions and snagging with leg guards and the panel was added to increase the durability. We have people who "like" one of our series of pants but wont wear them or their coordinator wont let them because they simply do not exactly match Smitty's shade. This seems to come primarily from the upper levels of amateur play.

It is real, they are one of the three approved TASO vendors. Besides that, I cannot comment as I have not directly worked with them in any fashion.

No. To the best of my knowledge Dominican Republic and Honduras are the only two locations those pants were made because it is tariff free.