Ultimate Pro Style Umpire Ball Bag

I enjoy these bags thoroughly. I have gray and black and love them for baseball. Hopefully they will come with a better opening/loop construction. They don't work as well with softball either, I'm lucky to get a softball in it at all. But I can fit 4-5 baseballs easily. I do need to tug it a tad to get my hand in and out. I'm going to try them with a different belt and see how that goes.

I like the bags as well. They look great, but I have a hard time getting my hand in the bag as well. I think it is a combination of the opening size and the way the loops are constructed.

I also purchased some Dry-Lo bags this season. I purchased two black ones to go along with two Navy Ultimate Ball Bags. After using them for a couple of weeks, I decided to order two Dry-Los in Navy.

I just like them better.

the only problem I have with the bag is that it is hard to get your hand in the bag to get the baseballs out

I've used the standard ultimate ball bag with the elastic top for years and thought it was a great product, well constructed, efficient and useful. This fall season I switched to the pro-style bag, it took a little bit of getting use-to but overall I like it and would recommend it.
I did have a small problem with the pen/pencil pocket in that it came unstitched on both bags in the same spot. It was easily repaired.

It is a fabulous bag with quality and workmanship features that are top shelf. But, like LMSANS and others have said, it is difficult to plunge your hand into and come out with a ball. I also have to pull it out and purposely bunch the loops so that I can fit my hand inside easily. I know its slender profile will change, but it needs to be offered in a wider size (11.5-to-12 inches?), so that three baseballs and a human hand can all fit nicely. The gold standard used to be the Honig's, which is really put together, and has a forgiving fabric that makes retrieving a ball much easier. Otherwise, this new Ultimate bag is the gold standard.

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I used the previous version of the Ultimate Ball bag and was happy with it except for the color fading over the course of one season.

I ordered the new Ultimate ball bag a couple of weeks ago and started using it last week. The inside pockets are large and handle my brush easily. I didn't have much to do with wet baseballs so I can't speak to the waterproof inside. However when I tried to get baseballs out during a game, I had a lot of difficulty. There was not enough room to efficiently reach in and grab a new ball and take it out.

I normally only use one ball bag, but for one league that I do, I need 2. I will use the Ultimate ball bag on my left side to handle the overflow. I will not use on my right side because it takes too long to get the ball out.

I also had difficulty aligning my belt with the loops.

This rating is at first look. I just picked up my new ball bag from my inlaws and so far like what I have seen. The stitching looks great just like Warren and Dave have said. Also the lining looks like it will work great, especially since it gets warm here in SoCal during the summer.

It does have a tapered top much like the Honigs K41 bags. I have always used the normal K40 bags without the tapered top but I am willing to give these a try.

By the way. Thank you Jim for paying attention to our emails and conversations back and forth about me working only college ball this year and sending the black bag rather than blue. That kind of attention to detail really brings customers back (I for one have been impressed by this honesty and attention to detail and will be making sure to spend my money on equipment with Ump-Attire in the future... sadly clothing in SoCal is Honigs so one has to do what one has to do).

I will make it a point to use this for my next plate game on this upcoming Saturday as my right side bag (see my response on the ball bags and what I put in them... I believe it is on the other site) which is the one I use the most as I am right handed.

I will modify my rating and evaluation of the product then.

So in ending, darn you Jim.... and thank you.

Disclaimer: I received this product compliment of Jim and Ump-Attire. I feel obligated to let the members know as they read this review, but this will/has not affect my review.

The first thing I notice is the stitching. It appears to be pretty sturdy. This is especially important where the belt slips through. Every ball bag I've had, other than the original Ump-Attire Ultimate Ball Bag, had ended up needing to restitched at the belt hoops. I don’t see this being an issue with the Ultimate Pro Style ball bag.

Another thing I like about the stitching is the fact that the inside pockets for a brush, pencil, lineup card holder (which is a must for me) have bottoms sewn in. My now former ball bags irritated me because the pockets were too deep and it was irritating especially when trying to remove your brush or if you use a bullet pencil which you can't get out. I actually took them to my mother to sew bottoms into the pocket.

The Ultimate Pro Style ball bag is that they are truly nave blue. Some people may mistake them for black, which I like versus some of the brighter navy blue ball bags.

While I really liked my original Ultimate Ball Bag, it was shunned by some of the more senior umpires for having the elastic top; the Ultimate Pro Style ball bag seems to be slightly tapered at the top which should give a similar effect of keeping balls in the bag while hustling down the line.

One of my favorite features from the original was the zippered pocket on the back is still there. I love keeping my wallet and keys in that pocket as well as an extra indicator.

The new Pro Style bag also features a waterproof lining to keep your sweat from getting on the baseballs. Another thing I like about this lining is that I think it will help in terms of cleaning. I have silt in the bottom of my ball bags that just seems to get stuck in the material. The waterproof lining may help with this.

The material seems standard, not at thick as the original which is something I really liked about the original, but I understand some people had problems with fading on the original style even though I didn't. So this is probably an overall improvement.

Also missing from the pro style bag from the original is the small loop which was on the original, but I never knew what the purpose of it was, but it didn't bother me that it was there.

The price is fair at $17.95. This is more than most other ball bags, but in this case you do get what you pay for, a higher quality product.

Overall a great product. I'll follow up at the end of the HS season and see how it goes through the season.

I believe the new bag is the real deal. It is of excellent workmanship and answers all the needs without any details left out. No elastic top, material is a polyester/nylon that will not fade. The zipper is hidden from view when worn properly. The stitching is made to last and the inside material makes the bag waterproof from moisture such as sweat sneaking in from your legs.

There can be no legitimate complaint or criticism of this new ball bag.

Buy it, you'll like it.

I am awaiting my first pair right now.

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Well, they say that an umpire should never be surprised. In this case, a surprise was a good thing!

Jim Kirk, you are a class act!

Today I received an "Ultimate Pro Umpire Ball Bag" in the mail! I won't bore readers with a repeat of Dave's well-written overview, (since I agree 100%) - but I will say that I'm very impressed with the appearance, quality and workmanship of the Ultimate Pro (and I even gave it the Dave Teater patented "stress test" on the corners), and the Ultimate Pro passed with flying colors.

The color is right, the size is right, and the extra features... well, they'll have to wait until next weekend, when I hit the field (fingers crossed for no snow here) for a few scrimmage games.

Thanks, Jim! I'll be reporting back with a more thorough review.

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OK, I finally got a chance to use the new "Ultimate Pro ball bag" last weekend when I worked a college double header.

Straight away, the zippered pocket came in very handy, as I was on the dish during the afternoon game. The skies were mostly cloudy, but we had periods of sunshine during the game. The zippered pocket allowed me to carry my sunglasses safely (Oakleys are expen$ive!) until I decided to wear them, so that feature alone makes the Ultimate Pro worthwhile.

I normally don't like (or use) the inside pockets, so I was a bit concerned that the inside pockets might make it difficult in retrieving a baseball when I needed one. However, the material of the Ultimate Pro that makes the pockets is sturdy enough to prevent the 'floppiness' that some ball bags have on the inside.

Overall, I rate the Ultimate Pro ball bag as a "Must Have" in any umpire's kit.

Thanks again to Jim Kirk and www.ump-attire.com