Ump-Attire Ultimate Umpire Shirt

I received this shirt compliments of Jim Kirk at Ump-Attire to review. 

The Ump-Attire Ultimate Umpire Shirt impressed me right out of the package. The very first thing I noticed was how good it looked. I liked the look of the material. Unlike the majority of the material of my other shirts, the Ultimate Umpire Shirt material is not a mesh style shirt, it is more like the newer golf shirts. This gives it a distinct crisp look among my umpire shirts. Also, the shirt is a true navy blue. This is always a concern of mine because there are so many things out there which call themselves “navy blue” but aren’t including umpire gear/uniforms. Next I noticed the weight of the shirt, it is truly lightweight especially in comparison to my older model Cliff Keen shirts. While I didn’t weigh the shirts I believe it was about half the weight of the CK shirt, the difference is significant. The next thing I noticed was how soft and smooth the material was. I hadn’t worn the shirt yet but as I was feeling the texture of the material I was thinking this is going to be comfortable. Another thing I like about the Ultimate Umpire Shirt is that there is no tag at the back of the neck, but a care label on an inside seem and the Ump-Attire Logo tag at the bottom. This is a personal preference of mine, but I love the fact that many shirts have removed the tag from the back of the neck.

So of course like a kid with a new toy I wanted to try it on. I first put on my red generic Under Armour shirt to see how it will really look. No color bleed through. The only red you see is at the open collar. This was impressive to me given how thin and light weight the material was. I even brought in another 100 watt reading lamp to make it as bright as possible. This is important to me because I do not want to look purple on the field like the Dalco and one of the +POS shirts I own do. This is another thing I always liked from my Cliff Keen shirts.

The extra large size I ordered fit like an extra large size should. Comfortably loose without being too baggy on the bases yet large enough that I also use it with my West Vest Gold CP behind the plate. This gives the Ultimate Umpire Shirt an advantage over my previous favorite CK shirts where I needed 2 different sizes for both the plate and bases. This is also another concern of mine when ordering shirts getting the right size.

I finally got to wear it on the field. And it was a good day to wear it too. The temperature was only in the low to mid 80’s still a bit unseasonably warm, but the humidity was 100%. The wind would go from a steamy dead calm to a nice refreshing breeze. I had 2 plate assignments and 1 base assignment that day. I changed undershirts between each game, but kept the same shirt.

Going into the game I had a concern about the breathability of the shirt because how it blocked out the red of my undershirt so well.  This concern was put to ease by the Ultimate Umpire Shirt soon enough after the 2nd or 3rd inning I had worked up a good sweat and could feel the breeze, when there was one, cooling me off. So I will give it good marks for breathablity.

The Ultimate Umpire Shirt also gets high marks for comfort. I wore it for three games in a row and had no comfort issues at all. Usually I change both my shirt and undershirt after each game to make sure I’m most comfortable. While I did change undershirts the Ultimate Umpire Shirt remained comfortable the entire day.

This shirt is also easy to care for. I clean my clothes a bit different than many other people. I wash as usual but only dry my clothes until their about 90% dry. When they are still lightly damp I remove them from the dryer and hang them up to dry the rest of the way. Note, if you choose to do this it only takes a few minutes in the dryer for this and most other moisture wicking materials to get most of the way dry. The shirt looked ready to wear immediately. Like all moisture wicking articles do not use any fabric softener on your Ultimate Umpire Shirt. I will also have to remember to not iron the shirt per the directions. I am a bit of a stickler for having well ironed clothes and would often iron some of my other shirts. But based on how it looked after drying I don’t believe there will be a need to iron it.

This shirt is priced well for the market. At $32.95 it is the same price as the Honigs Shirts, generally a bit less expensive than the Cliff Keen and Majestic shirts which I see generally in the $35.00 to $40.00 range, and a bit more expensive than the Dalco, Smitty, or other shirts which are commonly found between $22.00 and $30.00.

Overall a great shirt.

• Looks: A
• Color/ Sizing A
• Breathability B
• Comfort A
• Price B

This is my new favorite shirt as I retire older shirts they will be replaced with the Ump-Attire Ultimate Umpire Shirts. I will follow up sometime late and discuss the durability of the shirt.