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Just took my pair to the dry cleaners to be hemmed. It almost seemed as if the taper continued all the way through the excess material. I wear mid-cut base shoes and it did seem as if they may be a bit snug over the shoe. It is cold here and there was static making the pants stick to my legs. I wear UA leggings so that should not be an issue in the colder months. No issues with the coloring. Will update after I pick them up.

What possible function is that middle belt loop of the 3 so close together? It's not on size 30 waist pants or smaller, but unfortunately my fat ass is not in that category. Count me as one that hates it. Yes, the GD's are the only pants I currently wear, both in plate an base styles. I don't like the 3 belt loops, the color has grown on me, and most everybody I work with wear the GD's, so the color is less of a concern. But you definitely see a color difference with other manufacturers. But the expander waistband, that's a F*#King game changer! 😄

If you really blow up the UA picture, you can vaguely see the “stripes” of dark and light grey. In person, as you can see from my picture, they don’t come close. If I walked on to a field with them my partners would say “what the hell happened to your pants!”🤣

Did a quick search but couldn't find anything. Opinions on these? https://purchaseofficials.com/collections/all/products/copy-of-smitty-advanced-technology-4-way-stretch-umpire-pants-1?variant=17489788239937 Whats the thoughts on these? I've had Honigs Poly Wools (2 different versions, bought one in like 2014 and another in 2017) and love them. Now I believe Honigs as another pair/version of poly wools out. How do these hold up?

So I purchased two new pairs of the Smitty's poly-spandex - one base and one plate - at the beginning of June. Since then, I have worked about 150 games. Roughly half of these were behind the dish and half were on the bases. So after about 75 games on each pair, I have noticed some very clear fading on both pairs of pants. I know it is from the sun because I don't see the same fading around the belt area and in the crouch. It is not terrible but very noticeable to me. I will probably post some pictures tomorrow. Has anyone had the same issue? All of these games are during the day so I expect them to fade eventually; I guess I'm just wondering if this is a normal occurrence or if I should look into buying different pants for next summer. I am going to try soaking my next pants I order in vinegar straight out the package as I have read this helps to set the dye into the fabric and prevent fading.

All black shoes are as cool as navy shirts and heather gray pants.

Because I'm an athletic guy, with an athletic frame, I heavily favored flat-front pants. My first-ever umpire pants were Dalco heather-greys. I then got the Honig's Ultimates in charcoal, and combo-cut. These gave adequate room for a personal protector, but started to show the... not-so-desirable saggy look while out in the field. As I cut my teeth umpiring in 15-games-per-weekend tournaments, with 15 minute change-overs, combos were a necessity. I then tried Smitty pants (I don't remember if they were the polywools or not), but hated everything about them. The Expanding waistband was way too complex, and caused the pleat-paunch to be even more accentuated, especially when going in the ready position or HOK. Needless to say, they were promptly returned, and I made do with the Honig's combos. Through this site, I was directed towards Boombah flat fronts, in charcoal and combo-cut. They were perfect... until... I attended Cooperstown Dreams Park. While the staff there does a remarkable job of laundering all your clothes – for free – this is not a place for tailored pants or expensive jackets. Without knowing the details of the process involved the use of industrial dryers and a heat press recycled from a Conshohocken steel mill, my perfect pants (2 pairs) did two tours through the laundry service, and shrunk. After finding out the process, any time I submitted my pants I had to deliberatively write "NO HEAT NO PRESS" all over the work order. Returning from CDP, the seamstress I consult managed to redo the seams and hems and put the pants back to approximately where they were. They lasted for another year until I once again returned to CDP and used the laundry service. While this time, explicit postings of "NO HEAT" didn't shrink the pants any further, the detergent they used started a catalytic reaction for when exposed to sunlight, the pants started to fade and turn... purple. Oh no... I'm that guy! I muddled through August and into September, wherein I attended the CBUA Showcase in Iowa. In fact, Jason ( @MidAmUmp) actually called me out on my pants and prompted me to get some "real ones". But, with funds lacking and baseball succumbing to the Wisconsin Winter, I had to put off getting new pants until next (this) year. With my Honigs loaned out to a junior umpire who had suffered a catastrophic seam failure, this spring started with the Boombahs limping along, fading to the point where it looked like I had sickly pairs of heather greys. Something radical was needed. I didn't want to invest in polywools just yet because of my concerns of doing tournament baseball in Wisconsin and the punishment that extolls upon our uniforms. So, I ruminated a plan... to (re)dye my pants. Rit debuted a new formula of dye to apply to polyester! I bought an entire bottle of Charcoal Black and, using an old copper boiling pot, set to it. I boiled the water, added the dye, stirred like a Shakespearean witch (MacBeth), set it to simmer, and then immersed both pairs of pants... Thirty minutes later, I extracted them, wrung them out and hung them to drip dry over the utility sink. Returning to them 13 hours later (I had to go to work, which sucks), I was astounded – the color was perfect! A nice, uniform, deep charcoal devoid of any splotchiness or clouding. I stuck 'em on, and... oh no. Ohhhhh nooooo. They had shrunk again. One in particular are no longer wearable (by me, anyway), having shriveled from 36x34 to a palsy 33/34x30... if that. The others just barely survived at 34x33, and I had to use these for a couple of MABL/MSBL games around here, until I finally had to swallow my pride and engineering spirit and purchase actual polywools. With Honig's over in Ann Arbor, Michigan, I considered getting pants from them, able to try them on and pick them up on my way through to CDP this year. But, as you fellow umpires reported, the Honig's quality has changed and the pants are not as robust as they once were. Then, I had to face the reality that I very likely will not be at CDP this year, so to try out Honigs, I'd have to do the whole shipping and returning headache. Gerry Davis is located, though, in my backyard (well, big backyard... Appleton is a 2 hour drive from Milwaukee), and based on the feedback several of you have shared – especially @MidAmUmp, @Big_Mac14, @NEAOA, and the Godfather of Style @Mr Ump – I made the drive on a lazy Thursday and tried on a few pairs. I tried out the 36's and 38's. I've been a 34x34 in slacks since I was a high school athlete (okay, I admit, when I was 33, I had a "pudgy year" and my weight swelled up to 235... ironically, this is when I started taking umpiring seriously, motivating me to be more active and that weight started coming off), and am always apprehensive about how new slacks fit. The 36's fit very very well; the 38's were much too generous. The expanding waistband is extremely subtle and sells you on the fit. The material feels refined and sophisticated. The pleating is done right, not haphazardly, and doesn't create that pudge-paunch I and others dread. I purchased one pair of Plate pants and one pair of Base pants. My seamstress did them proper justice, and hemmed them exactly where they need to be. My first games with them were this past Saturday in a sweltering 94° Showcase doubleheader, and lemme tell ya... I just have this to say about the pants... Why didn't I get these sooner?!?!? I have adequate roominess in them, especially for the personal protector in the plate pants, and they don't feel like chaps. For being wool, they feel remarkably light and the polyester didn't leave me feeling clammy. They didn't snag or pinch on my shinguards. While the plate pants impressed me, the base pants boggled my mind... I had worn combos since I started, and my bodyframe can make combos look good out in the field. I will never, ever be able to wear "skinny" jeans though, despite modern fashion trends all pushing that way (do guys not have shoulders any more?? Good grief!), but the base pants, while noticeably narrower of leg, fit perfectly, allow full range of motion, don't hinder going into the HOK ready stance (which more amateur umpires should be going to in the field), and certainly don't billow in a breeze (which plate and some combo pants do when worn as base pants, which make some guys look like clown... pants). The Gerry Davis by Fechheimer Polywool Pants, my top-rated pick for umpire apparel. Thanks for reading, yes I know I'm long-winded when it comes to explanations, I could (and should) work for J. Peterman Catalog.

Hi all, I’m finally getting my big break and going behind the plate this season. I wanted to look professional so I was thinking of getting a pair of pants. However, I would like for the pants to have that combo use to them so that I won’t have to spend as much. That being said, I like wearing my pants a little close to my legs, because, you know, “trends.” Are there any pants that I should consider that would help me achieve my duties as well as the desired look? Thank you

I have always wore combo pants in the field and behind the plate. I'm short (about 5'7" to 5'8") and always felt like MC Hammer in the field. I bought a pair of Smitty polywool base pants with the hopes they would look more like regular dress pants but to be honest I can't see any difference in the fit compared to the baggy Smitty combo pants I have. I have a cheap pair of Champro pants that fit and look much better than these expensive Smitty pants. That said, are these pants supposed to fit more like dress pants? Besides just looking at them, is there a specific way to measure the pants to see if the dimensions are correct? I don't see any product number permanently attached to the pants. They are labelled as base pants according to the paper tag attached to the waist. I am wondering if possibly they are combo pants mislabeled as base pants. Thanks.

I guess Honig's finally jumped in the poly-spandex pants game. https://honigs.com/honig-s-4-way-stretch-premium-base-or-plate-pant.html

Does anyone know what brand / model of umpire pants they are using in the 2018 Little League World Series? I like the Smitty Poly Spandex pant material from Ump Attire....(I have a pair of the plate pants).However, the crotch is very long & the waist tends to rise high into my mid section.The pants worn by the LL World Series officials seem to provide a better fit - visually.....maybe I'm just too short Jeff

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Authentic-Honigs-Olive-Green-Home-Plate-Pants-40-MLB-Issued-Umpire-RICK-REED-/161672357058?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item25a46c64c2

So . . . you're saying it will be available in navy? 😁 I mean, we spend $70-$90 for a pair of BASE pants and another $70-$90 for PLATE pants . . . Buying a second "shirt" for this makes far more sense.

Who actually making these? and $90.00 is pretty steep for an amateur level umpire . I will stick to my Smittys poly spandex for now. https://www.gerrydavis.com/product/B08PTMLB001PL/MLB-Pro-Style-Plate-Umpire-Pants.html

Yes. Agree. In my region (Washington state) the urban myth is perpetuated that softball is heather gray and baseball is charcoal. USA softball (on their bad "officalgear" website) shows only heather gray pants, so I believe this is one of the sources of the myth perpetuation. Having just said that....I guess it's not a myth....USA softball wants heather gray. ETA: I wanted more than one choice. I found the Smitty poly/spandex pants on a website I hadn't seen before....can't remember what it is right now.

Randy, I’m saying this kindly, and any ire or animosity you detect is not being directed at you, Randy the umpire, but at any “parent” association and/or Softball itself. Why do you need (still) heather grey??! Because your parent association / assigner is directing you to do so? To maintain some “uniform standard”?? Is that association or assigner providing the uniform items?? No?? Then they’ve got no say as to what specific items / colors / brands / tones / shades you wear, or more importantly… purchase. Associations – and this goes for Softball, too – have to get with the times. Everyone makes this big ta-doo about “looking like Major League Baseball”. All those uniform items are provided. Even in MiLB, those items are purchased under a directed stipend. Even in NCAA baseball, there’s a degree of friction between what the assigners expect, what’s provided (under stipend or otherwise), what the umpires actually purchase and use, and the assignments they receive. But outside that, especially at the amateur level, there is no way they should have that kind of grip and sway over us. It (whatever stylistic template the assigner or association PTB holds) doesn’t matter. Wear charcoal. Wear 3-years faded pants, especially on a 1:30pm JV game at a class 1 school in the middle of nowhere… no one cares. Heather grey umpire pants – that you were directed to purchase yourself – doesn’t mean you’re a better / great / effective umpire. It means that you’re fulfilling the direction (wishes, whims) of some stooges sitting at a desk.

Smitty Poly/spandex vs Davis' charcoal greys?

I did work a game with a guy who wore grey cargo pants. Like was said in previous posts, I'm just impressed he didn't use the pockets for ball bags.

A colleague who wears SSK pants reports that the plate pants do not have a saddle-seat stitch. There’s more leg volume between plate and base pants, but no outward distinguishing marks.

Ok I got mine today. The material is noticeably lighter than the previous poly-spandex pants from Smitty. It is a nice fit. I am not a small man, these will work for you just fine.

I did see some REALLY nice tapered, flat front charcoal pants at Costco. I am SOOOO tempted to get them to wear them for HS games. Would anyone really notice????

I am 90% certain I am going to get a pair of these prior to the start of the season. As a Real Man of Carriage, I am not a fan of the standard cut of the Smitty base pants which still have a large leg and bottom cuff and I don't want to pay additionally for that fully tailored look. I'll provide feedback if and when...and likely others will be well ahead of me on that. ~Dawg

@concertman1971 has his base pants tailored this way.

@DerekGDS Any update on potential release date of the BFX pants NCAA charcoal? Do you think these will be available on the website prior to the start of the season in mid-February?

Excellent. One more step closer to killing off the wretched, arcane umpire navy-red-white and “softball powder” shirts. Ya hear that, NFHS? It’s the sound… of inevitability. Smitty’s lineage of umpires pants has been arduous. I actually started my umpire career with Cliff Keens and Boombah pants (because they made charcoal pants in flat-front instead of pleated), but tried a set of Smitty Expander Waistband pants… for 30 seconds. Then sent them back. The pleating, fit, and material was that bad. I then got Fechheimers, gave away all the other ones… and only upon moving to Arizona did I try and then invest in several sets of Smitty PolySpandex pants (albeit in the standard waistband). As I bemuse with @JimKirk often, there really isn’t, nor shouldn’t be, a need for heather gray any longer. Certainly, the associations could help and stop speccing it, but the manufacturers just need to stop making it. Maybe they’re afraid of losing the few dozen sales to old (not a specific age, it’s a state of mind) farts who “call them out” on Facebook group postings. I’ve got four sets (P & B) without complaints. The only other polyspandex pants I use are a set of Honig’s, because the material is significantly thinner and lighter weight than Smitty’s and is “kinder” to wear on 100°+ days. They’d have enough for sure if they cease making any more heather grey pants and any of the “traditional” shirts!!!