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Hello, is anyone wanting to sell there champion chest protector, any size will do.

Hey everyone, So I have a Force 3 V3 CP which I absolutely love. However, one problem I have is the edges of some of the plates are protruding out. I want to try and form the plates to better contour the CP to my chest. Any suggestions, methods that have worked??

Maybe I’m a little bit crazy, but aren’t we all a little bit “crazy” when we decide to umpire? I have a Nike (used for about 3 games) with black TW pads, with black tape), MLB harness. I’m looking to trade it for a Power “L.” Maybe I’m dreaming, but I’ll give it a shot. Link to pictures below: https://photos.app.goo.gl/dBrKQc9LuFsAP3hi9

These shoes (black and white) were worn for two games and they’re pretty much brand new. The only issue is some clay stains I wasn’t able to get out. PM me with offers. The pictures are in the link. https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZwNtYTHBgTyLvf8H6 Thanks.

Decided to try my luck yet again. Looking for these bad boys.

Hi all! I have this 1st gen WV to trade. Besides a small hole on the top-left padding and a loose piece of plastic where one of the T-hooks attaches to,the CP is in great condition. It’s a 13-incher. NOTE: T-Hooks are rusty. Pictures won’t upload. For pictures and/or offers, feel free to PM me. Thanks!

Looking for these shin guards 17”. They seem to be the or predecessors to the current ones offered by Douglas (if anyone has info on that it’d be great). If you have these, please PM me. Thanks

I just wanted to getyou all’s take on the marketplace. thanks SD

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

Does anyone have either of these masks and if so, can you please provide feedback on them? Thanks.

Just placed an order for the New Balance MU460 plate shoes. I thought sure that I could squeeze another season out of the original NB 450s, but it's just not possible, as my toes are still swollen 24 hours later from yesterday's game. As information, I ordered from www.ump-attire.com and I will be happy to report back with my review, both here and at Ump-Attire. Looking forward to some comfort !

I have seen a bunch of posts inquiring about the +POS Cobra CP. The only information I found online was not good at all. So I went ahead bought one and wanted to share my review with everyone that might interested in purchasing one. Please keep in mind this is my first video review of anything ever. Hope it answers some questions about it. Tha

So, I am always looking to improve my organization and arrangement so as to make dressing as quick and painless as possible. As well as returning the bag to service for the next set. Attached are some picks of my current setup. Thoughts?? Note that I use a single bag for gear and uniforms.

Hello all - A fellow teacher is wanting to umpire for the first time this year. Since everyone in this community is amazing, I thought I'd reach out and see if anyone has some extra equipment lying around to help get him started. I've got him hooked up with base shoes, shin guards, and ball bags that I wasn't using anymore. Here's a list of other things we're looking for (preferably at a cheap price and in good condition): Mask (just a basic Dyna-Lite if available) Chest protector (XL or 13 inch) Plate shoes (Size 13 2E would be ideal, but 13 D will work, too) Thanks! Cody

I recently replied to a message from a fellow umpire here on U-E regarding chest protector opinions. As I re-read it, what a I divulge is applicable to a great number of chest protector questions we the membership here get. His question was in regard to a Douglas, specifically, but I can express technical opinions about any of the CP's on the market. So, let me share this here with you... I present to you this rhetorical question: why are we as an umpire community clinging to antiquated technology and practices when modern, cutting-edge opportunities are not even being fully considered or realized yet? Or, better yet, why are we accepting this sloth and sluggishness from the gear producers themselves??! I hold Team Wendy in lofty regard because they actually established and progressed their own technology – Zorbium – for one ambitious goal: to mitigate, reduce and hopefully eliminate TBI's. The reason they pulled the plug on CP retrofits wasn't because TW is a money-grubbing company that saw no profit in it, or that Zorbium itself is a poor product. It simply is, that when the US military drops a massive product request on you, with an ironclad contract, you put everything else aside and go all-hands-on-deck. We really need to start examining the direction that our protection needs and solutions will go instead of settling for the "traditional" and "status quo".

It seems my modifications to the Schutt XV chest protector have popularized a trend, and inspired several others to join in. I now have 4 CP's here that I'll be making a variety of modifications to so as to extend and improve their usefulness. Schutt XV – This will be using a ULFH from @Razzer (which I've taken to nicknaming RayFlex or, in this case StingRay) in the 3-strap variant. Instead of utilizing the existing yoke – as we did with @D62 blue http://umpire-empire.com/index.php?/topic/65283-ump-life-delta-flex-style-harness/&do=findComment&comment=303927 – I got my hands on a few of these yoke-point parts, and we'll be using one of them instead. Douglas WestVest – This will be using either a DeltaFlex or a Force3 NRH. The wearer has a slim body frame, so I might go with a DeltaFlex, but the NRH might be the better route with its longer straps and less cost. This has also been cleaned (needed it), received new hardware (black T-hooks, nylon buckles and tri-glides instead of corroded metal), and some rivets are being replaced with aluminum Chicago screws. Honig's K-1 CP – A new harness will be a massive improvement, and will be getting one of the three Flex-style harnesses, depending on cost, of course. It will also see its shoulder plates bent and shaped to arch much truer and more conforming. The primary task will be determine a means of fastening the straps to the harness; the current method uses not much more than velcro and is annoying and ineffective. Schutt AiR Flex I – Instead of using the TPU-EVA foam bricks the XV relies on, the AiR Flex uses Brock Beads (which I'll explain during my rebuild of the unit). This aside, the two are are nearly the same, using virtually the same parts. I would truthfully take an XV into any level of baseball, but the thinner AiR Flex might give me pause at the adult-level stuff. That's not to say that it's still not a viable CP, as I've witnessed umpires do adult-level ball with softshells and Davishields. On the AiR Flex, we'll be cutting away the yoke and employing a 4-strap Flex harness once again. I'll also be repositioning the ailettes from "on top" the shoulder – where they bely their football pad origins – down to somewhere more forward. If I had my druthers, I would actually try to put together a closet/garage service on refitting CP pads ala what Team Wendy's offered. I'll update this thread as work progresses!

I'm trying to decide if I should buy a black mask on eBay (due to its low price), but I don't really like the color. What do you guys/gals suggest I do in order to remove the original coating?

Gals and guys out there I know this sounds corny and ineffective but how about somehow starting a petition for Nike to bring back the titanium masks. Nike is all about exclusivity, but I bet if enough people gather up, we'll at least make them raise their eyebrows. Again, it may be corny. #BringtheTiback

Johnny is a RHP and wears glasses. His two grandfathers (one is an optometrist, the other a jeweler) have fabricated a very special pair of glasses for him to wear when he pitches. There's a tiny, convex mirror attached to the inside of the upper-right corner of his right lens. With a simple eye movement, Johnny can get a perfect view of first base and R1, even when Johnny is in the set. When these same teams played 3 weeks ago, Johnny picked off 3 runners in five innings. After the game, parents of the other team overheard conversation about Johnny's "magic glasses" and passed that info back to their team's coach. Now at pre-game plate meeting (with Johnny warming up to pitch), coach questions you about the legality of Johnny's magic glasses.

I tried the search and was unsuccessful.... As I was poking around today I ran across this chest protector.It is reminiscent of the Davis Shield, but perhaps with more padding. It also seems to have a lot of vulnerabilities for balls finding gaps. Any one have any insight or experience?

I seem to do this every year so .......... How about a list for Santa broken down into WANTS and NEEDS? What would YOU like to see under the tree this year? GO!

So after years of wanting a plate coat but not willing to pull the trigger because of the price, I finally bit the bullet and placed an order with Honigs the first week in January for a B3S Plate Coat. I could just imagine putting it on for the first time with my Honigs Poly Wools and perfectly shined New Balance plate shoes - it would be like putting on a tuxedo! First class all the way! At least that is my opinion... To be fair, Honigs web site says "Plate coats are for sale by special order only. Delivery typically takes 12 weeks. Special order item - non-returnable." When I placed the order on the phone, I was told 8-12 weeks for delivery. While I hoped that it would come in 8 weeks, I expected 12 and did not start calling Honigs to find out the status until the full 3 months had passed. That is when the situation went from bad to WORSE. I understand that Honigs outsources the product and thus have little control on when the coat comes to them. However, they have full control over their customer service. I sent 3 e-mails to which I never received a response. I placed 5 calls to the Michigan office looking for someone who could update me on this. Each time I was told "let me check on that and I will call you back." I NEVER RECEIVED A CALL BACK IN ANY INSTANCE, which is unacceptable under any circumstance. Finally on call 6 (today) I was told that the coat should be at Honigs within 7-10 days. So here is the timeline I have been dealing with: January 7 - Order placed March 4 - 8 week point (Longshot - but based on Honigs statement on the phone, the first date that my coat might arrive) April 1 - 12 weeks since order was placed. First tried to contact Honigs via email April 6 - First call placed to Honigs April 23 - 6th call placed to Honigs. Told to expect 7-10 more days before it arrives at Michigan office. I expect this is business days and not calendar days. If I give Honigs the benefit of the doubt and it takes only 7 calendar days to get to the Michigan office, then 3 business days to ship to South Carolina, the earliest I might have it is May 5th. However, I think it is reasonable to expect at this point that the date will more likely be May 12th or beyond. That is 125 days, or just shy of 18 weeks!!!! And the best that Honigs will offer me is a $20 gift certificate towards my next purchase. Yep. Twenty whole dollars! Needless to say, Honigs will never see another penny from me. And if anyone out there has been looking for a 44 Long plate coat, keep your eyes on ebay. I'll even put the Honigs gift certificate in the pocket for you! By the way, the average temperature in South Carolina on May 12th is 83 degrees.

Time marches on, and we've got some new offerings in masks for the upcoming season... Hockey -Style Masks (HSM) All-Star is still the iconic HSM producer, but several rivals have made significant improvements to their product lineups. • All-Star: Showing focused refinement, the MVP4000-UMP and MVP2500-UMP models get updated padding and (supposedly) better paint jobs. In fact, the MVP2500 "Molded" is now black through-and-through, meaning that a ding or knick isn't going to discolor the shell. The MVP4000 is now offering a titanium cage, to keep pace with Wilson (see below). The System 7's, showcasing their I-Bar Vision construction, really allow the best sightlines of the HSMs on the market. • Diamond: The brand-new iX5 system is now on the scene, featuring a much more sculpted shell and 3D-formed cage. Unique to Diamond, the iX5 is the only HSM with a "shovel-front chin" on the cage. Looking like a throat-guard on a TM, this adds another deflective geometry to the mask, especially for those that drop the chin. The iX3 name has been dropped, and the previous model (the iX3) received some tweaking and has been released as a value-price-point named the EDGE Core. Of course, because umpires get much less "love" from the manufacturers, the "for-umpires" HSM is an EDGE Core labeled as DCH-EDGE-UMP. While it doesn't have the curves of the iX5, it still has the pronounced chin cage guard. • Easton: Made some needed improvements to the Mako, and are heavily marketing it as their flagship unit. For 2015, they've introduced the M7 (in two finishes – "grip" (matte) and "gloss"), which is a less-technical, slightly-lighter-weight unit that is posed to be their workhorse. It has a 3D-formed cage and a sculpted shell, indicating that is concentrating on deflective properties instead of mass and bulk, and appears to be so much more comfortable than the elder Rival. With the M7 now on the scene, Easton looks to be consolidating the Rival and the Stealth into a mask named Black Magic, and is aiming that more on youth (ie. 12U) baseball, and the budget price points. • Mizuno: Nothing new to report in their Samurai G4 line. It has the largest standoff and padding concentration in the crown of an HSM. • Nike: ... (sigh)... uh... Yes, Nike makes a HSM. It's called the De3539, and is made more as a branding piece (see? We're in baseball!) than as an advanced piece of protective gear. Unlike rival UnderArmour, who re-branded All-Star units, Nike... you can't tell who produces the Nike unit. • Rawlings: The Slowest-to-Update-Baseball-Company-In-the-World finally, finally introduced a new HSM after All-Star kicked their keester all down the 1BL. The CH1 (which, undoubtedly, stood for "Catching Helmet One") saw its shell redesigned, outfitted with new CoolFlo pads, and stuck with a curvy, sleek new cage that, strangely, looks like the negative (opposite) of All-Star's System 7 geometry. Hmmm. But it does look impressive! Debuting as the CH950 (so what happened to the 948 other versions?), look for this to be on a Molina near you soon. The entire lineup received CoolFlo pads. • Schutt: As one of the premier football helmet manufacturers, Schutt took their AiR technology and (finally!) applied it to their baseball HSMs. The catcher's HSM gets the AiR treatment first, labeled the AiR Maxx 2966. Unique and intriguing, Schutt extended the cage back along the temples, covering the ears and flanks of the shell. That means that's even more protection on the sides, and the cage carries and dissipates more energy before it reaches the shell. No one else is doing that! If you don't need the customizable comfort-fit of the AiR system, the 2966 is offered as an "umpire" version, but it (appears) to not get quite the cage treatment, still using the fall-2014 cage. • UnderArmour: UA is really trying to make headway in baseball, and they partnered up with one of the best in the business to do so in All-Star. UA's "Pro", though, is a re-branded All-Star MVP2300, which has the same shell, but doesn't have the iconic System 7 cage. • Wilson: Having already seen a significant improvement mid-season in 2014, the Shock FX 2.0 returns to the field, this time showcasing a titanium cage. The most technologically-advanced HSM of the bunch (for now, unless and until Force3 debuts a HSM entry), the SFX 2.0 is the apex protector for umpires; it just gets kinda haughty about it with the ... ahem... particular paint-job Wilson loves to show off. If you can't afford a Shock FX, but still want an HSM with the... Wilson paint job... look for the Prestige. Traditional Masks • All-Star: With a trimmer, more defined lineup, All-Star presses forward with the FM25Ti, FM25, FM4000 and FM2000. All four are offered as "umpire versions" with a hat-harness (instead of the Delta-Flex helmet harness), and give All-Star some distinction between itself and Wilson. This is noteworthy with the FM25Ti, which may be physically (titanium alloy and double-wire, more difficult to deform) and financially (titanium alloy, less costly) more appealing to a mid-level umpire than the pure-titanium show ponies Wilson and Nike trot out. Besides that, the FM4000 and FM2000 are instantly recognizable because of their bar layouts. • Diamond: How can you mess with one of the best-selling TMs in the industry, but still make it more appealing? Fix the pads! The iX3's geometry didn't change, but Diamond now offers new, improved pads on a re-labeled mask called DFM-UMP-BL (for "Big League", woo woo). This, and the venerable iX3, are one-in-the-same mask... one's named Ed, the other Fred. Oh, and you can get pads that have no logos on them. For those who really cling to tradition – we're talking Charleton Heston's grip – the DRM-PRO (used to be iX3) and DFM-43 double-bar masks are still available. • Easton: The Speed Elite returns, still with exceptionally lightweight construction in a robust geometry. It has some of the largest ear-guards in the business, and very reliable pads (think the complete opposite of the miserable pads on the Diamond iX3). It also has one of the smallest chin-throat guards, such that it encourages and makes easy the mounting of a hanging supplemental throat guard. • Force3: The mask everyone is rooting for. Now available in colors (and tan pads!! Sexxxxyyyyy), the Defender is a tangible promise that someone, somewhere is looking out for us who stand behind the plate. While it still is noticeably heavy, that weight has been steadily declining as Force3 continues to pare down the geometry and improve the hardware. The standoff distance is still something to be negotiated, as it feels like you're in cage, but this is the mask that should be your chief candidate if frontal, concussion-inducing impacts are your main concern. • Mizuno: Nothing new to report on out of Japan. • Nike: Unknown if Nike is even going to offer a mask for retail sale this year. • Schutt: Teamed up with Diamond, and offers the DFM-UMP labeled as the Comfort-Lite Mask. (If anyone from Schutt ever reads these forums, please contact me – I've got an intriguing mask design for you.) • UnderArmour: Continuing the relationship with All-Star, UA's UAFM Pro is a rebranded FM25, complete with I-Bar advertising tab on the chin. • Wilson: The big news came during the 2014 season, with the debut of new Memory Foam pads! They are meeting with rave feedback, and are probably the best rival to Team Wendys. Additionally, while the pads were developed independently, they debuted with the new Dynalite Aluminum mask, taking the spot as Wilson's lightest traditional mask in their lineup. This mask may be a Titanium-slayer, because with the lighter weight (marginal, but still), better pads, and lower cost, it addresses the three main issues umpires face (bad pun!) when selecting a mask. Disclaimer: I did not list Champro nor +POS because Champro's HSMs are rebrandings, and they have nothing new in TMs, while +POS designs some really innovative TMs, but has nothing obviously new for 2015 announced yet. Bonus Note: For those needing to protect a banged-up forearm, these might do the trick: https://www.underarmour.com/en-us/ua-forearm-pad/pid1220728-001