Smitty Long Sleeve shirts

[BT_Blue]

Gentlemen,

Because of recent issues with Honigs and my orders with them I will be buying a black and a navy long sleeve shirts for this season. I placed an order with Ump-Attire today (which I am very happy with so far). I was wondering about your opinions on the Smitty Long Sleeve shirts that Jim sells at Ump-Attire? How do they compare to the Honigs shirts (I ask because Honigs shirts have been all I have known until last year when Jim was nice enough to send me a sample of the new Ultimate Umpire Shirt).

Thanks and your quick opinions are needed since I am going to place the order with Jim either tomorrow or early next week (when I return my shirts to honigs for a refund).

[zm1283]

Gentlemen,

Because of recent issues with Honigs and my orders with them I will be buying a black and a navy long sleeve shirts for this season. I placed an order with Ump-Attire today (which I am very happy with so far). I was wondering about your opinions on the Smitty Long Sleeve shirts that Jim sells at Ump-Attire? How do they compare to the Honigs shirts (I ask because Honigs shirts have been all I have known until last year when Jim was nice enough to send me a sample of the new Ultimate Umpire Shirt).

Thanks and your quick opinions are needed since I am going to place the order with Jim either tomorrow or early next week (when I return my shirts to honigs for a refund).

The Smitty long sleeve shirts are nice. I don't have a Honigs shirt to compare them to, but they are a heavier material that is fairly warm, and they're well made too. I would recommend them.

[Kevin Finnerty]

The Smitty long-sleeve is a fine shirt. The fabric is comfortable and easy to care for. The fabric is more forgiving than the Honig's fabric, and the sizing is more generous. Behind the plate, I wear a XL Smitty (6'0''/200), but I need to wear a XXL Honig's and it is actually harder to get over my gear.

You won't go wrong with their long-sleeve.

[BT_Blue]

Outstanding. Thanks for all the POVs. Im going to place the order tomorrow for it so it can go into my shipment. Hopefully I can do it before they send it out. If not then it will have to go with my polo blue ultimate shirt.

ZM, just so I get this right... the smitty long sleeve is a heavy material so the cold doesnt get through? Is this correct?

Kevin, I know you have used Honigs shirts, is the smitty a heavier shirt?

If it is that works perfectly since I will need a heavier shirt for the colder weather up here in Portland.

[zm1283]

Outstanding. Thanks for all the POVs. Im going to place the order tomorrow for it so it can go into my shipment. Hopefully I can do it before they send it out. If not then it will have to go with my polo blue ultimate shirt.

ZM, just so I get this right... the smitty long sleeve is a heavy material so the cold doesnt get through? Is this correct?

Kevin, I know you have used Honigs shirts, is the smitty a heavier shirt?

If it is that works perfectly since I will need a heavier shirt for the colder weather up here in Portland.

Yeah, it's not a mesh-like type of material like a lot of the short sleeve shirts made. It is a little thicker and it is the closed hole design. If you layer, you should be able to wear it when it's fairly cold. I'm going to wear mine quite a bit this spring.

[BT_Blue]

Yeah, it's not a mesh-like type of material like a lot of the short sleeve shirts made. It is a little thicker and it is the closed hole design. If you layer, you should be able to wear it when it's fairly cold. I'm going to wear mine quite a bit this spring.

Awesome... my order will go in tomorrow!

[Kevin Finnerty]

I second that. Well said. It's heavier than any standard-weight shirt.

I never wear a jacket behind the plate; I wear the long-sleeve with the appropriate number of layers for the temperature. Commonly, when it's in the 50s (as low as it ever gets here), I wear a sleeveless compression tee, long-sleeve compression mock and the Smitty's long-sleeve and it's perfect. (An additional compression tee, perhaps.) I'm wearing that thing tomorrow under the lights.

Remember: forgiving fabric and generous sizing. (Imagine that, when they engineered this shirt, they considered that you would need to get it over your umpiring gear.)

[BT_Blue]

I second that. Well said. It's heavier than any standard-weight shirt.

I never wear a jacket behind the plate; I wear the long-sleeve with the appropriate number of layers for the temperature. Commonly, when it's in the 50s (as low as it ever gets here), I wear a sleeveless compression tee, long-sleeve compression mock and the Smitty's long-sleeve and it's perfect. (An additional compression tee, perhaps.) I'm wearing that thing tomorrow under the lights.

Remember: forgiving fabric and generous sizing. (Imagine that, when they engineered this shirt, they considered that you would need to get it over your umpiring gear.)

I too try to never wear a jacket behind the plate. Especially my black jacket because it was not bought to fit over my WV. However, I worked a game in early October here in Portland and was blown away by just how cold I was. I decided right then and there I needed cold weather gear. First step was the long sleeve. Next step next month before the start of the season is the long shirts to go under the shirt.

Knowing that the Smitty shirts are a little heavier than the Honigs is a great help and a good start.

[midwayll]

The Smitty long-sleeve is a fine shirt. The fabric is comfortable and easy to care for. The fabric is more forgiving than the Honig's fabric, and the sizing is more generous. Behind the plate, I wear a XL Smitty (6'0''/200), but I need to wear a XXL Honig's and it is actually harder to get over my gear.

You won't go wrong with their long-sleeve.

Kevin, since you have one of these I'd like your opinion. I have worn a jacket behind the plate on cold days but never feel comfortable in it. This year I planned on buying a long-sleeved shirt so this thread was great. You have an XL. I am 5'9" / 170. Do you think the XL would be a bit big for me for behind the plate? I don't want a shirt that is too loose but I'm afraid the L may be too tight. Thoughts?

Thanks,

Chris

[zm1283]

I like wearing the shirt instead of the jacket as well, but it just gets too cold during the spring here to avoid wearing the jacket sometimes. I did quite a few games last year in the 40's and several in the 30's....you really have to layer.

[Kevin Finnerty]

Kevin, since you have one of these I'd like your opinion. I have worn a jacket behind the plate on cold days but never feel comfortable in it. This year I planned on buying a long-sleeved shirt so this thread was great. You have an XL. I am 5'9" / 170. Do you think the XL would be a bit big for me for behind the plate? I don't want a shirt that is too loose but I'm afraid the L may be too tight. Thoughts?

Thanks,

Chris

Chris, I just let a partner use my XL behind the dish, and he is about 6'0'' / 165, and it was pretty loose. I'm 6'0'' / 200 (45 chest/35 waist) and it's just right to get on over the Wilson Gold and stays tucked in beautifully. In their short-sleeve, I require an XXL behind the dish for a fairly loose fit, and the XL is a little snug over the gear, because it seems like the long-sleeve is cut a little more generously.

If you have a bulky CP and in the neighborhood of a 44/34, the XL would be a comfortable size, but a little loose. But remember, you're wearing more undershirt layers in cold weather when you wear it.

(I have to add: the shirt--especially the collar--is very durable.)

[slo8140]

I too added long sleeve shirts to my collection this year and wore one in a scrimmage yesterday. I bought smitty's in both black and navy. I really like the comfort and the warmth. It will replace my jacket on those days that are cold and not windy.

[BT_Blue]

I've just discovered that I need something for those inbetween days I have never had to deal with while umpiring in southern CA. Those days that hover around 50 degrees and dont get any warmer.

[midwayll]

Thanks Kevin. I appreciate it very much.

Chris

[Kevin Finnerty]

Thanks Kevin. I appreciate it very much.

Chris

... :shrug:

[TBrown]

Kevin, since you have one of these I'd like your opinion. I have worn a jacket behind the plate on cold days but never feel comfortable in it. This year I planned on buying a long-sleeved shirt so this thread was great. You have an XL. I am 5'9" / 170. Do you think the XL would be a bit big for me for behind the plate? I don't want a shirt that is too loose but I'm afraid the L may be too tight. Thoughts?

Thanks,

Chris

I am 5'9" / 140 and I wear a Medium since they are oversized for plate work. I wear a WV Gold and it works fine for me.

[kwiggie]

I am 5'9" / 140 and I wear a Medium since they are oversized for plate work. I wear a WV Gold and it works fine for me.

My build is the same T, I'm not interested in a long sleeve for the plate, I am ok with my pull-over. I am interested in a long sleeve for the field, somthing to go over my cold weather mock during these "great" upper midwest springs.

My question is would a size "Small" Smitty long sleeve work for a guy in the field who normally wears a Medium in all other shirts including my current collection of short sleeve Smitty's (which I love)? Listening to you guys so far I think I would be ok to order a small. Opinions, from you who have them would be appriciated.

[zm1283]

My build is the same T, I'm not interested in a long sleeve for the plate, I am ok with my pull-over. I am interested in a long sleeve for the field, somthing to go over my cold weather mock during these "great" upper midwest springs.

My question is would a size "Small" Smitty long sleeve work for a guy in the field who normally wears a Medium in all other shirts including my current collection of short sleeve Smitty's (which I love)? Listening to you guys so far I think I would be ok to order a small. Opinions, from you who have them would be appriciated.

Why are you wearing a long sleeve on the bases?

[slo8140]

I would think a small would probably work for you. My Smitty long sleeve seems to run a little bigger than the Smitty short sleeve shirts that i have.

I have worn mine on the bases a couple of times. When it is not windy, I actually prefer it to a jacket. It seems to stay tucked in better than my tuckable jacket. Next year I plan on getting the jackets with the hemmed bottom. My tuckable plate jackets are just too big to wear on the bases.

[kylejt]

Why are you wearing a long sleeve on the bases?

Because it's warm, and looks good.

Oh, I know, the guys on TV don't do it that way. But the guys on TV wear those ridiculous half sleeved smocks, too. And those things are fugly, and make you look fat(ter). The long sleeved jersey, on the bases, looks much nicer.

[Kevin Finnerty]

I wouldn't wear a long-sleeve on the bases simply due to the anal-retentive standards imposed on me/us by most/all high school and college evaluators. One of my mentors is a elderly, retired referee/umpire, who is an NCAA evaluator for two California conferences. I watch a few games a year with him and listen to every word he says (a great many), and some of those words were about the wearing of the long-sleeve uniform shirt rather than the pullover jacket while working the bases.

I personally dislike working the plate in a jacket, and find nothing uncomfortable about working the bases in a jacket. I prefer the long-sleeve shirt behind the plate no matter how cold it is. I wear anywhere from one to three compression layers under it, and sometimes (especially when it's cool and breezy) a Majestic therma-base over the chest protector (it looks very cool, and feels light, warm and comfortable.)

They're down to $19.99 right now:

http://www.baseballsavings.com/customer/category/product.jsp/SUBCATEGORY_ID/5207/refScid/1085/sattr0/Gender/sattrVal0/mens/sattr1/Age+Group/sattrVal1/adult

...

[BrianC14]

I wouldn't wear a long-sleeve on the bases simply due to the anal-retentive standards imposed on me/us by most/all high school and college evaluators. One of my mentors is a elderly, retired referee/umpire, who is an NCAA evaluator for two California conferences. I watch a few games a year with him and listen to every word he says (a great many), and some of those words were about the wearing of the long-sleeve uniform shirt rather than the pullover jacket while working the bases.

I personally dislike working the plate in a jacket, and find nothing uncomfortable about working the bases in a jacket. I prefer the long-sleeve shirt behind the plate no matter how cold it is. I wear anywhere from one to three compression layers under it, and sometimes (especially when it's cool and breezy) a Majestic therma-base over the chest protector (it looks very cool, and feels light, warm and comfortable.)

They're down to $19.99 right now:

http://www.baseballsavings.com/customer/category/product.jsp/SUBCATEGORY_ID/5207/refScid/1085/sattr0/Gender/sattrVal0/mens/sattr1/Age+Group/sattrVal1/adult

...

That's a great price! Though the only colors available now are navy blue, orange/black and royal blue.

The navy one would work well under a LS navy shirt....

[Kevin Finnerty]

I can wear a XL over my Douglas or a XXL over my Gold. I have a few blacks, a navy and a red. I noticed that the black is still available in XXl, but the larges and XLs are gone. But check back. They get them in pretty regularly. That's also the site that has Majestic umpire shirts for $24.95.

http://www.baseballsavings.com/customer/category/product.jsp/SUBCATEGORY_ID/3320/refScid/1680/sattr0/Type/sattrVal0/apparel

[kwiggie]

So is it taboo to wear a long-sleeve on the bases exposed? yn

[okump96]

if its cool enough for sleeves of any kind on the bases, go ahead and wear your pullover. just use less layers if you think its too much.