New Mask

[Umpire in Chief]

I admire Tiger for following his dad's wishes. Earl told him, "Tiger, I want you to concentrate as much as you possibly can on golf, and fu@k everything else."

And that's what he did!

I admire that.

LOL I actually hadn't heard that one.

[Fittske24]

The cats out of the bag you've got to tell now.

I'd also like to hear how you feel it may compare to the Wilson Ti.

Well Long story short, I have a high school teammate that is now a pitching coach in the Braves organization. He was able to send me a surplus one that was not being used by one of his catchers this year. In comparison the Nike seems to be slightly lighter than the Wilson (both without pads). The Wilson pads do put a little extra weight on the frame. I have decided to try the mask with the Nike pads because it is crazy light with the Nike pads! It feels lighter than the silver diamond brand masks. The bars on the Nike appear to be slightly thinner than on the Wilson. The Nike seems to have better welds than on the Wilson also. Not that I am a welding expert....but the Wilson welds seem to be similar to tack welds in some places where the Nike mask has what I would consider to be more "Finished" welds.

This may explain why some Wilsons have had issues with bending when hit flush with a foul ball or uncaught pitch. I would disagree that these masks are the same. The Wilson mask is still a great mask but in my opinion, it shows the signs of "mass production" where the Nike mask seems to be "hand made". The Nike mask also comes with a serial number and a manufactured date.

Edited May 26, 2010 by Fittske24

[Umpire in Chief]

Thanks...