Yes, another TOC thread

[blue32]

OK, stay with me here. I am a devoted Honig's fan for all of my umpire shirts. It's about all I buy from them anymore, and am willing to pay the higher price for quality, and the fact that I can order a shirt with numbers, and have it in 3 days or less using UPS ground.

That being said, I ordered a couple of shirts from Official's Choice this week on their 10 dollar sale. I know their colors are non standard, and the material is paper thin, but I am in the process of ordering back up shirts when I see a sale, so I picked up a navy and cream from Honig's, and a black and powder from TOC. I will probably hardly ever wear the powder, but there has been times where I get a partner who shows up with that rather than the polo blue, and we don't match, so I got one for that rare occassion. For 10 bucks, why not? And the black has the thicker white stripes than the standard, but I really don't care about that, and as a matter of fact, I saw MLB guys last year who were wearing black shirts with thicker white stripes than the standard, so go figure.

Anyway, they have several different types of shirts in the same colors, so I ordered the 'UV protection' style. I have to say, out of the package, I am pretty impressed with the material, workmanship, and cut of the shirt. The material is very much like the Smitty comfortech shirts, and the cut is more normal than their other box-shaped shirts. They are very light, but not as light as the paper thin jobs they have, so I am curious to see how they hold up after a few games and washings.

Who knows, maybe the guy is starting to ACTUALLY listen to us, rather than making up stories about how we want his normal cheap crap.

I'll let you know how they wear, and how they come out of the wash, but for 10 bucks a piece for much better quality than we are used to from these guys, I can't see how I can go wrong.

[kcfan102]

Brave soul.

[blue32]

Yeah yeah, I know. There are a lot of guys in my association with their shirts, and I have a gray shirt I got from them a couple of years ago, so I know the quality sucks. But these shirts are different from what they have been putting out the past couple of years. Maybe the ones I got are like what they had several years ago, when a lot of the guys around here said they were actually decent shirts.

BTW, it was 28 bucks for 2 shirts, shipped. I wouldn't call that too brave. :hopmad:

[Thunderheads]

blue32,...

Please report back ok? Always good to get feedback when stocking up on shirts. If this UV extra on the TOC shirts helps, then maybe next sale, we can pick up some "back-ups"?

let us know how they wear!:D

[semper_fi_72]

I do not know what the complaints are about Officials Choice.

I have about 8 of their shirts that have been worn I do not know how many times each this year over 165 plus games worked.

Is the material thinner than others? Yes

For me that is a Plus on our hot days when working games with 90 or 100 degree plus temps.

I have not had a single problem with a Officials Choice shirt.

Guess I got shirts from them that no one else got.

Oh I did know to order a Medium instead of a Large from them before ever buying one.

I am not paid by Officials Choice in any way and is just MHO.

[Kevin Finnerty]

Every single element that the shirt is composed of is of the lowest quality. All of the non-standard trim on the black shirt and darker shade of navy aside, even the thread and the buttons are sub-standard.

My mom had a way of putting everything elegantly. When something was free, she called it complimentary. When something was low-priced, she didn't call it cheap, she called it inexpensive. She would call Official's Choice shirts cheap.

[kylejt]

The Good

Cheap. I outfitted my whole Junior umpire crew with light blue shirts for hot days. 10 bucks each.

The long sleeved black shirt is one of the best garments I own. I don't know why they don't stock them any longer, unless they ran out.

The Bad

Their sizing was off.

They didn't always respond to emails.

Their colors don't match any others. That's okay if you're trying to be unique. I like the maroon shirts. But the navy, cream and polo won't match my partner's.

The Ugly

Light blue ball bags. I've seen a couple of guys parading around with these lately. Good Lord. Really?

Brown shirts. It's gotta go with the gray pants.

Really dark pants that look really bad with the black shirts. Again, they don't match.

To his credit, Paul, the owner, solicited my opinions and I gave them to him point blank. He asked for design help, and I even sent him one of my classic +POS long sleeved shirts to serve as a pattern. He admits he's not well attuned to the baseball community, but he's willing to listen. Me, I like that he's willing to try new colors, and that we have options. I hate the same old, same old. I told him not to even bother copying the new MLB designs, as most of us hate them. (well, unless you're buying the $300 matching pants).

Edited June 24, 2010 by kylejt

[blue32]

The Good

Cheap. I outfitted my whole Junior umpire crew with light blue shirts for hot days. 10 bucks each.

The long sleeved black shirt is one of the best garments I own. I don't know why they don't stock them any longer, unless they ran out.

The Bad

Their sizing was off.

They didn't always respond to emails.

Their colors don't match any others. That's okay if you're trying to be unique. I like the maroon shirts. But the navy, cream and polo won't match my partner's.

The Ugly

Light blue ball bags. I've seen a couple of guys parading around with these lately. Good Lord. Really?

Brown shirts. It's gotta go with the gray pants.

Really dark pants that look really bad with the black shirts. Again, they don't match.

To his credit, Paul, the owner, solicited my opinions and I gave them to him point blank. He asked for design help, and I even sent him one of my classic +POS long sleeved shirts to serve as a pattern. He admits he's not well attuned to the baseball community, but he's willing to listen. Me, I like that he's willing to try new colors, and that we have options. I hate the same old, same old. I told him not to even bother copying the new MLB designs, as most of us hate them. (well, unless you're buying the $300 matching pants).

Who knows, maybe he is listening. The quality on the UV shirt was pleasantly surprising. It's not an open hole material like all of his other shirts are, but they are very light, they are cut more normal, and don't have that annoying seam that cuts in towards your stomach. The black one still has the thicker stripes on the collar and cuffs, but I don't consider that a big deal. Like I said before, the material is very much like the Smitty shirts. My only concern is how it will hold up over a few washes, and if it will pill or snag.

[Umpire in Chief]

I've remained pretty quiet on the The Officials Choice topics.

I have 3 of their short sleve shirts and 1 of the long sleve.

I must say the long sleeve has exceeded my expectations especially given I think I paid $12.00 for it.

Pased on the success of that shirt I orders 3 of their short sleeve shirts 2 Navy 1 powder.

They are okay overall and I think they definately fit a niche. As semperfi said they are great on those terribly hot days.

Here are the cons. They are not as well made as most of my other brands. They are thin to the point your undershirt shows through and you can look purple if you wear a red undershirt with a navy shirt. The buttons change colors. Lastly I discovered today they do not wash well.

Sunday was one of those hotter than hades days in the upper 90's with really high humidity. For my plate job I decided to go to my Officials Choice Shirt due solely to how light weight it is. I work my CK on the bases.

I got home and immediately dumped my soaking wet clothes into the washer. My wife took care of the rest.

This morning I grab my powder blues out of the closet as my partner for tonight and I agreed we'd wear powder tonight. The stains on the side where My ball bag would be still have a brown stain which I couldn't wash out earlier this morning.

Here are some pictures of my Officials Choice Shirt which is only 1.5 years old and my CK which is 3.5 years old and worn more over the past few years than the OC one.

#1 is the stain from the dirt. -- OC

#2 is the "ring around the collar" -- OC

#3 is the "Pink Buttons" -- OC

#4 is my CK

[Kevin Finnerty]

I gave a gray OC shirt to a partner after a few uses, and he said, "Let me give you something for it," to which I replied, "Why don't you just spend it replacing those pink buttons."

[Blue23]

I've remained pretty quiet on the The Officials Choice topics.

I have 3 of their short sleve shirts and 1 of the long sleve.

I must say the long sleeve has exceeded my expectations especially given I think I paid $12.00 for it.

Pased on the success of that shirt I orders 3 of their short sleeve shirts 2 Navy 1 powder.

They are okay overall and I think they definately fit a niche. As semperfi said they are great on those terribly hot days.

Here are the cons. They are not as well made as most of my other brands. They are thin to the point your undershirt shows through and you can look purple if you wear a red undershirt with a navy shirt. The buttons change colors. Lastly I discovered today they do not wash well.

Sunday was one of those hotter than hades days in the upper 90's with really high humidity. For my plate job I decided to go to my Officials Choice Shirt due solely to how light weight it is. I work my CK on the bases.

I got home and immediately dumped my soaking wet clothes into the washer. My wife took care of the rest.

This morning I grab my powder blues out of the closet as my partner for tonight and I agreed we'd wear powder tonight. The stains on the side where My ball bag would be still have a brown stain which I couldn't wash out earlier this morning.

Here are some pictures of my Officials Choice Shirt which is only 1.5 years old and my CK which is 3.5 years old and worn more over the past few years than the OC one.

#1 is the stain from the dirt. -- OC

#2 is the "ring around the collar" -- OC

#3 is the "Pink Buttons" -- OC

#4 is my CK

Sigh, Pink buttons. We have Polo Blue shirts that our district ordered us, and after about two months they turned pink. However I do have a Black shirt I :agasp_:got for 30 with numbers attached, the UV protection style and the 19.99 convert jacket and I love them. I guess you gotta take the good with the bad

[blue32]

I wore the black UV shirt for the first time today. Very comfortable, wasn't as hot as I thought it would be, without having open holes. Wore it on the bases, so can't comment on snags from my CP or anything like that. Threw it in the wash, and it came out still looking new. The material is definitely better than their regular "see-through" shirts, and the construction is a much higher quality than the see-throughs. One interesting thing I found is that the sizes on these run true, so don't size up when ordering one like their other "entry level I and II." This shirt is a tremendous value at 10 bucks.

[blue32]

Ok, I have worn the UV protection shirts a few times now, and in 100+ degree heat. They are extremely comfortable, and have been fine with a few washings. The fabric is very comfortable, and no pilling or snagging on the shirts, either. No wear from my CP as well. An extremely good value at 10 bucks a piece. I can't believe that I am recommending a shirt from these guys, but they are a really good buy. Maybe they are starting to "get" it.

[T-Rav]

The only thing I will buy from TOC is weird umpire items, like pink ball bags and shirts which I will wear every time I umpire little league softball games with my brand new 3 inches to big TOC polywool plate pants only for $20. :HS