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Force 3 Version 2

umpstu

By umpstu
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Stk004

Stk004

Posted
Posted

I tried to post this elsewhere but not sure what happened so I'll do it here. About 2 weeks ago I worked with a gentleman that was 70 years old. He had the first version of this (I believe) and we were working a seniors game that played like a juniors game. Anyway he took a foul tip of MAYBE 70 mph to the chest and staggered off to the side. It clearly hurt him and took a minute to gather himself. He claims he never bruises with this protecter but based on what I saw I don't have a lot of faith in this protector. 

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umpstu
umpstu

Second game and took a direct hit. No pain, but was startled.  Startled because I wasn't expecting any noise, but you could definitely hear the hard plastic deflecting the ball. COOL. For umpires

MikeSafari
MikeSafari

Man, if it wasn't a $450+ investment for me I'd definitely be in on this. Stupid SH*#ty Canadian dollar

umpstu
umpstu

Took a foul ball in the right pec off of a 94 mph fast ball yesterday and can honestly say, "Buy the Force 3 V2 with confidence.  Felt no different than when I would get hit wearing my WV.  Love the V

Stk004

Stk004

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Welpe said:

Waiting for a comment on the foul tip? :D

Sorry, "foul ball"*

Mudisfun

Mudisfun

Posted
Posted

was it a foul tip back to the screen? If so you have a future as an announcer on ESPN!

umpstu

umpstu

Posted
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Posted
3 hours ago, Mudisfun said:

was it a foul tip back to the screen? If so you have a future as an announcer on ESPN!

Stop, man.  My sides are hurting.

  • 4 weeks later...
grayhawk

grayhawk

Posted
Posted
54 minutes ago, taa71458 said:

So for those that have gone from V1 to V2, is the changes that were made worth the upgrade?

Hard for me to say because I just got my V2 and haven't used it in a game yet.  I will say that you can feel the plastic under the fabric, but it looks like they made the Kevlar thinner so the overall thickness wouldn't increase.  The whole rig feels lighter than V1 as well.

I do like the new harness and it appears to have a similar feel to the Delta Flex which I had on my V1.

MikeSafari

MikeSafari

Posted
Posted

@grayhawk can you compare the V1 or V2 to any other CPs you may have used? I've currently got a WVG which just doesn't fit me very well and I've been considering the System 7, but with all the V1s for sale on here right now I may be able to stretch to it. Can't justify the $450-$500 cost of getting a V2 into Canada at the moment though :(

umpstu

umpstu

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Took a foul ball in the right pec off of a 94 mph fast ball yesterday and can honestly say, "Buy the Force 3 V2 with confidence.  Felt no different than when I would get hit wearing my WV.  Love the V2.  P.S. It was a legitimate 94 mph. The kid committed to UCLA before his sophomore season.  Had a perfect game through 6 and finally gave up a hit with 2 outs in the 7th.  Struck out 13. I just sat there and kept my eyes on the catcher's glove.  Other kid didn't allow a run until the bottom of the 6th.  Good game to work.

 

  • Like 2
ShotKaller

ShotKaller

Posted
Posted

Force3 V2.....I just love it. Used it for four games now. I had been primarily wearing WV Platinum CP for last four seasons.

Pros:Force 3 is definitely heavier than WV....... until you put it on. There is something about the way the harness distributes the weight of the Force3 that makes it seem so light and comfortable to wear. Range of motion is amazing compared to my old vest. Protection is unbeatable. On direct hits it disperses the impact amazingly well considering how thin it is. The way you can adjust EVERYTHING is probably the single best feature. The wings, shoulders, belly pad, sternum pad, upper harness, lower harness (with long straps BTW), all completely adjustable and removable. The inner material on the CP is really nice, hugs the body without sliding around, and air flow was still surprisingly good. As mentioned in earlier post, neck is cut so you can remove sternum pad and wear it a couple inches higher and get full protection, with out rubbing, for all the wide necks, and wear it lower with sternum pad adjusted higher and get full protction for the pencil necks. Very cool design.   

Cons: Yes there are a couple IMO. First, the thing smells like sh%t for..... well...... at least the first four games. Its not a deal breaker by any means, but it is an overpowering "new CP smell" that gets to me a little after I crouch about the 50th a time in a game. Just sayin'. Second, you cannot buckle the harness with one hand, and WITHOUT the belly pad it is a little awkward buckling the second buckle, and WITH the belly pad on I looked like a monkey f%$&ing a football trying to get it buckled. Again, just sayin'. Third, I have to buy new shirts! The thing is so thin my TOC and Smitty shirts are to baggy now. (Maybe this should be in the Pros section but its a con because it adds to the price). Which brings me to my final shot... the price. Yes I paid it, and yes I would pay it again since getting it, but damn... almost double what the current most popular CP is going for? The product is without a doubt quality, and I am sure the margins are justifiable, it just sucks because it prices a lot of guys right out of it. On the other hand, quality gear and divorce are really only expensive for one reason.................. because it's worth it.

grayhawk

grayhawk

Posted
Posted

I spoke with Jason from Force3 and he said that the V2 is lighter and thinner than V1, but that the Kevlar is the same.  They actually removed or reduced (can't remember which) some of the padding while adding the plastic (blast shield).

By the way, the shin guards no longer come with the travel bag that they used to.

Tksjewelry

Tksjewelry

Posted
Posted

I finally got to wear mine. Love it. I still need to add the harness I got from Razzer and find a good fit for the bicep guards but overall, much better than I was thinking it would be. I did take a few low level shots to it, felt like sitting next to a car thumping the base with the windows down. I can definitely feel the lighter weight difference from my crappy diamond, plus it was much cooler on a warmer 1pm game.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

umpstu

umpstu

Posted
  • Author
Posted
8 hours ago, ShotKaller said:

Force3 V2.....I just love it. Used it for four games now. I had been primarily wearing WV Platinum CP for last four seasons.

Pros:Force 3 is definitely heavier than WV....... until you put it on. There is something about the way the harness distributes the weight of the Force3 that makes it seem so light and comfortable to wear. Range of motion is amazing compared to my old vest. Protection is unbeatable. On direct hits it disperses the impact amazingly well considering how thin it is. The way you can adjust EVERYTHING is probably the single best feature. The wings, shoulders, belly pad, sternum pad, upper harness, lower harness (with long straps BTW), all completely adjustable and removable. The inner material on the CP is really nice, hugs the body without sliding around, and air flow was still surprisingly good. As mentioned in earlier post, neck is cut so you can remove sternum pad and wear it a couple inches higher and get full protection, with out rubbing, for all the wide necks, and wear it lower with sternum pad adjusted higher and get full protction for the pencil necks. Very cool design.   

Cons: Yes there are a couple IMO. First, the thing smells like sh%t for..... well...... at least the first four games. Its not a deal breaker by any means, but it is an overpowering "new CP smell" that gets to me a little after I crouch about the 50th a time in a game. Just sayin'. Second, you cannot buckle the harness with one hand, and WITHOUT the belly pad it is a little awkward buckling the second buckle, and WITH the belly pad on I looked like a monkey f%$&ing a football trying to get it buckled. Again, just sayin'. Third, I have to buy new shirts! The thing is so thin my TOC and Smitty shirts are to baggy now. (Maybe this should be in the Pros section but its a con because it adds to the price). Which brings me to my final shot... the price. Yes I paid it, and yes I would pay it again since getting it, but damn... almost double what the current most popular CP is going for? The product is without a doubt quality, and I am sure the margins are justifiable, it just sucks because it prices a lot of guys right out of it. On the other hand, quality gear and divorce are really only expensive for one reason.................. because it's worth it.

Not sure that it weighs more than the WV and I haven't had any issues buckling the harness with one hand.  What smell are you talking about?  Love this chest protector and have taken a foul ball off of a mid 90's fastball and it handled it well.  By far the best chest protector I've worn in 21 years as an umpire.

 

udbrky

udbrky

Posted
Posted

It can be tricky with one hand.

 

It definitely smelled very new and chemically. The smell went away the first week wearing it, but those first few days, I wondered if everyone smelled it like I did.

  • Like 1
Welpe

Welpe

Posted
Posted
On 5/11/2016 at 10:04 PM, udbrky said:

It can be tricky with one hand.

 

It definitely smelled very new and chemically. The smell went away the first week wearing it, but those first few days, I wondered if everyone smelled it like I did.

Ah the joys of offgassing with newly manufactured products. That's what the new car smell is after all.

umpstu

umpstu

Posted
  • Author
Posted
On 5/11/2016 at 10:04 PM, udbrky said:

It can be tricky with one hand.

 

It definitely smelled very new and chemically. The smell went away the first week wearing it, but those first few days, I wondered if everyone smelled it like I did.

Use the pine tree freshner.

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  • 4 weeks later...
bluejerred

bluejerred

Posted
Posted

I have the first model - in your opinions, is the V2 so much better that it is worth the money and trouble getting the V2 and then selling the V1?  

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