Are the New Smitty Performance Polyspandex the Next New Umpire Pant?

[umpstu]

On 2/12/2017 at 9:13 PM, umpstu said:

I'll wear the plate pants on Wednesday and will give a full review.

Guys, Came down with tonsillitis and won't be umpiring tonight.  Hopefully Saturday.

[kylehutson]

They were back in stock today at ump-attire, so I bit. My first game isn't until March 18, though.

[HuskerUmp22]

Just bought a pair of base and plate pants. I bet they'll go fast. 

[celt62]

Got mine today and they're already getting hemmed.  Added bonus... the spandex make the waist a little stretchy too.

[Stk004]

5 minutes ago, celt62 said:

Got mine today and they're already getting hemmed.  Added bonus... the spandex make the waist a little stretchy too.

I found the waist in the plate pants to be roomier than the base pants. 

[BT_Blue]

15 minutes ago, Stk004 said:

I found the waist in the plate pants to be roomier than the base pants. 

Interesting. I never tried on the plate ones. Not that it matters. Will be buying them for real next year.

[kylejt]

I'd be interested on how others are washing/drying/ironing their pants. Let us know of your experiences, so we all get a little smarter.

 

 

[umpstu]

On 2/23/2017 at 6:12 PM, Stk004 said:

I found the waist in the plate pants to be roomier than the base pants. 

Didn't notice this. I'll check that out next game.

[umpstu]

On 2/24/2017 at 6:27 AM, kylejt said:

I'd be interested on how others are washing/drying/ironing their pants. Let us know of your experiences, so we all get a little smarter.

 

 

I wash them on perm press in cold water.  Then hang them to dry.  I own a Rowenta iron and use it on high level with full steam.  Be careful if you have a cheap iron, not sure it won't burn the pants.

[umpstu]

Fella's, I've used these on both the plate and bases for a few game and they are some nice slacks. Give my highest recommendation.  The plate pants have yet to get hung up above the knees which happened frequently with the Honigs, (which I really liked).  AS they are very light I had some reservations about them staying down while running around and that's not an issue either.  Really like these pants. Feel safe when you buy them.

[JimKirk]

12 hours ago, umpstu said:

Fella's, I've used these on both the plate and bases for a few game and they are some nice slacks. Give my highest recommendation.  The plate pants have yet to get hung up above the knees which happened frequently with the Honigs, (which I really liked).  AS they are very light I had some reservations about them staying down while running around and that's not an issue either.  Really like these pants. Feel safe when you buy them.

Love seeing all the good words from you @umpstu and others.

Here's a special PSA to all Umpire-Empire readers: Poly spandex pants stock will start to be an issue very soon on popular sizes of plate and base given the HIGH demand.

As expected, and despite 2 significant size orders on our part, we are already out of stock of a few sizes and the next set of stock are not set to arrive at Smitty until July.

[MidAmUmp]

My pants make their debut today after finally getting them back from the seamstress after 3 weeks......

For those concerned about ironing, I used the polyester setting with a lot of steam and I had no issues. 

[Jeff C.]

Just got mine from UA.  I tried them on and they fit great!  I love the feel of the fabric.  At first glance, the quality appears to be top notch.  I can't wait to get'em on the field.  I also got the new New Balance plate shoes too.  Low tops and these fit great.  Can't wait to try these out!

 

[BT_Blue]

@JimKirk is it possible, next time you talk to the Smitty guys, can you ask them about adding the traveler or permanent crease to the future runs of the Poly-spandex pants.

[JimKirk]

15 hours ago, BT_Blue said:

@JimKirk is it possible, next time you talk to the Smitty guys, can you ask them about adding the traveler or permanent crease to the future runs of the Poly-spandex pants.

Certainly can mention next time we meet with them. I do like that feature. My guess is it was considered but may have been cost-prohibitive compared to the price point desired - as adding the feature will increase the cost to some degree.

[JeBa]

@JimKirk - any possibility of the Poly-Spandex pants also coming in a flat front style soon - maybe just the base pants version?

thanks,

Jeff

[BT_Blue]

On Thu Mar 09 2017 at 9:14 AM, JimKirk said:

Certainly can mention next time we meet with them. I do like that feature. My guess is it was considered but may have been cost-prohibitive compared to the price point desired - as adding the feature will increase the cost to some degree.

Keep us posted. I just brought my Davis-by-Fecheimer to Men's Warehouse and paid $20 plus tax to get it done. I could imagine the cost to add it on would be less than that.

[JDavis225]

2 hours ago, BT_Blue said:

Keep us posted. I just brought my Davis-by-Fecheimer to Men's Warehouse and paid $20 plus tax to get it done. I could imagine the cost to add it on would be less than that.

Got this added to my GDs too for about $15 and it looks flat out amazing compared to my partners. If you don't have permanent creases, I strongly recommend them for any brand umpire pants.

[JDavis225]

Too many pages to read through so how do the colors match up to others? Instead of another set of Davises, I'm considering buying a set of these as I can have the pants plus my creases added in for less than the Davises. Also, are combo pants usually tighter in the legs? I'm thinking of getting some and using them as plate pants since my Force 3 shins are so low profile. 

[Stk004]

19 minutes ago, JDavis225 said:

Too many pages to read through so how do the colors match up to others? Instead of another set of Davises, I'm considering buying a set of these as I can have the pants plus my creases added in for less than the Davises. Also, are combo pants usually tighter in the legs? I'm thinking of getting some and using them as plate pants since my Force 3 shins are so low profile. 

The pants seem darker than most others, but I think some on here will disagree with me. They can also look kind of shiny in the right lighting out on the field. Really comfortable though. I have about 12 innings in (rain) using these pants and so far no complaints. 

[kylejt]

I lent my plate pants to my long time partner this afternoon, and got another glowing endorsement. And, an order from Ump-Attire. 75+ degrees on the field, and the warmer it is, they more these pants make total sense.

I'd expect another manufacturer to jump on this bandwagon, and soon. The reviews are almost all positive, and you can see by the retailers selling out, the writing is on the wall.  I think we're done with wool pants, my friends.

The color is close enough for rec ball, for sure. Probably passable for HS. They're much closer to polywool color that the original GD pants, that's for sure.

I'm also positive that some organizations, run by gezzers, will not except them. I feel for you folks stuck in those situations, 'cause you don't know what you're missing.

I think this time next year we'll be deciding on which "golf pants" are best. We'll be done with wool, and wondering what we were thinking, and why we didn't get these a dozen years ago.

 

 

[BT_Blue]

7 hours ago, Stk004 said:

I have about 12 innings in (rain) using these pants and so far no complaints. 

You suck! I got rained out 3 hours before my scheduled start (which was moved back a hour).

[JimKirk]

15 hours ago, JDavis225 said:

Too many pages to read through so how do the colors match up to others? Instead of another set of Davises, I'm considering buying a set of these as I can have the pants plus my creases added in for less than the Davises. Also, are combo pants usually tighter in the legs? I'm thinking of getting some and using them as plate pants since my Force 3 shins are so low profile. 

Yes, the combos could work depending on the size of your legs. I'm sure others here have gone that route.

[tampump]

6 minutes ago, JimKirk said:

Yes, the combos could work depending on the size of your legs. I'm sure others here have gone that route.

I use the combos for my plate's with the force 3's. There's plenty of room! 

[umpstu]

18 hours ago, kylejt said:

I lent my plate pants to my long time partner this afternoon, and got another glowing endorsement. And, an order from Ump-Attire. 75+ degrees on the field, and the warmer it is, they more these pants make total sense.

I'd expect another manufacturer to jump on this bandwagon, and soon. The reviews are almost all positive, and you can see by the retailers selling out, the writing is on the wall.  I think we're done with wool pants, my friends.

The color is close enough for rec ball, for sure. Probably passable for HS. They're much closer to polywool color that the original GD pants, that's for sure.

I'm also positive that some organizations, run by gezzers, will not except them. I feel for you folks stuck in those situations, 'cause you don't know what you're missing.

I think this time next year we'll be deciding on which "golf pants" are best. We'll be done with wool, and wondering what we were thinking, and why we didn't get these a dozen years ago.

 

 

What does passable for HS mean?  I mean, I'm using them for college ball.  I love them so far.