Force 3 tights

[umpstu]

Wanting to know if anybody is wearing the Force 3 tights with the thigh protection?  I wear an XL size tights and when I wore the McDavid tights with thigh protection they were way to big in the leg area.  The regular tights stay tight against my legs.  Do the Force 3's run the same way?

[Majordave]

Stu,

i have large F3 and they are too loose. I have a 34-36 waist and bought that size. Too big. Not sure if I'll re-order medium and sell these or not. Pads are flexible.  No idea if they protect or not since the legs are too loose and the pads slip down near my knees. 

If your waist is 38-40 maybe the L will work for you and we can make a deal?

[Old Skool]

I have the same issue as @Majordave.  Feel like I might as well have flushed $50 or whatever I paid.  I wear 36-38 waists & the Large were too loose on me as well

[gnhbua93]

I use the 2XL and I have no problems on them moving or any other "problems". Maybe@JimKirk can give us an expert opinion.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

[Mr Ump]

I want to get some but after seeing this thread I don't know. Wish I had the McDavids. I wear 36 waist pants so sounds like I need a medium. Have not wore a Med since high school...lol. Jim Kirk help us.

[Majordave]

The key, @Mr Ump,is the size of your thighs. If you're beefy in the thigh then you will be fine. I've been working on slimming down. I now skip leg day in the gym and ride a bike. My .02.....

If you want to try my worn once size L (I did wash them), I'll take them back should they not fit. 

[BT_Blue]

21 hours ago, Mr Ump said:

I want to get some but after seeing this thread I don't know. Wish I had the McDavids. I wear 36 waist pants so sounds like I need a medium. Have not wore a Med since high school...lol. Jim Kirk help us.

We are always trying to get to the next size down. This sounds like a deal!

[umpstu]

21 hours ago, Mr Ump said:

I want to get some but after seeing this thread I don't know. Wish I had the McDavids. I wear 36 waist pants so sounds like I need a medium. Have not wore a Med since high school...lol. Jim Kirk help us.

Are these the advanced college tights? lol  Have you got to do anything yet this year?  Recovering from lower back surgery and so far only done 1 CC game and a few hs games.  

[JimKirk]

On March 4, 2017 at 11:40 PM, Mr Ump said:

I want to get some but after seeing this thread I don't know. Wish I had the McDavids. I wear 36 waist pants so sounds like I need a medium. Have not wore a Med since high school...lol. Jim Kirk help us.

I've taken a few days to respond in order to do some due diligence on these. Scott, Paul and myself have discussed together plus we've communicated with Jason Klein at Force3 for his input.

After all that, my opinion is that these tights will fit MOST using the waist size scale provided. Force3 did extensive work to ensure the size chart was as accurate as possible to begin with for most waist and leg size combinations.

We did our own as well. First, we compared leg area width to that of the Smitty tights and the Smitty tights do taper more than the Force3 tights taper in the thigh area as waist sizes decrease. Therefore, it is possible as @majordave alluded to that there may be some who are really thin in the thighs who these tights may not fit properly.

We tested 2 individuals in the the tights on near-opposite ends of the spectrum. 1 with large thighs in a 2X size and 1 with medium thighs in a M. Both were in their waist size. Photos are enclosed for both and as you can see there are no issues.

For those who might have tiny thighs, another saving grace for this year could be that the Kevlar pad inserts are about 25% lighter than the originals (S-XL have the newer / 2X and above stock stil available on last year's version as of writing). So if there would be any sliding-down issues on those whose thighs are smallest then perhaps this issue will now be less prevalent.

Therefore, if you are considering these tights for your season, I would NOT recommend sizing down (as the thigh size will not decrease anyway). Wear your normal size.

I hope that helps.

[Majordave]

Thanks Jim. I agree different folks. I've ordered the medium and will report on how they fit after they arrive and I've tried them this weekend.  

[grayhawk]

I got mine this week and have a plate game tomorrow and will report my experience.  I have Large (34-36) and am a 34 waist.

[Mudisfun]

1 hour ago, grayhawk said:

I got mine this week and have a plate game tomorrow and will report my experience.  I have Large (34-36) and am a 34 waist.

Damn you and your 34" waist! Last time I saw 34 was my Jr. year of HS!

[BT_Blue]

3 hours ago, Mudisfun said:

Damn you and your 34" waist! Last time I saw 34 was my Jr. year of HS!

Lucky... i think that was 8th or 9th grade for me.

[Thunderheads]

On 3/8/2017 at 8:19 AM, JimKirk said:

I've taken a few days to respond in order to do some due diligence on these. Scott, Paul and myself have discussed together plus we've communicated with Jason Klein at Force3 for his input.

After all that, my opinion is that these tights will fit MOST using the waist size scale provided. Force3 did extensive work to ensure the size chart was as accurate as possible to begin with for most waist and leg size combinations.

We did our own as well. First, we compared leg area width to that of the Smitty tights and the Smitty tights do taper more than the Force3 tights taper in the thigh area as waist sizes decrease. Therefore, it is possible as @majordave alluded to that there may be some who are really thin in the thighs who these tights may not fit properly.

We tested 2 individuals in the the tights on near-opposite ends of the spectrum. 1 with large thighs in a 2X size and 1 with medium thighs in a M. Both were in their waist size. Photos are enclosed for both and as you can see there are no issues.

For those who might have tiny thighs, another saving grace for this year could be that the Kevlar pad inserts are about 25% lighter than the originals (S-XL have the newer / 2X and above stock stil available on last year's version as of writing). So if there would be any sliding-down issues on those whose thighs are smallest then perhaps this issue will now be less prevalent.

Therefore, if you are considering these tights for your season, I would NOT recommend sizing down (as the thigh size will not decrease anyway). Wear your normal size.

I hope that helps.

Great info as always Jim !!!

Only question I have is this ........   Order your normal size pants, or normal size TIGHTS ??  There's a difference there.  Tights tend to run smaller (my Under Armour Cold Gear and Nike Hyperwarms are XL) ... and I'd be a "L" typically in say a pair of shorts ....

[Majordave]

I find I need Tights in smaller waist sizes than I need in pants. I just received my newly re-ordered F3 Tights in Medium (waist sizes 30-32).  They definitely fit better than the L which were marketed and marked for waist 34-36.  I wear size 36 in Honigs poly-wools but had to re-order to size 34 waist in the new Smitty stretchy golf pants. 

I guess I'm smaller than I think I am. 

[kylehutson]

4 minutes ago, Majordave said:

I guess I'm smaller than I think I am. 

There's a problem I've never had.

[JimKirk]

3 hours ago, Thunderheads said:

Great info as always Jim !!!

Only question I have is this ........   Order your normal size pants, or normal size TIGHTS ??  There's a difference there.  Tights tend to run smaller (my Under Armour Cold Gear and Nike Hyperwarms are XL) ... and I'd be a "L" typically in say a pair of shorts ....

Waist size. I don't know anything about Nike or Under Armour tights fitting (maybe I should) but only about the tights we offer.

When someone mentions a sizing issue I look to our return rate percentages to look for a red flag. There is not one here. This item is returned less than 1 in 20 purchases. That tells me that's a good indication that the sizing is working for the overwhelming majority of wearers.

Ordering your waist size is almost always the best bet on all the products we offer without overthinking it. If we have a concern about an item and it consistently runs small, we'll say so in the description. (e.g. Fechheimer pants come to mind we used to carry, current Champro pants we are discontinuing and older model NB MU450 plate shoes running narrow). I'm definitely not a fan of having products where the sizing is not right, which is why we spent so much time looking at these tights this week.

Having said all that @Thunderheads, If something about your body type/size always seems to work out by ordering a size down in tights, then trust your instincts.

Hope that helps.

[scrounge]

Why are the pads seemingly on the back or so far to the side?  Is it just the picture? Because it doesn't appear to be giving any protection to the mid to inner thigh.

[grayhawk]

2 hours ago, scrounge said:

Why are the pads seemingly on the back or so far to the side?  Is it just the picture? Because it doesn't appear to be giving any protection to the mid to inner thigh.

Must just be the pic.  They are directly on the inner thigh.  They give no protection for the quads on a straight on shot.

[Majordave]

1 hour ago, grayhawk said:

Must just be the pic.  They are directly on the inner thigh.  They give no protection for the quads on a straight on shot.

Agreed. They are designed to protect your tenderloins/nether regions not your quad. 

[scrounge]

7 hours ago, grayhawk said:

Must just be the pic.  They are directly on the inner thigh.  They give no protection for the quads on a straight on shot.

Oh, duh! I thought the pic was the right foot, and the pads were on the outside. That made no sense - for good reason.

Never mind!

[grayhawk]

I wore the tights today. The size was fine and I didn't even notice them. Didn't take a shot, but my feeling is that if I did, they probably wouldn't make it so I wouldn't feel it but that they would significantly reduce the bruising.

[Thunderheads]

20 hours ago, JimKirk said:

Waist size. I don't know anything about Nike or Under Armour tights fitting (maybe I should) but only about the tights we offer.

When someone mentions a sizing issue I look to our return rate percentages to look for a red flag. There is not one here. This item is returned less than 1 in 20 purchases. That tells me that's a good indication that the sizing is working for the overwhelming majority of wearers.

Ordering your waist size is almost always the best bet on all the products we offer without overthinking it. If we have a concern about an item and it consistently runs small, we'll say so in the description. (e.g. Fechheimer pants come to mind we used to carry, current Champro pants we are discontinuing and older model NB MU450 plate shoes running narrow). I'm definitely not a fan of having products where the sizing is not right, which is why we spent so much time looking at these tights this week.

Having said all that @Thunderheads, If something about your body type/size always seems to work out by ordering a size down in tights, then trust your instincts.

Hope that helps.

Always Jim, thanks .......   Your older offering and GREAT tights were the Shock Doctors, those too were sized up as well ....

Thanks again Jim!

[gnhbua93]

@JimKirk those are better leg pictures than the one that you have on your website for the tights! Would you consider take that leg picture on your site down and switch it with the ones that you posted here? It will be a huge favor to the umpiring community.

[Mr Ump]

On 3/5/2017 at 8:17 PM, umpstu said:

Are these the advanced college tights? lol  Have you got to do anything yet this year?  Recovering from lower back surgery and so far only done 1 CC game and a few hs games.  

Naw, I just got snowed out for tomorrow. I am thinking I might get on the field next Wed., Mt Carmel vs Simeon. At least I hope I do because that would be a great game. I don't know if the tights are advanced or not but I need a pair of tights so might as well get some protection too. Never been hit in the thigh by a pitch but you never know. I just need to get the sizing right before I order because I hate doing returns. Hopefully my Nutty Buddy will fit too. Then I will be really happy.