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Diamond iX3 or Big League


BrianC14
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1 hour ago, BT_Blue said:

I have a modified iX3 as my main rig for the last decade and love it.

Not totally sure why the $30 price difference between the two?

The big league mask has leather pads. The iX3 has those miserable excuse for a concussion on them. I'd just buy the Diamond frame (I think Honigs sells them, no?) and then buy TW pads or Wilson leather pads to put on it. 

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The two masks are exactly the same, save two things:

  1. The finishes – the BL is anodized in matte black or matte titanium-silver. The "common" DFM-UMP (iX3) is painted in a semi-gloss black or silver-titanium.
  2. The pads on the common model have been so paltry and pathetic, they're bordering on dangerous. They're referred to as "Quik Dry" pads, but compress nearly flat with the slightest of impacts. In order to satisfy bigger-velocity games, the padding volume was doubled and it was encased in a full-grain leather.
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2 hours ago, BrianC14 said:

How is yours modified? 

I had Tony powder coat my silver to a matte black. Then slice off the top and bottom extensions.

The top because I didn't like it originally. Though now I wish I had kept it. The bottom because a weld had snapped when I took a shot. Instead of repairing it, I had him take it off so I could fit my SSK Spyder (now replaced with a Zett) throat guard.

2 hours ago, Stk004 said:

The big league mask has leather pads. The iX3 has those miserable excuse for a concussion on them. I'd just buy the Diamond frame (I think Honigs sells them, no?) and then buy TW pads or Wilson leather pads to put on it. 

Basically what I did from jump.

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I love the frames, both types. Very similar, like max states. The leather BL are ok, i just replaced them after a couple of years. I like leather in cool, and cloth in warm, so wilson leathers since March, and TWs Memorial Day until Labor Day. The diamond harnesses, and the visors are top quality, IMO. Same with the frames. Took quite a few shots, not even a nick, but had to take a few balls out of play..

 

Heres a pick of my BL pewter frame with TWs and all diamond accessories.cfb711af4e799108cc494492bd6ff333.jpg

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

 

 

 

 

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@BrianC14 JV HS ball, Travel ball mostly 10U to 16U, Tourney Ball to 18U, and a smattering of Stan Musial and MSBL

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

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I am genuinely astonished that the Diamond DFM has not shown up in the Big Leagues, save Gerry Davis wearing it recently. Aluminum construction means it's lightweight and won't bend. The crown guard is also a nice safety feature.

... then you remember just how pathetic the pads are, and the astonishment fades.

... then you are reminded of the power of marketing and advertising, and how much influence that big gold W has on our buying decisions. They won't let a simple discreet W for Team Wendy go unobscured, but they sure do want that gold W loud'n'proud on the chin, such that there must be a W-emblazoned tab put onto a mask with pads so unique that no one else makes pads for it (the Force3 Defender and the All-Star FM4000).

... then you hear of the smear campaign against Titanium, and notice that the Big Gold W is really pushing aluminum now, but only sold at a premium price with their pads.

Guys, again, it's not the frame that's doing the work, it's the pads. We need to motivate the manufacturers to improve their pads.

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I use the silver diamond, I also use both the all stars, the 2000 & 4000. I also have a dyna lite I don't wear as often. The dyne lite is loaded with black wrap around pads, the diamond and the all stars have the luc all star pads. I tried team Wendy and just didn't like them, I'm still amazed that more of you don't use the all star luc pads. 

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1 hour ago, sri8527 said:

I tried Team Wendy and just didn't like them, I'm still amazed that more of you don't use the All-Star LUC pads. 

Eh, to each their own, they're not for everybody. At least you know better than to use the stock Diamond pads.

The LUC pads are very good pads! But do they come in tan?? Better yet, how about charcoal grey? @Thunderheads had a set of LUC Prototypes done in silver (body) and black (accent), and they looked awesome. But again, why not tan? I consider, in my professional technical opinion, the All-Star LUC and sibling LMX pads as being a marked improvement over the stock Diamonds and Champros and WhatHaveYou pads out there that come with rival masks. They're not Team Wendy or Wilson MemFoam quality, but certainly a consideration at $25 per set. There are two problems, though:

  1. All-Star is a catcher's company, first and foremost. With Wilson squatting like an immoveable rock upon the baseball landscape, especially in regards to umpires, All-Star likely doesn't see the value in trotting out a substantial catalog of gear that will rarely get seen. The Magnesium FM4000Mag is such a technical wunderkind, though, that they accepted the forced obscurity by equipping an umpire (Was it Gerry Davis or H. Wendelstedt?) with a FM4000Mag with a Big Gold W tab stuck on the chin. Why market pads to umpires (or masks, for that matter), when the herd of lemmings pursue the Big Gold W, and think that a bunch of chair-cushion foam and cellulose stuffed inside a leather casing is the best thing on earth??
  2. Umpires are not only a stubborn lot, we're also a bunch of cheap, miserly fools. We buy cheap masks, with even cheaper stock pads already affixed to them, and think we're "doin' just fine". Then the mask bends, the pads decay and split, get patched up with tape (of some variety), and we wash away headaches with beer after the game. $25 for a set of good pads is not an outrageous price at all (if it was, $40 for Team Wendys would be completely unattainable), but hey, if there's still some loft left in these tape-clad pads, we're good for another game!
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47 minutes ago, MadMax said:

Eh, to each their own, they're not for everybody. At least you know better than to use the stock Diamond pads.

The LUC pads are very good pads! But do they come in tan?? Better yet, how about charcoal grey? @Thunderheads had a set of LUC Prototypes done in silver (body) and black (accent), and they looked awesome. But again, why not tan? I consider, in my professional technical opinion, the All-Star LUC and sibling LMX pads as being a marked improvement over the stock Diamonds and Champros and WhatHaveYou pads out there that come with rival masks. They're not Team Wendy or Wilson MemFoam quality, but certainly a consideration at $25 per set. There are two problems, though:

  1. All-Star is a catcher's company, first and foremost. With Wilson squatting like an immoveable rock upon the baseball landscape, especially in regards to umpires, All-Star likely doesn't see the value in trotting out a substantial catalog of gear that will rarely get seen. The Magnesium FM4000Mag is such a technical wunderkind, though, that they accepted the forced obscurity by equipping an umpire (Was it Gerry Davis or H. Wendelstedt?) with a FM4000Mag with a Big Gold W tab stuck on the chin. Why market pads to umpires (or masks, for that matter), when the herd of lemmings pursue the Big Gold W, and think that a bunch of chair-cushion foam and cellulose stuffed inside a leather casing is the best thing on earth??
  2. Umpires are not only a stubborn lot, we're also a bunch of cheap, miserly fools. We buy cheap masks, with even cheaper stock pads already affixed to them, and think we're "doin' just fine". Then the mask bends, the pads decay and split, get patched up with tape (of some variety), and we wash away headaches with beer after the game. $25 for a set of good pads is not an outrageous price at all (if it was, $40 for Team Wendys would be completely unattainable), but hey, if there's still some loft left in these tape-clad pads, we're good for another game!

Wendlestedt is using the all-star

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56 minutes ago, MadMax said:

Eh, to each their own, they're not for everybody. At least you know better than to use the stock Diamond pads.

The LUC pads are very good pads! But do they come in tan?? Better yet, how about charcoal grey? @Thunderheads had a set of LUC Prototypes done in silver (body) and black (accent), and they looked awesome. But again, why not tan? I consider, in my professional technical opinion, the All-Star LUC and sibling LMX pads as being a marked improvement over the stock Diamonds and Champros and WhatHaveYou pads out there that come with rival masks. They're not Team Wendy or Wilson MemFoam quality, but certainly a consideration at $25 per set. There are two problems, though:

  1. All-Star is a catcher's company, first and foremost. With Wilson squatting like an immoveable rock upon the baseball landscape, especially in regards to umpires, All-Star likely doesn't see the value in trotting out a substantial catalog of gear that will rarely get seen. The Magnesium FM4000Mag is such a technical wunderkind, though, that they accepted the forced obscurity by equipping an umpire (Was it Gerry Davis or H. Wendelstedt?) with a FM4000Mag with a Big Gold W tab stuck on the chin. Why market pads to umpires (or masks, for that matter), when the herd of lemmings pursue the Big Gold W, and think that a bunch of chair-cushion foam and cellulose stuffed inside a leather casing is the best thing on earth??
  2. Umpires are not only a stubborn lot, we're also a bunch of cheap, miserly fools. We buy cheap masks, with even cheaper stock pads already affixed to them, and think we're "doin' just fine". Then the mask bends, the pads decay and split, get patched up with tape (of some variety), and we wash away headaches with beer after the game. $25 for a set of good pads is not an outrageous price at all (if it was, $40 for Team Wendys would be completely unattainable), but hey, if there's still some loft left in these tape-clad pads, we're good for another game!

Mmmmmm..... Beer..... 

beer.jpg

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7 hours ago, MadMax said:

Eh, to each their own, they're not for everybody. At least you know better than to use the stock Diamond pads.

The LUC pads are very good pads! But do they come in tan?? Better yet, how about charcoal grey? @Thunderheads had a set of LUC Prototypes done in silver (body) and black (accent), and they looked awesome. But again, why not tan? I consider, in my professional technical opinion, the All-Star LUC and sibling LMX pads as being a marked improvement over the stock Diamonds and Champros and WhatHaveYou pads out there that come with rival masks. They're not Team Wendy or Wilson MemFoam quality, but certainly a consideration at $25 per set. There are two problems, though:

  1. All-Star is a catcher's company, first and foremost. With Wilson squatting like an immoveable rock upon the baseball landscape, especially in regards to umpires, All-Star likely doesn't see the value in trotting out a substantial catalog of gear that will rarely get seen. The Magnesium FM4000Mag is such a technical wunderkind, though, that they accepted the forced obscurity by equipping an umpire (Was it Gerry Davis or H. Wendelstedt?) with a FM4000Mag with a Big Gold W tab stuck on the chin. Why market pads to umpires (or masks, for that matter), when the herd of lemmings pursue the Big Gold W, and think that a bunch of chair-cushion foam and cellulose stuffed inside a leather casing is the best thing on earth??
  2. Umpires are not only a stubborn lot, we're also a bunch of cheap, miserly fools. We buy cheap masks, with even cheaper stock pads already affixed to them, and think we're "doin' just fine". Then the mask bends, the pads decay and split, get patched up with tape (of some variety), and we wash away headaches with beer after the game. $25 for a set of good pads is not an outrageous price at all (if it was, $40 for Team Wendys would be completely unattainable), but hey, if there's still some loft left in these tape-clad pads, we're good for another game!

I've asked Brad Jurga NUMEROUS times to do the LUC pads in tan, and in a silver/gray.  Hell, they do the LMX pads in gray and tan, why not the LUC pads ???  NOPE .. that's the answer every time!   By the way, my customized pads I had were made for Salvador Perez when he was with All-Star, and they were hybrid LUC/LMX pads ..... they were LUC pads with chest protector material silver on the front, and tan leather on the face.  LUC pads are stuffed more full than the LMX pads, but ...it's the same material w/ a different outer layer.    LUCs are actually my favorite!

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