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Gerry Davis poly spandex pants


umpstu
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Got to see them in person today and they are night and day different.  Darker, feel heavier, stretch elastic waist.  They just seem to be way better.  A weird thing is that there are no seams across the butt of the plate pants, but the legs are definitely wider.  Really like these pants.

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The "wider" part has me confused, too. The Smitty plate pants, IMO, are far too wide, as are the base pants. I can live with the plates, but the base pants do tend to flap in the breeze.

I'm not a fan of the expander waist bands, as I don't care for any extra bulk around my beltline, if you know what I mean. These golf pants have enough give in them as it is.

Oh, and yet another shade of charcoal? Fantastic.

 

p.s. why do we need 3 belt loops in the back like that? Or, is that in place of a logo?

 

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36 minutes ago, kylejt said:

The "wider" part has me confused, too. The Smitty plate pants, IMO, are far too wide, as are the base pants. I can live with the plates, but the base pants do tend to flap in the breeze.

I'm not a fan of the expander waist bands, as I don't care for any extra bulk around my beltline, if you know what I mean. These golf pants have enough give in them as it is.

Oh, and yet another shade of charcoal? Fantastic.

 

p.s. why do we need 3 belt loops in the back like that? Or, is that in place of a logo?

 

That is their "signature" look. 

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20 hours ago, umpstu said:

Got to see them in person today and they are night and day different.  Darker, feel heavier, stretch elastic waist.  They just seem to be way better.  A weird thing is that there are no seams across the butt of the plate pants, but the legs are definitely wider.  Really like these pants.

1) Id assume you are comparing these to the Smitty Poly Spandex pants and youre saying the GD Fechheimer pants are much better.

2) I was surprised at how disappointed I was with the Smitty Poly Spandex pants that I ordered over the summer from UA.  I ended up quickly sending them back.  I guess Im stuck in the old days when the MLB quality Poly Wool pants were the standard from Honigs.  The Smitty pants looked incredibly cheap, I didnt like the dark gray color, and theres no way I would have worn those on the field.  Im looking forward to ordering the GD Poly Spandex pants in a few months for the 2020 season.

3) Its strange that there is no reinforced stitching around the seat in the plate pants because he touts these as being the "same pants the MLB guys wear" but I know those do have the reinforced stitching.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Huge difference in the base pants.  I got dinged at an eval camp for my Smitty base pants looking "blousy".  I got the GD base version - totally better in the tapering down the lower leg.  Can't wait to bust them out this spring to test performance.  On the other hand, I have two pair of Smitty plates, have no plans on switching.  Once they get worn in a little, they're fantastic IMOP.

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20 hours ago, humanbackstop19 said:

Huge difference in the base pants.  I got dinged at an eval camp for my Smitty base pants looking "blousy".  I got the GD base version - totally better in the tapering down the lower leg.  Can't wait to bust them out this spring to test performance.  On the other hand, I have two pair of Smitty plates, have no plans on switching.  Once they get worn in a little, they're fantastic IMOP.

Interesting, and valuable information. Thanks for that. 

Yeah, those Smitty base pants do flap in breeze. Good to know this for my next replacements. 

But why do you like the Smitty plate pants over the GD's? Now I really like mine, especially after I had a crease put in, but what is the down side of the GD plates? 

Oh, and I agree with the old Honig's polywools of being of superior construction and feel. My like my old +POS low top plate shoes, nothing looks better. But performance wise, sometimes we have to sacrifice looks over function. So wearing 10 pound shoes and wool pants on an athletic field are gone the way of the dodo for me. 

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I swore by GD/Fechheimer Polywools, and was vehemently opposed to anything Smitty, primarily because of how barbaric their expander waistband and pleats made their polywools look. Prior to the GDbyF’s, I had used Boombah (yes, Boombah) Charcoal polyesters solely because they came in a flat front. When the poly-spandex models were introduced, I heavily endorsed them, but was still very skeptical of them being introduced from Smitty on accounts of that hideous expander waistband (seriously, when teamed with their pleating, it looks like you’re wearing a fanny pack... on the front).

So, I actually tried a set of Nike DriFIT golf slacks, in Charcoal grey, for awhile, and they worked really well as base pants! Then, I got a set of Smitty PolySpandex slacks in Combo, simply because I was estimating that my Ultimate shin guards would fit under what was reported to be a generous lower leg size, complements of Smitty. They did fit just fine, and teamed with my Nike golf slacks, I did a few tournaments with them until one eagle-eyed coach actually got me on it – “Going golfing after our game today?”. So immediately after, I ordered in the first matched set of plate & base pants in the Smitty PolySpandex.

I like ‘em! They didn’t have the paunch-bulge problem of their predecessors, had enough heft to drape well, and dried much quicker than the Polywools. I kept the Combos, and sent them (back) up to Wisconsin to be kept up there in case I’m called in to do a game or training session while visiting my family “back home”, and I don’t have my usual gear (all of my navy-colored gear and uniforms are there, too, ha!). I’ve since gone on to get two more complete sets, and these (rather faded) first sets now have a “17” written on their tags, and are used for “junkball” or “yawnball” (think, USSSA weekend, or fall-ball, or local league stuff, on a cloudless day).

Somewhere between my second and third set of Smitty’s, I decided to give the “new” Honig’s PolySpandex a try. I ordered in a pair of base pants, and they are vastly different than the Smittys. No elasticity in the waist, shorter waistband, more of a stipled, heathered look to the Charcoal grey than the uniform color of the Smittys, and... most distinguishable... extremely thin, almost ephemeral material. Not so great in windy conditions, but mmmmmaaaaaannnn!... so welcome on a hot southwest swath of weekend games!! I don’t know if I really need to try, or get, the Plate version of these pants. From what you guys have been describing, and based on their Polywools, I’d be willing to give the Gerry Davis PolySpandex a try!

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On 2/8/2020 at 9:47 AM, kylejt said:

Interesting, and valuable information. Thanks for that. 

Yeah, those Smitty base pants do flap in breeze. Good to know this for my next replacements. 

But why do you like the Smitty plate pants over the GD's? Now I really like mine, especially after I had a crease put in, but what is the down side of the GD plates? 

Oh, and I agree with the old Honig's polywools of being of superior construction and feel. My like my old +POS low top plate shoes, nothing looks better. But performance wise, sometimes we have to sacrifice looks over function. So wearing 10 pound shoes and wool pants on an athletic field are gone the way of the dodo for me. 

I have not tried the GD plate pants.  I just go by the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality.  The Smitty's have been great for me performance-wise in extreme heat and humidity (110+ degree heat indexes w/ high humidity) and the tapering is not an issue in plate pants like base versions.  

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I've seen some instructors with the GD poly spandex pants, with what look like permanent stretch creases.  One was an MiLB ump with three horizontal creases across the knee - as if they were embossed by the top of his shins.  The second was an old timer whose back pocket was all dimpled like he sat down with a bag of sunflower seeds in his back pocket.  It was clear that there was nothing in the pocket anymore though.

Is this a common problem, or do those pants need pressing to keep in shape?  My plain old GD polyester pants still look perfect 3 years later with just normal machine washing.

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1 hour ago, ousafe said:

(with the)... poly spandex pants, with what look like permanent stretch creases.  One was an MiLB ump with three horizontal creases across the knee...

This is a problem I have with both brands, and all pairs, of PolySpandex pants, especially in the Base pants. I spend nearly half a game in a hands-on-knees stance (sometimes more, if these pitchers keep putting guys on base, and I have to leave A (in 2-man) or D (in 3-man). Any time there's a runner on base, I'm hands-on-knees set so as to signify to my PU partner that F1 is engaged to the rubber. Disengages? Straighten up. Re-engages? Hands-on-knees. I've done this so many times that on my "beater" Base pants (faded... AKA the pants I use for USSSA weekends), the material just above the knees has gotten... "glossy", like I've altered the polyester permanently. Then, to your point, I've developed these creases in them, looking like faint accordion folds.

Sure, they go away by ironing / pressing them out, but after a few games, VOOF! they come back. And, on those "beater" pants, is it really worth my time for a set of USSSA games in the baking sun of a Saturday, on a parched field in the Arizona desert?

Nope.

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