Mask View - powder coat?

[Replacematt]

2 hours ago, BLWizzRanger said:

I just hope you guys change your underwear as often as you change your masks/pads or the combinations of such....

 

<said as a newbie, I will probably be in here next year with a different perspective>

Underwear?

[wolfe_man]

2 minutes ago, Matt said:

Underwear?

[MadMax]

3 hours ago, BLWizzRanger said:

I just hope you guys change your underwear as often as you change your masks/pads or the combinations of such..

Story time! 

Back when I was in Wisconsin, a rainstorm rolled through most of the county, and wiped out most of the baseball games on that day's schedule. It spared one corner of the county, and the community up there kept their game active on the schedule, but it was without umpires. So, seeing my game cancelled and that one open, I jumped on it and drove the 40 minutes up there, checking the scheduler repetitively to see if another umpire was going to join me on the game. I arrive, and start getting dressed for Plate, since I'm the only umpire on the game thus far. About five minutes into getting prepared, the league coordinator texts me to confirm and thank me that I'm on the game, and that a second umpire has been added to the game. It's a name I'm familiar with. So I complete my dressing and preparing for plate, keeping the shirt choice for last, waiting to see what my soon-to-be partner has... 

Bob arrives five minutes before posted first pitch time. Since he too came from a game site that had its game cancelled, he's already in base pants and shoes. We acknowledge each other, and as we wrap up the greetings, he's opening the trunk of his car while I ask, "So which shirt, Bob? I've got everything (and as the guys on U-E know me, I have over 20 different shirt styles / colors)." From the bottom of his trunk, amidst a pile of loose gear and assorted stuff, Bob pulls out a wrinkled, dusty navy shirt, shrugs, and replies, "Navy's all ya need." 

   

So if that's the shirt... I'm not even going to think about underwear... 

[Thunderheads]

16 minutes ago, MadMax said:

Story time! 

Back when I was in Wisconsin, a rainstorm rolled through most of the county, and wiped out most of the baseball games on that day's schedule. It spared one corner of the county, and the community up there kept their game active on the schedule, but it was without umpires. So, seeing my game cancelled and that one open, I jumped on it and drove the 40 minutes up there, checking the scheduler repetitively to see if another umpire was going to join me on the game. I arrive, and start getting dressed for Plate, since I'm the only umpire on the game thus far. About five minutes into getting prepared, the league coordinator texts me to confirm and thank me that I'm on the game, and that a second umpire has been added to the game. It's a name I'm familiar with. So I complete my dressing and preparing for plate, keeping the shirt choice for last, waiting to see what my soon-to-be partner has... 

Bob arrives five minutes before posted first pitch time. Since he too came from a game site that had its game cancelled, he's already in base pants and shoes. We acknowledge each other, and as we wrap up the greetings, he's opening the trunk of his car while I ask, "So which shirt, Bob? I've got everything (and as the guys on U-E know me, I have over 20 different shirt styles / colors)." From the bottom of his trunk, amidst a pile of loose gear and assorted stuff, Bob pulls out a wrinkled, dusty navy shirt, shrugs, and replies, "Navy's all ya need." 

   

So if that's the shirt... I'm not even going to think about underwear... 

Well, at least you had a "navy/red" mask to rock w/ the jersey!  

[wolfe_man]

46 minutes ago, MadMax said:

 

Aha! The old double-post got you too!

[Rock Bottom]

15 hours ago, SeeingEyeDog said:

This is a topic that is long overdue. Thanks, OP for getting it going...

Like many here, I have an assortment of masks that I am constantly tinkering with. As I've gotten older, I've noticed I am much more light sensitive. Both my parents experience this, too and my eye doctor has confirmed it's genetic. Stepping outside after being indoors I typically need sunglasses even if it's a mostly cloudy day. I have 3 pairs with different colored lenses for different conditions. At night, if I'm driving a country road with no street lights, I have to avoid looking into the headlights of oncoming vehicles.

For umpiring, my area has a lot of badly laid out ballfields. Coupled with 5:30 start times, we have fields where the sun sets in LCF or RCF so, PU, F2 and batter are getting blasted by sunlight...good times. Thanks Parks and Rec.

YMMV, but I like a black mask for sunny to partly cloudy conditions and a silver mask for mostly cloudy to full overcast. Night games are still a hodgepodge because there are so many different lighting systems in use. I've actually started keeping a log for night games as far as which mask worked best.

~Dog

I HIGHLY recommend the Oakley Prizm Field lens. They are incredible. I wear them until it gets too dark and then switch to yellow safety lenses as @wolfe_man noted above. But the problem with those is the lens is poor and I get doubled lights, so I only use them when it's too dark for the Prizm Field, but the lights haven't taken effect. I've looked at the Prizm low light, but they don't come in my preferred Oakley Radar EV Pitch lens (only the Path).

[SeeingEyeDog]

@wolfe_man, thanks for the yellow lens recommendation however, I need a prescription so, I'm looking at a bit more than $7. But, I'm still going to pursue it. Ideally, I'd like to get something with interchangeable lenses to eliminate the frame expenses.

@Rock Bottom...Hey Rock, thanks for the Prizm Field Lens recommendation. What was your adjustment period like? Had you worn them extensively away from the ballfield to help you get comfortable with them? Or did you just put them on and take the field? I was reading on the Oakley website and the technology sounds sound. It's just a lot of money for me on the prescription side without knowing how I will like them...

~Dog

[Beacher80]

36 minutes ago, SeeingEyeDog said:

@wolfe_man, thanks for the yellow lens recommendation however, I need a prescription so, I'm looking at a bit more than $7. But, I'm still going to pursue it. Ideally, I'd like to get something with interchangeable lenses to eliminate the frame expenses.

@Rock Bottom...Hey Rock, thanks for the Prizm Field Lens recommendation. What was your adjustment period like? Had you worn them extensively away from the ballfield to help you get comfortable with them? Or did you just put them on and take the field? I was reading on the Oakley website and the technology sounds sound. It's just a lot of money for me on the prescription side without knowing how I will like them...

~Dog

I got the prizm field lenses on my flak jacket 2.0 Oakleys.   With my prescription.   No adjustment period at all, I just saw clearer right away.  Called games with them, drove with them.  They just make being outside more enjoyable to be honest, the clarity is the thing that really stands out.  They fit under my mask without a problem and have never come off when I've ripped my mask off.  That may be just a matter of time though, so I have been trying to find a tight strap to hold them in place.  Like rec specs.  

 

Fwiw I got mine online from lens crafters.  They were expensive, but getting prescription Oakleys i knew that to be the case.  And LC had the best price I saw at the time (last spring)

[Rock Bottom]

16 hours ago, SeeingEyeDog said:

 

@Rock Bottom...Hey Rock, thanks for the Prizm Field Lens recommendation. What was your adjustment period like? Had you worn them extensively away from the ballfield to help you get comfortable with them? Or did you just put them on and take the field? I was reading on the Oakley website and the technology sounds sound. It's just a lot of money for me on the prescription side without knowing how I will like them...

~Dog

I didn't have any adjustment period at all.  As @Beacher80 said, I just saw clearer right away - it sounds crazy, but they are fun to wear; they make colors pop - and they greatly helped my being able to pick up pop ups faster.  I do agree it's a lot of money though, and I didn't get ones with the Rx (I wear contacts).  I only wear them for games so they are a true umpiring expense, but I got them because I loved my Oakley Radar EV Prizm Black Polarized so much I wanted a set for the field that wasn't so dark, because I can't ump day games without sunglasses.  (Well, I guess I can, but I hate to do so, between the sun and dusty fields.) 

[wolfe_man]

I can attest that the Prizm lenses are amazing!  They really do make colors pop.  For those on a budget though, I honestly think the yellow lenses really help things to "pop" also.  Now, the Prizm's are great, but I truly don't think they offer a $150+ better view than the $8 yellow shooting lenses from Wal-Mart in my honest opinion.

[Rock Bottom]

1 minute ago, wolfe_man said:

I can attest that the Prizm lenses are amazing!  They really do make colors pop.  For those on a budget though, I honestly think the yellow lenses really help things to "pop" also.  Now, the Prizm's are great, but I truly don't think they offer a $150+ better view than the $8 yellow shooting lenses from Wal-Mart in my honest opinion.

I agree re: the price difference.  I got some yellow safety lenses off of Amazon that were recommended on here, and while they fit great and are good on cloudy days, the double up lights for some reason and give me headaches.  That's the ONLY thing I don't like about them - I don't know if it's a lens quality thing or what, but again, I agree the yellow are great too, but I find them most useful for dusty cloudy days, because they actually make things a lot brighter on days like that.  On actual sunny, partially sunny days those yellow ones would be too bright for most people who are sensitive to light I'm guessing.

[Thunderheads]

OK GUYS ......... back on track here.  This is about masks, and powder coating.  Let's not stray too far from the subject matter.