mjenkins3113 0 Posted January 12 Report Share Posted January 12 Hi all, I am new here and looking for some advice on gear for my son who will beginning to umpire behind the plate this year. He is 5'0 and 90 pounds and I have been struggling to find gear that fits him that isn't his catchers gear. The main piece I want to have upgraded is his chest protector from his catchers gear. If you have suggestions on any of the piece of gear for him, it would be appreciated. I do run our youth umpire program as well, but I want him to have his own gear over sharing gear so it is always sized properly for him. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wolfe_man 913 Posted January 12 Report Share Posted January 12 A Champion CP might be a very good fit for him. To me, they're nice for smaller-bodied umpires and still offer hard-shell protection. https://www.ump-attire.com/Products/P2/Champion-Body-Armor-Umpire-Chest-Protector 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tpatience 395 Posted January 12 Report Share Posted January 12 1 hour ago, wolfe_man said: A Champion CP might be a very good fit for him. To me, they're nice for smaller-bodied umpires and still offer hard-shell protection. https://www.ump-attire.com/Products/P2/Champion-Body-Armor-Umpire-Chest-Protector Exactly what I was going to suggest 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MadMax 2,251 Posted January 12 Report Share Posted January 12 1 hour ago, mjenkins3113 said: gear for my son who will beginning to umpire behind the plate this year. “Wilson’s all ya need.” “Buy for the baseball you want to be doing.” “If the guys in the Bigs use it, it must be right.” Whew! Aren’t we glad that ya came here and talked with us, huh? I think my esteemed fellow gear-geek Wolfe’s got you on the best track for your son’s first few years of umpiring – either a Small Champion P2xx (in your case, it’d be a 13” P220), or a used Wilson Gold in Small (but even this might be a bit hefty). The advantages the Champion have over the Wilson are on width (narrower), bulk (lighter, less superfluous material), and cost (half the price tag, and your money doesn’t go off to pay some ridiculous licensing fee, patent cost, or somebody’s retirement fund). 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thunderheads 3,037 Posted January 12 Report Share Posted January 12 1 hour ago, MadMax said: “Wilson’s all ya need.” “Buy for the baseball you want to be doing.” “If the guys in the Bigs use it, it must be right.” Whew! Aren’t we glad that ya came here and talked with us, huh? I think my esteemed fellow gear-geek Wolfe’s got you on the best track for your son’s first few years of umpiring – either a Small Champion P2xx (in your case, it’d be a 13” P220), or a used Wilson Gold in Small (but even this might be a bit hefty). The advantages the Champion have over the Wilson are on width (narrower), bulk (lighter, less superfluous material), and cost (half the price tag, and your money doesn’t go off to pay some ridiculous licensing fee, patent cost, or somebody’s retirement fund). Max, Max, Max .... you can't help yourself, can you? No one above mentioned Wilson, did they? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kevin_K 851 Posted January 12 Report Share Posted January 12 3 hours ago, Thunderheads said: Max, Max, Max .... you can't help yourself, can you? No one above mentioned Wilson, did they? Just because no one said doesn't mean they didn't think it. Not only does @MadMax have mad skills with gear, he also has the inside track on posters' inner thoughts. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
boyinr 330 Posted January 13 Report Share Posted January 13 Another option would be a 12” Douglas. Picking one up used at a decent price might be possible. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BT_Blue 1,571 Posted January 13 Report Share Posted January 13 Beat me to the Champion recommendation as well. Hit your local Play It Again sports as the season gets closer and people start trading stuff in to replace it with new stuff. You might be able to find a steal of a deal there. But at around $60 or so. The Champion is hard to beat. (Cool side note about the Champion... at one point, it was amongst the fastest growing choices for MiLB umpires because of its protectiveness and its low price point.) 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aging_Arbiter 1,595 Posted January 13 Report Share Posted January 13 dang...........you guys are good. I was going to suggest double helpings of meat & potatoes. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BLarson 14 Posted January 13 Report Share Posted January 13 What age/level of games will he be doing? If it's younger 7/8/9u rec ball, I imagine his catcher chest protector would work fine. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BT_Blue 1,571 Posted January 14 Report Share Posted January 14 17 hours ago, Aging_Arbiter said: dang...........you guys are good. I was going to suggest double helpings of meat & potatoes. I mean... "meat and potatoes" could be a valid answer for many of life's problems. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mjenkins3113 0 Posted January 18 Author Report Share Posted January 18 Thanks for the replies and info. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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