Belgard

[MidAmUmp]

1 hour ago, MadMax said:

You have a beautiful mask there, @MidAmUmp... pay no attention to the barbaric butcher. 

Thanks. If it were any other mask, I'd consider chopping it, but I'm not chopping off a Nike.

[tpatience]

2 hours ago, MidAmUmp said:

Thanks. If it were any other mask, I'd consider chopping it, but I'm not chopping off a Nike.

Not with that attitude you’re not 

[GreyhoundAggie]

3 hours ago, MidAmUmp said:

They look cool. From a safety standpoint, I'd say Team Wendy are better. I don't remember what I paid for them at the time, but I believe the price + shipping has gone up quite a bit since then.

Good to know. I bought some Team Wendy's last month. Thanks for answering back.

[Scissors]

Going to bring this back because I am a full on Belgard convert now. After getting concussed with Honig's, I can't see myself using anything but Belgard or All Star Mag pads. And no, I don't like TWs. Absolutely worth it to me.

[GreyhoundAggie]

They are nice looking pads. I got both TW and Mag pads but i've been using my Mag pads the whole time so far.

Super pleased with them to date.

[MadMax]

On 4/3/2022 at 8:59 PM, Scissors said:

After getting concussed with Honig's, I can't see myself using anything but Belgard or All Star Mag pads. And no, I don't like TWs.

After experiencing a concussion while wearing Honig's... 

Scissors, I'm correcting your statement for a reason, not targeting you. 

Concussions are the result of an individual person's brain colliding or impacting against their skull. Now, certainly, without head protection (helmet, mask, etc.) an impacting object can hit and deform the skull such that it impacts against the brain. So too, enough force can be exerted that a whiplash effect occurs where the head moves so abruptly that the brain impacts against the skull several times as its trying to achieve equilibrium within the skull. There's not alot of wiggle room in there, granted! 

We have to get this right, though... umpire (and catcher) masks would not be produced, sold, or used if they didn't prevent a baseball (or bat, fantastically) from impacting your head directly. The pads are there to absorb and dissipate that impacting energy, minimizing the amount (of energy) that is transferring to your face and head. It's the presence of that energy that triggers your nervous system and muscles to react in a way that causes your brain to slosh around in your head and collide with your skull. 

I bring this up because even the best, most-on-top-of-it gear producers – the All-Stars, Schutts, Riddells, and Vicis of the world – cannot test for concussions. Each and every person is different, and will experience a different set of inputs and will exhibit a different set of reactions. On that same pitch that hit ya, and messed ya up, if I was wearing that same mask and pads, the odds are that I would not experience a concussion. That's not fact, that's odds... that's probability. 

Now, with that being said, you have free choice. If you feel that something other than Honig's is the best equipment for you, based on your experience with them, no one can question that. In that same vein, though, we (collectively, we will) question your choice if you descend in quality. So you don't feel confident with Honig's anymore. Understandable, that's your choice. But if you show up and tell me/us that stock Diamond pads are an improvement, we'll be mightily concerned that you suffered irreparable brain damage. 

I'll look at ya funny if you tell me that Wilson pads are any improvement, either. 🙄

Anyway, your new-found favoritism towards Belgards is well-placed, for good reason. They (and Mizuno, unless Mizuno is just rebranding their design) are the only pad-makers who are doing a segmented, recessed chin! You can't believe how much of a featured improvement this is! For while it would take an overwhelming amount of energy to directly cause a concussion, there is a specific spot that can (and does, often times) cause concussion-like symptoms and reactions when impacted. Ever hear the expression, "Take It On the Chin"? Sure ya have. A direct shot of substantial energy can push the jaw up and back and traumatize a particular cluster of nerves just below and inboard of your ears. This is why you hear a ringing in your ears. Because they've been physically affected, these nerves immediately swell and begin setting off all the alarm bells and flood the auto-response trauma center of your brain with messages. Sometimes, too, these messages will overwhelm your brain's trauma-processing center such that it says, "Okay, that's enough, I'm turning the lights out for awhile", and you black out. Why do people black out from merely witnessing a traumatic event? Sensory input overwhelms the brain's trauma-processing center. That shot to the chin ya took? Yup, sure-fire way to cause that nerve cluster to overwhelm that processor. 

It's for this reason I'm none-too-fond of Hockey Style masks. Not only am I increasing the trapped heat around my head, but in most nearly all HSM designs, there is direct contact, typically under load, between the mask pads and your chin. A force hits ya right on the chin? Its being immediately transferred to the mask pads, and that one chin pad is shoving your jaw back and up... and... CLICK! lights out. I've only seen this addressed by Rawlings (chin void) and Mizuno (floating chin, connected by flexible Delrin rods; curiously, this is NOT sold on the North American -model Samurai, but only available on the Asia -market version. Hmmmm.  Why's that?)

These Belgards, though, have that chin relief, such that the cheeks and flanks are engaged nearly a 1/2" - 3/4" before the chin is engaged, if at all! 

[Scissors]

2 hours ago, MadMax said:

These Belgards, though, have that chin relief, such that the cheeks and flanks are engaged nearly a 1/2" - 3/4" before the chin is engaged, if at all! 

That's why they are so good in my opinion. The lack of chin contact has really helped in jaw shots, same with the mag pads. It feels like they disperse the force onto my cheeks and jaw and keep the pressure away from my chin.

[GreyhoundAggie]

I took a weird bouncer of the turf in a JV game this week that just hit me at the funny angle in my chin. Rung me more than a foul back shot. 

Shows how the pads are designed to take impact a certain way.

[johnnyg08]

8 hours ago, GreyhoundAggie said:

I took a weird bouncer of the turf in a JV game this week that just hit me at the funny angle in my chin. Rung me more than a foul back shot. 

Shows how the pads are designed to take impact a certain way.

For sure..there's no way we can remain mobile and have every piece of our bodies free from harm or risk of bruise. 

[Velho]

9 minutes ago, johnnyg08 said:

For sure..there's no way we can remain mobile and have every piece of our bodies free from harm or risk of bruise. 

That's not what my mom always said...

[johnnyg08]

2 minutes ago, Velho said:

That's not what my mom always said...

That's pretty good! Well played!

[Chris Hickman]

Wanna give a shout out to Whosyourcaddy aka Mike Jarboe. Mike has been a good friend for a long time and he did a lot of work trying to bring these masks to us… I have been using the Ti for about 10 years and it still my fav……









Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Velho]

21 minutes ago, Chris Hickman said:

Wanna give a shout out to Whosyourcaddy aka Mike Jarboe. Mike has been a good friend for a long time and he did a lot of work trying to bring these masks to us… I have been using the Ti for about 10 years and it still my fav……

What's the middle one? Looks very unique.

[MadMax]

2 hours ago, Velho said:

What's the middle one? Looks very unique.

Our friend-of-the-show @Chris Hickman is a bit of a cold-hearted butcher… the bottom two masks are (chin-) chopped. The middle one is a FM4K Mag while the bottom is a Nike Icon Ti. 

Chopped. 

😡

Butcher. 

[tpatience]

55 minutes ago, MadMax said:

Our friend-of-the-show @Chris Hickman is a bit of a cold-hearted butcher… the bottom two masks are (chin-) chopped. The middle one is a FM4K Mag while the bottom is a Nike Icon Ti. 

Chopped. 

😡

Butcher. 

What’s the point in the mag chin guard? Nothing. Same with the Nike 😉

[Kelly McNary]

I’m a recent purchaser of the Belgard umpire mask pads. I hear some of you say you like them for both looks and safety. Others say they like the looks, but the pads might not be as safe as ALL-Star mag pads or TW pads. 
 

My question is does anyone know of any testing that’s been done for the Belgard pads? I have the W style pads. They are extremely comfortable. Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks in advance! 

[BT_Blue]

On 4/14/2022 at 10:17 PM, MadMax said:

Our friend-of-the-show @Chris Hickman is a bit of a cold-hearted butcher… the bottom two masks are (chin-) chopped. The middle one is a FM4K Mag while the bottom is a Nike Icon Ti. 

Chopped. 

😡

Butcher. 

 

On 4/14/2022 at 11:13 PM, tpatience said:

What’s the point in the mag chin guard? Nothing. Same with the Nike 😉

You KNOW I'm just as guilty of this as the next guy! Lol

Though credit for this goes to @acpar72since he is the guy I bought it from a few years back.

[Kelly McNary]

I really like the look of the chopped MAG💯

[The Ripper]

On 11/23/2023 at 3:06 AM, BT_Blue said:

 

You KNOW I'm just as guilty of this as the next guy! Lol

Though credit for this goes to @acpar72since he is the guy I bought it from a few years back.

I love the look, looks sharp with the shovel TG! Black on black is a good look, I think the chopped MAG and TI look great, so many guys like Adam Beck and Cory Blaser wear the chopped Nike TI in the big league, lot of guys wear MAG like Eatabrook and Fletcher, but no one has a chopped MAG. Anyway love the mask!

[BT_Blue]

26 minutes ago, UmpWRB4 said:

I love the look, looks sharp with the shovel TG! Black on black is a good look, I think the chopped MAG and TI look great, so many guys like Adam Beck and Cory Blaser wear the chopped Nike TI in the big league, lot of guys wear MAG like Eatabrook and Fletcher, but no one has a chopped MAG. Anyway love the mask!

I think I remember seeing one. But the extention on those are so small you almost wouldn't know if it wasn't there. Lol

Heck... one of the call up guys actually rocks a Rampage! 

I would say the trend started getting going in the amateur ranks when seeing the Mizunos worn by guys like Fonzi Marquez, Ted Barrett, and Mark Rippinger. I know my first one, a Diamond Aluminum with Wilson two-tone pads and a Spyder TG, was modeled after Marquez.

[The Ripper]

1 hour ago, BT_Blue said:

I think I remember seeing one. But the extention on those are so small you almost wouldn't know if it wasn't there. Lol

Heck... one of the call up guys actually rocks a Rampage! 

I would say the trend started getting going in the amateur ranks when seeing the Mizunos worn by guys like Fonzi Marquez, Ted Barrett, and Mark Rippinger. I know my first one, a Diamond Aluminum with Wilson two-tone pads and a Spyder TG, was modeled after Marquez.

Charlie Ramos is the call up you are referring to, he used to wear the champro rampage with a Samurai wire TG, but this year he switched to a Wilson titanium and kept the Samurai TG.

[BT_Blue]

On 11/24/2023 at 6:35 PM, The Ripper said:

Charlie Ramos is the call up you are referring to, he used to wear the champro rampage with a Samurai wire TG, but this year he switched to a Wilson titanium and kept the Samurai TG.

He isn't wearing the Rampage any more? That's a shame! I always had a good time doing double takes when I would see it. Lol