Douglas Shin Guards...why are they $239?

[SeeingEyeDog]

So, I have had the Force3's for 4 years now and they are my constant plate companion. I bought a pair of Schutt/Adams shin guards as backups but, I have never worn them because the Force3's are great and just so reliable, comfortable, ventilated, lightweight and durable. They are $159 give or take, plus shipping.

I have never seen a pair of Douglas shin guards in person. None of my local brothers use them either. I love my Douglas CP and admit to it also being overpriced but, it fits me the best of all modern CPs. The Douglas shin guards are made of the same materials their CPs are. I like their foam for use on a CP but, it would seem for +$80 for the shin guards from the Force3's, the Douglas would be heavier, bulkier and less ventilated.

Sell me on these shin guards, please. You guys that have them must indeed love them at these prices! Why do you love them?

~Dawg

[GerryB]

I have them and love them. But I bought them back when they were black. 15+ years ago maybe? Never seen the Force 3s, but I would look at them if I were in the market. But I'm not since the Douglas' have been indestructible and have turned aside everything they have gotten. They do have their famous squeak though 😜.

[wolfe_man]

Douglas shins are bomb-proof.   They still have the best ankle protection out there, although Wilson has it now too.  The F3 is still lacking a bit on ankle protection, the only area they lack IMHO.  But the Douglas fit great, don't move and you feel nothing when hit.  I did remove the uppermost part of the knee-guard as I felt it was too much - never missed it on mine.

They're thicker plastic and padding, so they do tend to fill up your pants leg more.  They squeak a bit in my experience also.  They are also a bit warmer than the F3's due to the increased padding.

Short answer, they're a solid 9/10 with point deducted due to heat and squeaking (barely).  Having had both, when I sold all my gear thinking I'd retire and had to purchase new shins again - I bought the new F3's.

[tpatience]

I used to feel baseballs hit me when I had the F3s. The douglas’s are bulletproof. 

[FranklinT]

Love the Douglas.  Feel they are more protective than the Wilson Gray shins and much more comfortable/lighter/slimmer than the old Wilson Black Pro Leg Guards (haven't tried the new black second generation Wilson shin guards)

[ArchAngel72]

hmm I know a ball hit the shinguard but I could not tell you exactly where with my F3's  

CLACK.. 

 

F2  "Blue you good"

 

Me: "Yep never felt it"

 

[wolfe_man]

3 minutes ago, ArchAngel72 said:

hmm I know a ball hit the shinguard but I could not tell you exactly where with my F3's  

CLACK.. 

 

F2  "Blue you good"

 

Me: "Yep never felt it"

 

To be fair, Mr Patience is seeing a lot faster pitching than you and I do.  And I might add, his level uses harder baseballs too.

[ArchAngel72]

29 minutes ago, wolfe_man said:

To be fair, Mr Patience is seeing a lot faster pitching than you and I do.  And I might add, his level uses harder baseballs too.

Well I have been plunked by 16-18U Babe Ruth kids and felt the same.. But I do not know Mr Patience's level  

 

I suppose I saw 65 to 70...Maybe 75? maybe?

 

[Thunderheads]

13 minutes ago, ArchAngel72 said:

But I do not know Mr Patience's level  

Much higher than most 😉

[ArchAngel72]

3 minutes ago, Thunderheads said:

Much higher than most 😉

TWSS?

 

[Thunderheads]

2 minutes ago, ArchAngel72 said:

TWSS?

 

???

[JSam21]

25 minutes ago, Thunderheads said:

Much higher than most 😉

I got to run around with him and a lad who was on the reserve list in 2020 in a camp setting... might have been the most overly officiated game I've ever worked. It was a fun weekend. 

Outside of a college summer league game that I worked with two D1 super regional guys... I was the "Thing that didn't belong" 😆

[ArchAngel72]

18 hours ago, Thunderheads said:

???

thats what she said.

 

Sorry not a watcher of "the office"or whatever that show was ..

 

[ChrisUrbz]

Douglas shins are 2nd to none!

[MadMax]

The reason for the (dramatic) cost difference – Douglas products are wholly and completely Made-in-the-USA 🇺🇸. 

Everything in the production process costs more – design time, materials, labor, utilities, insurance, labor benefits, more insurance, FTC fees & dues, OSHA fees & dues, EPA fees & dues, etc. While I don’t doubt that there are still people that want to “make stuff here”, I’m genuinely shocked that anyone is able to execute, fulfill, and sustain it. 

In like-product comparison, the Douglas products are denser. The ABS plastic that they use to cast parts can be heavier/thicker per unit, because they don’t have to meet a shipping weight optimization quota for the transmodal container. Where they come up short is on “design progression”; they have set on an optimized-for-them recipe (such as using Qualux – a known upholstery foam – for their umpire products) instead of trialing and infusing different foams, or changing plate shapes, or trying different fasteners (primarily because they likely bought fasteners in bulk quantities, and the fasteners are primarily made… you guessed it… overseas). 

Now, one other aspect that Douglas excels at, because they are USA-made, is product-customer relationship. This is not exactly customer service. An international corporation like Wilson can claim to provide “good” customer service when you call up to have your bent $210 titanium mask addressed, or your $220 Gold CP repaired because the stitching holding the shoulder pauldron to the torso is tearing, and Wilson simply replaces it, unit-for-unit. Douglas actually addresses the problem and rectifies it. For most typical, common users/consumers, those two solutions are similar enough to not care. For “vocation-based” users, like @tpatience @ChrisUrbz and myself, that differentiation is a major component, because our job’s performance is intimately connected to the integrity of the gear and tools we’ve invested in. We just don’t want a replacement, per se… we want that one rectified (made right). 

It’s why I buy (nearly all) Milwaukee power tools instead of Ryobi for my home renovation side-career. 

Back to Douglas, the sole reason I don’t own one of their products is due to the use of Qualux (upholstery foam). I respect them as a producer, and admire their craftsmanship, but I have that product-customer affection for Team Wendy’s (now WindPact as well), Schutt-Adams 😢, Force3 (shins), and UmpLife 🍁. 

[concertman1971]

1 hour ago, MadMax said:

🇺🇸. 

Everything in the production process costs more – design time, materials, labor, utilities, insurance, labor benefits, more insurance, FTC fees & dues, OSHA fees & dues, EPA fees & dues, etc. While I don’t doubt that there are still people that want to “make stuff here”, I’m genuinely shocked that anyone is able to execute, fulfill, and sustain it. 

I can 100% attest to this. While searching for a manufacturer here stateside for @thighpro, one of them told me that the minimum order quantity was 30k pieces. Say that out loud. Thirty. Thousand. Pieces. 

Now imagine you alhave the best idea for a new plate brush. You have to design it, find someone to make a CAD type drawing of it, source the materials, and then find a manufacturer. You will need a mold if it is plastic. FYI, molds start at $5k. Let's say you only want 1000 pieces (that's alot of plate brushes), now you find a place that will make them and they tell you it's a 30k piece minimum. But you could go offshore and have 6 made if you only want 6. 

So you spend the money to make something here in the US and the comments are things like "how much?????" Or "I can get those for $xx on Amazon. Well, the thing is, you can't get what is made in the USA from a knockoff place that just steals someone's idea and reproduces it (poorly and typically with lesser quality material), because that item was not made in the USA. 

I think I was first introduced to this concept in the 90s when I wore Dickies brand shorts daily (I also had blonde hair and a bad goatee, but that's a different story). "Real" Dickies cost about 40/pair and had thick belt loops , a metal clasp, and the material was thick and held a nice crease. Went to Walmart and they had Dickies for about $20. You know why? Thin material, tiny belt loops and a button. 

Made in the USA is not always better, but it often is. 

Rant: off

Edited June 7, 2023 by concertman1971
Pushed save too soon

[BT_Blue]

All of this and more is what still makes me sad that Jeff and I couldn't get that original Douglas WV to work for me! I totally had a plan to snazzy it up and everything. Thankfully it went to a good home.

When (and if) I ever back on the field again, I would like to own Douglas gear. But I have found that I really like the stuff I have. However, I will always push umpires to at least take a look at Douglas. Being made in the US is always a great sell. And something I will always 100% support. 

[D62 blue]

I have owned douglas(cp & leg guards) gear for more than a decade now . Rock solid gear, rock solid design . High quality materials with lightweight durability . I rarely see pitching above the high 80's. Have taken a variety of shots to both cp and lg . With total confidence in preventing injury . I was fortunate to purchase my gear back when it was at an affordable price .

 

Marc