chest protector What do you want to see in the future when it comes to umpire chest protector padding?

[Umpiresrock74]

Hello everyone! Hope everyone is doing well. Today I will be asking you the question "What do you want to see in the future when it comes to umpire chest protector padding?". I would love to hear your guises response. 
 

A example:

"I think padding that is breathable, and more lightweight and thin would be a better product, compared to (filll in the blank). Or if a new padding was created, you shoudl add (fill in the blank). 

 

Thanks everyone! Happy Umpiring! Merry Christmas! Enjoy!

[The Short Umpire]

Guys’* not “guises”
 

An example* not “A example”

[Umpiresrock74]

1 minute ago, The Short Umpire said:

Guys’* not “guises”
 

An example* not “A example”

My bad. Yes your correct. Give me some slack, I am a kid. 

[The Short Umpire]

Sorry, I couldn’t resist… 

[Umpiresrock74]

Lol. Bro, I am giving you crap. Your all good. I don’t take offense easily. I appreciate it. I am texting from my phone, so sometimes it is harder for me to make sure all the punctuation is correct. 

[Umpiresrock74]

Though, however, what do you think of the protector?

[SeeingEyeDog]

Team Wendy style padding but engineered for all-weather so the padding isn't too firm in the cold, with an added layer of kevlar and then a Douglas style shell. Overall, the CP should provide full protection down to the top of the beltline.

~Dawg

[Umpiresrock74]

Hey dawg, if I may ask, why the Kevlar, is it a gimmick? You do know Kevlar is fabric, and won’t really protect you from a baseball. I know someone who is a lieutenant and he has shown me his vest before. All it is is fabric winded together tightly. Now, when I say fabric, I mean Kevlar is kinda like a fabric material.  

[wolfe_man]

FWIW, Team Wendy is not the best thing out there today.  There are thinner and better foam laminates to use as a sandwich (layers) that will breathe better, offer the same or better protection, be lighter weight - and be as thin or possibly thinner than TW. 

I like the TW's - but if you've got one, then you know they're heavy and hot.  Some say they feel the impacts more in theirs too, not hurt but feel.  While I know that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery - sometimes we need to reinvent the wheel (cover) to do what's best.

It's not always the rarest or most expensive item that's the best out there for us.   It that were always true, then the Belgard series would be the best at everything. I love their pads and their quality work - but I'm not sure their $600-900 CPs are THAT much better than anything else that we have... but even if that were true, then it's because their gear is hand-made by Japanese craftsmen.  You can't get that price down to affordable for the masses when doing hand-made, so we'll never see that quality from a big company. 

If we're trying to make a custom CP pad that all can afford and still offer well-made, lightweight, low profile, breathable with great protection - then I'm all for using the new modern foams over the heavier Zorbium.  IMHO, it's time to go outside of the box that we're used to seeing and come up with something new and better. Redesign the entire thing for a better fit and function.

Just my two cents. 

[ArchAngel72]

Honestly  the AS Cobalt CP I got was incredible for me and my body shape (round)  The center pad I removed for heat when it got hot which gave me a channel down the middle which was nice and the pads were breathable.

Maybe slightly thicker material on the hard skins for more rigidity?  but that was also the nice thing about it was the flex of it.  The older system 7 was thicker and it was a tank compared to the cobalt but it was also heavier and hotter. 

Sigh  having only had those 2 plus a champion which had not plastic outer on it meh its tough to compare.

 

maybe break up the pads into smaller clusters that give more channels of air breathable "ness"?

 

[SeeingEyeDog]

14 hours ago, Umpiresrock74 said:

Hey dawg, if I may ask, why the Kevlar, is it a gimmick? You do know Kevlar is fabric, and won’t really protect you from a baseball. I know someone who is a lieutenant and he has shown me his vest before. All it is is fabric winded together tightly. Now, when I say fabric, I mean Kevlar is kinda like a fabric material.  

I tried a Force3 Chest Protector and liked the Kevlar layer's ability to disperse the impact of a baseball but, I'm not spending $300 on that particular CP...

It's difficult for an umpire to analyze and or qualify impact protection because on a baseball field with human players, no two impacts are alike. We can't replicate the same impacts wearing different equipment. Whatever passes for data from umpires' experiences is not empirical or actionable. I was fascinated to watch Stan Jurga from All-Star sports a few years ago film a video about how they do their laboratory testing on all of their products. In that kind of environment, the impacts can be controlled and repeated endlessly, thus giving you the benefit of the potential for damage on one particular impact as well as repeating it and then giving you the cumulative effects.

I know government regulation of things is personal and political...I do think that we can all agree that if we, as a society are truly interested in reducing the risk and severity of potential injuries on a baseball field (particularly for youth players...), we would want some form of official US minimum standard for sporting goods the way we do for seat belts and other safety devices. NOCSAE, while adopted by NFHS and other governing bodies is not sufficient in my opinion...

~Dawg

[umpstu]

Bought the Wilson MLB West Vest Gold Memory Foam chest protector last season and have to say I love it. Don't hate me Max, I didn't know it would be so good. Did add the UMPLIFE harness.

[Umpiresrock74]

12 hours ago, umpstu said:

Bought the Wilson MLB West Vest Gold Memory Foam chest protector last season and have to say I love it. Don't hate me Max, I didn't know it would be so good. Did add the UMPLIFE harness.

Hi umpstu, im sorry, I cant even understand the difference between the 2, its still memory foam, and to be honest, it still is less protective. In my opinion. I get it that it molds well, I just wilson would actaully do something different. 

[MadMax]

On 12/18/2023 at 3:50 PM, Umpiresrock74 said:

"What do you want to see in the future when it comes to umpire chest protector padding?"

I've already envisioned it. Behold... 

Who needs padding when you've got plasma shields? And notice!... the shield is transparent. No one can b!tch at you about not seeing the play! 

Now, aside from that, I (and several others here) already own the padding that should be used on CPs... it's this right here: 

Schutt had jumped aboard the D3O wagon well, well before the material even was fully understood. The advanced TPU-EVA foam is engineered to molecularly alter and react to an impact, all while remaining hydrophobic (sheds water) and structurally unaffected by heat. Schutt first employed D3O into their line of NFL-quality football helmets, as this advanced foam was far, far superior in protection, "cooler" (less insulative), and less voluminous than "cheese pack" open-cell foam, more adaptive and pliant than crude, basic closed cell foam, and a helluva lot lighter and, again, "cooler" than memory foam. 

The Schutt XV suffered from only two "flaws", neither of which had to do with the D3O laminate foam, nor the "cheese grater" ABS carapace plates... which, to a letter, were fantastic as always, lending to Schutt's innovative designs on their football shoulder pads. These flaws were: 

1. The pathetic attachment velcro between the foam pad and the carapace plates. 
2. The lack of brand-item recognition, or endorsement, a flaw or fault that befalls nearly every product in the umpire gear space that doesn't have the Lou Gehrig logo on it. 

That's it. Oh sure, the pre-Adams version had an utterly horrible harness-yoke thing that I cut away and modified so as to accommodate an UmpLife or DeltaFlex harness (and Schutt-Adams subsequently copied without giving me any acknowledgement), and its one-size-fits-most nature didn't fit everybody, but the thing was absolute nails... nails... in multi-game PU work, or in hot, sweltering environments. 

Now, does the next great CP need to have D3O? Not necessarily... D3O (the company) is a lot like BASF, and is very particular about who they partner with and supply their foam to. The same can be said about Team Wendy's and Zorbium. However, it does need to be more attentively and consciously advanced than sofa cushion or crude memory foam. 

[concertman1971]

On 12/19/2023 at 9:40 AM, SeeingEyeDog said:

I was fascinated to watch Stan Jurga from All-Star sports a few years ago film a video about how they do their laboratory testing on all of their products.

@SeeingEyeDog do you happen to have a link to that video?

 

[BT_Blue]

17 hours ago, concertman1971 said:

@SeeingEyeDog do you happen to have a link to that video?

 

There was a Zoom that Jim Kirk did with Stan and a few others from All Star during the year that must not be mentioned. But no clue where to even begin to find that.

They do also have videos of this kind of testing on their YouTube page.

[SeeingEyeDog]

18 hours ago, concertman1971 said:

@SeeingEyeDog do you happen to have a link to that video?

 

CM, here's a link to A video with Stan where he talks about and shows them testing their gear but, this is not THE video I was thinking of. @JimKirk, do you have a link to the Zoom you guys did when you announced the All-Star Cobalt line launch, please? That Zoom also showed Stan testing equipment. I think that was 2 years ago...

CM, you could also search Jim Kirk's posts here on U-E as I believe he posted somewhere on here...