Skull Cap Breakdown

[TheLovejoy]

Disclaimer….there are a lot of opinions and personal feel here 😊
 

All Star Cobalt:
The short brim fits with every mask on the market, so you don’t get the “direct bridge from mask to skull” effect. (If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, there’s an article floating around somewhere that talks about bill length being one of the biggest overlooked safety factors with skull caps.)

The shell itself feels DURABLE. Solid. Not flimsy at all. Unfortunately, that also makes it super heavy. I think it’s around 16 ounces or so — several ounces heavier than the Easton, which I already thought was too heavy. “Oh but I’m tough and it doesn’t bother me.” Ok, I’m not. Try a lighter one and you’ll know what I’m talking about after 4 tournament games in 100* heat.

Ventilation…..what ventilation? It doesn’t vent at all. It’s hot, and heavy.

The padding is probably the best stock padding on any of these. Between this and the Easton, they’re the most comfortable internally. However, it does not hold the skull cap in place very well. The shape is almost like a cone — it just gradually opens outward from the top until the bottom edge. Some of the others have more of a long flat section so they sit on your head more like a cylinder, if that makes sense. This one moves around the most for me.

I personally think this one looks stupid, and you can’t convince me it’s SO much safer than the others that I need to look like a dingus wearing it. Did I mention it’s hot and heavy?

 

Jadekylin Skull Cap:
This one looks the most like a regular hat, but the bill is WAY too long for probably any mask. Again, no scientific evidence here — just my experience with the All Star MAG and GD Mirage. If it’s too long for the GD Mirage, it’s probably too long for most others.

The padding is pretty stiff, but not terrible if you get the right size. I’d wear this one if I had to wear a hardhat in the field for some reason.

 

Rawlings Coolflo:
These tend to fit “longer,” but not wider.

Specifically with the All Star MAG- I originally thought the bill length was fine with the All Star MAG because I had taken several foul balls and never noticed the mask pushing back into the bill. Then I took one last year that literally left a line on my forehead where the skull cap got driven into my head. After that, I swapped back to the Easton for the rest of the season.

One interesting thing: if you order different sizes, the actual shell size is exactly the same. The only difference is the amount/thickness of the padding inside. A Large measures the same inside length and width as a Small — the Large just has thinner padding. I assume this is probably indicative of other brands to save cost on mass producing many skull caps at once, but this is the only one that I actually measured before selling the others.

To help the fit issue, I bought a set of Easton replacement batting helmet pads (NOT the actual Easton skull cap pads — and if anyone finds those, let me know because I’d LOVE them). I used one of the long oval pads in the back of the Rawlings to push my head slightly farther forward.

I tried putting extra padding in the front for additional forehead protection, but it pushed the skull cap too far off my face and made the mask feel like it was floating out in front of me. Moving the padding to the back fixed that.

I also hated the pleather pad feel on my forehead, so I added some bike helmet sweat-strip pads to the front. That helped with sweat dripping into my eyes and got rid of the pleather feeling on my forehead.

This skull cap is actually lighter than both the All Star and the Easton, so I was eager to go back to it once I got the GD Mirage. It’s what I currently use.

 

EvoShield:
First problem: the bill was WAY too long. I actually had one of our maintenance guys mill it down a bit just to see if I could make myself like it…nope.

I also hated the gloss finish, so this thing was fighting an uphill battle from the start. That said, I do think it was the lightest overall.

If they made this in matte and shortened/shaped the bill a bit, I actually think it could be a decent skully. But that was never going to happen for me.

The padding was similar to the Jadekylin — if you order the wrong size, you’re basically screwed. There isn’t a lot of forgiveness in the fit. If you’re within about a quarter hat size, you’re probably okay. But if it’s too tight, it’s REALLY too tight.

 

Easton:
I wore this one for a few years before switching to the Rawlings.

The shorter bill worked well with the All Star MAG. The inside padding has a nice moisture-wicking layer around it and is SUPER comfortable. Very soft padding.

Unlike the All Star though, this one actually stays in place well because the padding has more “give” and wraps your head better. Honestly, I’d love to somehow transplant this padding setup into the Rawlings shell.

The two issues that eventually pushed me away from it were pretty significant:

1. It’s heavy. Slightly lighter than the All Star, but still heavy.
2. It’s HOT. It vents better than the All Star, but nowhere near as well as the Rawlings or some of the lighter options.

A non-issue-issue….the forehead is raised higher than I’d like it to be, so I feel like it makes me look like a Brachiosaurus, or something.

Personally, with the addition of the little padding, I like the Rawlings much more than any of the other options.

[cgroom]

22 minutes ago, TheLovejoy said:

I also hated the pleather pad feel on my forehead, so I added some bike helmet sweat-strip pads to the front. That helped with sweat dripping into my eyes and got rid of the pleather feeling on my forehead.

I think you just changed my life while I wait for @MadMax to make the mother of all skull caps.

[umpintosh]

The breakdown I was looking for, thanks @TheLovejoy

[wolfe_man]

Here is the article from Jim Kirk:

https://www.ump-attire.com/Blog/Jim-Goes-Parental-with-Umpire-Cap-Bill-Length-Warning-on-Umpire-Empire-Post

I realize everyone's experience is different, but the AS Skully does not move on my head all game.  I wear  7 3/8 or 7 1/2 hats and use the L version and mine stays right where I put it.  I just don't like the too-short bill, but I realize it was built for the MAG.  I am thinking of buying an Axis Pro for the longer bill.  

To fix any shiny helmets, I recommend a simple coat or two of $5 spray-on Matte finish by Rustoleum. I've used it on several in the past and it lasted me several seasons.  

Thank you for the post.  This is very helpful and more discussion and info is needing shared on these.  I wholly endorse wearing one and the more that we can put out there, the safer our peers can be. 

[AtlUmp]

1) Do we even need to have brims? If it was needed for holding the mask catchers wouldn't wear the skull caps backwards. If it was needed for plays at the plate umpires would have a hat on under their helmet for when they took it off. For sun issues we have all the sunglasses and tinted lenses options provided by modern Opticians.

2) The ones that are on the market have a mixture of poor airflow, poor fit, or questionable padding due to their target market being college/pro catchers. Limited market means limited R&D and options as the companies have to charge more to get their ROI on unit price instead of volume.

Has anyone else thought to at other sports that have TBI and ventilation considerations that also have a larger target audience for alternatives that might be better for umpires. One sport that comes to my mind is hockey helmets since companies are making them wtih products like 3DO. Unfortunately, growing up in Ga I don't know anything about how hockey gear would translate to baseball.

[muellertime]

Does anyone else have an issue with their harness fitting over their skully? Just got the Rawlings (a M for my 7 3/8 head was just barely big enough FYI) to pair with my wonderful Davis Mirage and my harness was too small since I had trimmed and burned it to fit my hat. Purchased the standard Wilson harness and even at its limits, the harness only goes about 3/4 down the back of the helmet and feels like it could pop off any second.

[umpstu]

22 hours ago, TheLovejoy said:

Disclaimer….there are a lot of opinions and personal feel here 😊
 

All Star Cobalt:
The short brim fits with every mask on the market, so you don’t get the “direct bridge from mask to skull” effect. (If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, there’s an article floating around somewhere that talks about bill length being one of the biggest overlooked safety factors with skull caps.)

The shell itself feels DURABLE. Solid. Not flimsy at all. Unfortunately, that also makes it super heavy. I think it’s around 16 ounces or so — several ounces heavier than the Easton, which I already thought was too heavy. “Oh but I’m tough and it doesn’t bother me.” Ok, I’m not. Try a lighter one and you’ll know what I’m talking about after 4 tournament games in 100* heat.

Ventilation…..what ventilation? It doesn’t vent at all. It’s hot, and heavy.

The padding is probably the best stock padding on any of these. Between this and the Easton, they’re the most comfortable internally. However, it does not hold the skull cap in place very well. The shape is almost like a cone — it just gradually opens outward from the top until the bottom edge. Some of the others have more of a long flat section so they sit on your head more like a cylinder, if that makes sense. This one moves around the most for me.

I personally think this one looks stupid, and you can’t convince me it’s SO much safer than the others that I need to look like a dingus wearing it. Did I mention it’s hot and heavy?

 

Jadekylin Skull Cap:
This one looks the most like a regular hat, but the bill is WAY too long for probably any mask. Again, no scientific evidence here — just my experience with the All Star MAG and GD Mirage. If it’s too long for the GD Mirage, it’s probably too long for most others.

The padding is pretty stiff, but not terrible if you get the right size. I’d wear this one if I had to wear a hardhat in the field for some reason.

 

Rawlings Coolflo:
These tend to fit “longer,” but not wider.

Specifically with the All Star MAG- I originally thought the bill length was fine with the All Star MAG because I had taken several foul balls and never noticed the mask pushing back into the bill. Then I took one last year that literally left a line on my forehead where the skull cap got driven into my head. After that, I swapped back to the Easton for the rest of the season.

One interesting thing: if you order different sizes, the actual shell size is exactly the same. The only difference is the amount/thickness of the padding inside. A Large measures the same inside length and width as a Small — the Large just has thinner padding. I assume this is probably indicative of other brands to save cost on mass producing many skull caps at once, but this is the only one that I actually measured before selling the others.

To help the fit issue, I bought a set of Easton replacement batting helmet pads (NOT the actual Easton skull cap pads — and if anyone finds those, let me know because I’d LOVE them). I used one of the long oval pads in the back of the Rawlings to push my head slightly farther forward.

I tried putting extra padding in the front for additional forehead protection, but it pushed the skull cap too far off my face and made the mask feel like it was floating out in front of me. Moving the padding to the back fixed that.

I also hated the pleather pad feel on my forehead, so I added some bike helmet sweat-strip pads to the front. That helped with sweat dripping into my eyes and got rid of the pleather feeling on my forehead.

This skull cap is actually lighter than both the All Star and the Easton, so I was eager to go back to it once I got the GD Mirage. It’s what I currently use.

 

EvoShield:
First problem: the bill was WAY too long. I actually had one of our maintenance guys mill it down a bit just to see if I could make myself like it…nope.

I also hated the gloss finish, so this thing was fighting an uphill battle from the start. That said, I do think it was the lightest overall.

If they made this in matte and shortened/shaped the bill a bit, I actually think it could be a decent skully. But that was never going to happen for me.

The padding was similar to the Jadekylin — if you order the wrong size, you’re basically screwed. There isn’t a lot of forgiveness in the fit. If you’re within about a quarter hat size, you’re probably okay. But if it’s too tight, it’s REALLY too tight.

 

Easton:
I wore this one for a few years before switching to the Rawlings.

The shorter bill worked well with the All Star MAG. The inside padding has a nice moisture-wicking layer around it and is SUPER comfortable. Very soft padding.

Unlike the All Star though, this one actually stays in place well because the padding has more “give” and wraps your head better. Honestly, I’d love to somehow transplant this padding setup into the Rawlings shell.

The two issues that eventually pushed me away from it were pretty significant:

1. It’s heavy. Slightly lighter than the All Star, but still heavy.
2. It’s HOT. It vents better than the All Star, but nowhere near as well as the Rawlings or some of the lighter options.

A non-issue-issue….the forehead is raised higher than I’d like it to be, so I feel like it makes me look like a Brachiosaurus, or something.

Personally, with the addition of the little padding, I like the Rawlings much more than any of the other options.

Gotta say thanks for the info and your great article. Appreciated.

[TheLovejoy]

48 minutes ago, muellertime said:

Does anyone else have an issue with their harness fitting over their skully? Just got the Rawlings (a M for my 7 3/8 head was just barely big enough FYI) to pair with my wonderful Davis Mirage and my harness was too small since I had trimmed and burned it to fit my hat. Purchased the standard Wilson harness and even at its limits, the harness only goes about 3/4 down the back of the helmet and feels like it could pop off any second.

I won't lie, I'm an UmpLife harness snob, and they've all been fitted around the Rawlings Skully. (Then, since I'm a nerd, I have a backup Rawlings skully, then, another backup to that backup), and an extra harness. However, that's all nothingness. I just mean the UmpLife harness is long enough for anything I've done with it.

I think there is a big anti cut-and-burn group in here somewhere.

[Velho]

1 hour ago, muellertime said:

Does anyone else have an issue with their harness fitting over their skully? Just got the Rawlings (a M for my 7 3/8 head was just barely big enough FYI) to pair with my wonderful Davis Mirage

I have 7 3/8 and wear AS Cobalt short brim size L. Using an ump life harness with no fitting issues.

Still working on getting mask off clean. Have found pulling out and more downward then with a hat seems to work best. I have no natural friction (i.e. hair) though. Still playing with it.

[Rock Bottom]

Nice review! My two cents:

For the All-Star if you find it slipping I recommend getting another set of pads and mixing two sizes. I'm a 7-3/8 and in theory the large should fit me, but the large slips, but the medium is too tight. M/L mixture is PERFECT for me. As for the looks, no, it doesn't look great, but I think the padding is the best of any other option, so I'll take (perceived anyway) improved protection and comfort (again, my perception) over looks.

I don't notice the weight or have venting problems with the UmpLife harness (I did have them with the DeltaFlex, because that harness is designed for catchers, so when you wear the mask forwards the DF covers the vent holes - that's not an issue with the UL, but overall I do like the DF harness better because I think it slips less.) I'm pretty certain the shell of the AS is the same size no matter what padding you get. Mentioning that only because this issue was mentioned on the Rawlings.

I'd REALLY love if Gerry Davis and/or @MadMax come out with a true UMPIRE skull cap - with great padding made for umps, but until I can consider that option I'm sticking with the All-Star and recommending it to all my partners. Overall what I love to see, no matter which one, is so many of us using skull caps now!