Skull Cap Breakdown

[AtlUmp]

Fun fact, Amazon has the Coolflo matte black medium on sale for <$26. Got one arriving the same time as the D3O linear and will see how modding goes.

Thanks to @TheLovejoy for confirming all the sizes are the same physical dimensions, was able to save some money by buying the cheapest size and then rip the padding out of that one.

[Velho]

22 minutes ago, AtlUmp said:

Fun fact, Amazon has the Coolflo matte black medium on sale for <$26. Got one arriving the same time as the D3O linear and will see how modding goes.

👍

That's the first skully I bought. Felt like I should have gotten an ice cream sundae in it.

My Axis Pro gets delivered Saturday. Also thank you to @TheLovejoy since I bought the XL to mix pads with my current short billed L.

[TheLovejoy]

On 5/20/2026 at 10:15 AM, MadMax said:

@TheLovejoy this 👆🏼 is D3O when it first hit the baseball equipment scene in 2014-15. Schutt had been already using it in football helmets and “speed position” shoulder pads, and so took a chance on pairing it to the umpire’s CP that they were (re)introducing, the XV. 

The carapace plates would be at the bottom in that stack, while body contact would be at the top. 

It wasn’t well-received at first, because of three factors, all three of which were regarding perceived value, not substantiated value: 

1. It was orange, and a loud, immutable orange at that; to (way too) conservatively-minded umpires, it looked gimmicky
2. It was only 15mm thick (by contrast, a Wilson Gold is ≈ 25mm), somewhat pliant, and was riddled with 10mm ventilation holes; to umpires familiar or conditioned to the bulky sofa-cushion foam tanks, it looked weird and uncomfortable
3. It was only $85 (at introduction). While that was mightily attractive to amateur/frugal umpires (hey! they can be mutually exclusive!), it unsettled “pro” umpires, who again had become conditioned on paying > $150+ (try $225-$250) for “Pro”-grade stuff; it looked cheap and fragile

So in this case, the D3O foam itself was “installed” or “packaged”, absent any additional “fill” foam (like the All-Star Cobalt CP does). While it certainly could function on its own, if it needed “sizing” or gap or volume -filling additional foam, it would be best to install those at the specific spots and achieve a closer fit. 

Same principles apply to the skullcaps. 
Make sense? 

Yes. Absolutely does. 
I think I'll keep my sizing foam in the back, and the D30 in the front where the impact comes from. 

[TheLovejoy]

On 5/20/2026 at 10:45 AM, AtlUmp said:

Fun fact, Amazon has the Coolflo matte black medium on sale for <$26. Got one arriving the same time as the D3O linear and will see how modding goes.

Thanks to @TheLovejoy for confirming all the sizes are the same physical dimensions, was able to save some money by buying the cheapest size and then rip the padding out of that one.

 I want to hear how this goes, the process, the results. I'm the most intrigued on this. The Rawlings padding has been thin enough, and it's 'clean/smooth' enough that any padding that I've stuck to the inside of it for sizing, has stuck and stayed without any problems at all.
 

[AtlUmp]

Game Breaker foam came in, looks to be 6mm of D3O with an antimicrobial backing. It can slot right inside the foam lining but it does shrink the size so if it is a loose fit it might work but for an already sized helmet expect that you will need to rip out the stock padding to make it work.

The brim padding ripped right out as one piece but the top part was more difficult and wanted to disintegrate. Will need to go back over with some goo gone or something to get the rest of the glue out. Since I won't be reusing the stock pads I made sure to get some photos for comparison.

Once you have the empty shell, the liner goes in and sits decently flush. Some of the back will need to be trimmed to be flush with the helmet and I am planning to use the trimmings to fit in the gaps and size the liner unless I need a smaller mm sizing liner. I tried the pairing with my heaviest mask, Mizuno 1DJQH120, and didn't have any shifting issues with it at 7 5/8 hat size and no attachment method. The liner does block some of the vents and at a minimum I would recommend trimming out the back vent area to get airflow back. The default crown liner is 2ish mm thicker than the D30 so you may find you want to add some liner material there to get it sitting where you want height wise.

My end goal plan is going to be trimming the wings off around where it bends and using velcro to install the crown flush and add a 2mm sizing liner if it is needed. I'll then trim some of the liner between the top and sides to create a ventilation channel around the top like the skull caps have by default. The wings and trimmings will be installed around the rim with velcro in a line like the original Rawlings pads and I'll just use the D3O. For me it is snug enough that I should not need a liner as my Mizuno titanium and mirage are light enough that no shifting occurs but that may change when I trim for fit. The Mizuno 120 is too low profile to use with the Rawlings like the AS I would not recommend wearing it so no need to worry how those work with the cap. All in all, looks like a good mod to upgrade the skull cap.

PS. as I was about to submit this I found that the liner near the back vent was starting to tear due to the liner bending for fit and how it interacts with the vent while being worn. It doesn't look to be an issue for me since I plan to trim the wings off there anyway to separate the crown from the wings for a more personalized fit but wanted to share anyway. link to all photos of this project, will add more as I keep working https://imgur.com/a/rawlings-d3o-AGgprjW

[834k3r]

On 5/24/2026 at 8:51 AM, AtlUmp said:

Game Breaker foam came in, looks to be 6mm of D3O with an antimicrobial backing. It can slot right inside the foam lining but it does shrink the size so if it is a loose fit it might work but for an already sized helmet expect that you will need to rip out the stock padding to make it work.

The brim padding ripped right out as one piece but the top part was more difficult and wanted to disintegrate. Will need to go back over with some goo gone or something to get the rest of the glue out. Since I won't be reusing the stock pads I made sure to get some photos for comparison.

Once you have the empty shell, the liner goes in and sits decently flush. Some of the back will need to be trimmed to be flush with the helmet and I am planning to use the trimmings to fit in the gaps and size the liner unless I need a smaller mm sizing liner. I tried the pairing with my heaviest mask, Mizuno 1DJQH120, and didn't have any shifting issues with it at 7 5/8 hat size and no attachment method. The liner does block some of the vents and at a minimum I would recommend trimming out the back vent area to get airflow back. The default crown liner is 2ish mm thicker than the D30 so you may find you want to add some liner material there to get it sitting where you want height wise.

My end goal plan is going to be trimming the wings off around where it bends and using velcro to install the crown flush and add a 2mm sizing liner if it is needed. I'll then trim some of the liner between the top and sides to create a ventilation channel around the top like the skull caps have by default. The wings and trimmings will be installed around the rim with velcro in a line like the original Rawlings pads and I'll just use the D3O. For me it is snug enough that I should not need a liner as my Mizuno titanium and mirage are light enough that no shifting occurs but that may change when I trim for fit. The Mizuno 120 is too low profile to use with the Rawlings like the AS I would not recommend wearing it so no need to worry how those work with the cap. All in all, looks like a good mod to upgrade the skull cap.

PS. as I was about to submit this I found that the liner near the back vent was starting to tear due to the liner bending for fit and how it interacts with the vent while being worn. It doesn't look to be an issue for me since I plan to trim the wings off there anyway to separate the crown from the wings for a more personalized fit but wanted to share anyway. link to all photos of this project, will add more as I keep working https://imgur.com/a/rawlings-d3o-AGgprjW

How cool would that skully look with the limited edition Enduro CP?

https://media3.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExNWthZGN0bDA3aW84MnY1a2t5cWhqdTNjY3MzaHVucTJydXozNjc4cyZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/xUOwGeP1jGGUKIGoko/giphy.gif