Review of Schutt AiR Flex Umpire Chest Protector

This is the first article in a series of chest protector reviews that will seek to crown the “King of Chest Protectors.” This series of reviews will culminate with an article comparing the protectors and announcing a winner which will be named the Midwest Ump 2010 Umpire Merchandise Product of the Year award winner (UMPY Award) in the Chest Protector category.

The first review in this series is the Schutt AiR Flex Umpire Chest Protector. I received this protector almost two months ago and have been field testing it since that time.

Appearance
The Schutt AiR Flex Chest Protector is very cool looking. It is 17” wide and 13” measured from the neck opening to the bottom of the CP. The plates are the same design and appearance as those used by Schutt in its football pads. The color is lighter and the silver rivets are bright and not subdued. The shiny rivets and possibly the color of the Schutt CP itself could bleed through an open hole mesh shirt.

While the chest plates hug your body in a very sleek and low-profile design (the padding and plates measure a mere 1" in thickness), the shoulder caps are taller than any other hard shell chest protector I have tested. This gives you a more pronounced “line backer” look while behind the dish. Maybe that appearance is a good thing when dealing with rat coaches?

Comfort
This is the most comfortable hard shell chest protector I have tried. It is worth mentioning that I have not tried the Douglas, which I understand is very comfortable. It’s weight is well distributed and hangs from your shoulders, so it feels lighter than it is. The plates have more curve than most hard shell CPs and the quilted padding conforms to your body and “gives” when you move. There are no slippage issues outside of a rare adjustment. The harness is comfortable and keeps this CP in place. For more information on the harness, see slo8140’s review on Umpire-Empire.

The AiR Flex is based on Schutt's popular AiR Flex Shoulder Pads introduced to football in 2008, and uses a cushion technology called Brock Beads in its AiR Flex padding. Brock Beads are polyurethane foam beads that were first used in the medical field for wheel chair cushions and mattresses. When the Brock Foam is impacted, each bead moves the adjacent beads laterally and diffuses the impact again and again and again over the beads. Brock Bead technology is also used in hockey and lacrosse pads.

The Brock Foam is permeable so airflow actively circulates around the beads accelerating evaporation and keeping the body cooler. In order to enhance air circulation and aid in moisture evaporation, Schutt has placed 10 mm ventilation holes on the plastic plates and covered the Brock Foam with a polyester mesh. The 10 mm holes are an increase from the earlier Schutt AiR Flex design using 5 mm holes.

The AiR Flex kept me comfortable during late August games in the Midwest heat and humidity. It is hard to measure such things without a thermometer, but I believe I am cooler in the AiR Flex than while wearing other hard shell chest protectors.

Protection
The plates for the Schutt AiR Flex Chest protector are different than those used on the Schutt CP I tested earlier in the year. Schutt explained that the plates on the CP I previously tested were photography grade, which I thought was a bunch of hooey, but these redesigned plates are considerably more substantial and made from a more rigid plastic. The hard plastic plates measure 3mm, and the large chest plate is 12.25" long and 6.5" wide. There is also less padding around the shoulders for a more comfortable and closer fit. The plates have been re-positioned. The chest plate has been moved up closer to the neck, reducing clavicle exposure. A shoulder cap has been added to prevent gap exposure. Lateral plates have been moved closer to the chest plate.

I would like to report that the AiR Flex has superior protection. The Brock Bead technology is very impressive. The football-type plates are time tested. However, while testing this protector at a high school baseball game, I took a foul ball to the right shoulder. The pitcher was throwing no more than 75 mph. The impact was not painfully sharp, but created discomfort and was more painful than similar impacts I have experienced with the Wilson West Vest Platinum. The day after the impact, my shoulder is sore. I am not interested in being a human guinea pig to test this CP against college pitchers throwing 90+.

One design issue that may have contributed to this impact is the shoulder plate and the chest plate are two separate pieces. This is actually surprising as Schutt football shoulder pads use a one piece shoulder and chest plate. The impact of the ball on this shoulder plate jammed the plate into the padding and caused the discomfort. This also calls into question ball impacts on this plate around in the clavicle.

Pricing
The Schutt AiR Flex Chest Protector is available from the following on-line retailers:

Hit Run Score for $128

Onlinesports.com for 121.95

Fair or Foul?
The AiR Flex Chest Protector has a lot of promise on paper. However, plate placement for a umpire chest protector is extremely important and is the difference between feeling like Superman or merely Clark Kent. The AiR Flex plates appear sufficient; however the shoulder configuration must be redesigned.

In its current design, I can only recommend this protector for use in games where the pitching velocity is no more than 70 mph.

***UPDATE***
The Schutt weighs 2.13 lbs.

Umpire Chest Protector Comparison

On February 2, 2009, Midwest Ump posted its first umpire equipment review, an evaluation of the Nutty Buddy protective cup. Since that time I have been fortunate enough to review many protective items. However, the most important aspect of protective equipment is its protective qualities and, up to now, I have been unable to conduct any testing to measure these protective qualities.

Gary Considine, president Garri Productions and noted television executive producer, writer, and director, has generously donated a Herman Trainer & Sensor Set to Midwest Ump for testing umpire equipment. The Herman Trainer is essentially an affordable accelerometer ($99.95), which measures G force impacts. The Herman Trainer is widely used in martial arts training and boxing, but is also useful for measuring forces in baseball and softball, football, golf, soccer, and tennis. This device is very versatile and useful to any athlete (or curious umpire) that needs to measure impact forces. My many thanks to Mr. Considine for his generous contribution to the pursuit of umpire safety!

For the first test of the Herman Trainer and Sensor, I conducted a drop test of hard shell umpire chest protectors. The test subjects were: Wilson Platinum, Champion P210, Schutt AiR Flex, and the Champro Pro Plus Gold. The test was conducted by dropping a 10 pound weight from a height of seven feet and the sensor was duct taped to the back of the chest protector which was laid on bare ground. For you science guys, this experiment attempts to recreate the same kinetic energy of a 81 mph fastball. The impacts were made at the center of the chest plate.

The measurements of the impact forces (displayed as twice the G force on the Herman Trainer) were the following:

Schutt - 40
Champro - 41
Champion - 42
Wilson - 45

After inspecting the CPs, the impact of the dropped ten pound weight was clearly visible. A dent was left on the Champion and Champro. The Wilson was scratched, but not dented. Only the Schutt plate actually cracked. In fairness, the Schutt Company has expressed that it is still developing the AiR Flex for public distribution*. Hopefully the final version can withstand such impacts.

* I found two retailers on-line offering the Schutt AiR Flex CP for sale.

Of course, measuring the G forces is only part of the story. Below is a brief overview and review of each chest protector.


Schutt AiR Flex Umpire Chest Protector
The Schutt AiR Flex is the most comfortable protector and the most breathable of the chest protectors included in this testing. The AiR Flex is based on Schutt's popular AiR Flex Shoulder Pads introduced to football in 2008, and uses a cushion technology called Brock Beads in its AiR Flex padding. Brock Beads are polyurethane foam beads that were first used in the medical field for wheel chair cushions and mattresses. When the Brock Foam is impacted, each bead moves the adjacent beads laterally and diffuses the impact again and again and again over the beads. Brock Bead technology is also used in hockey and lacrosse pads.

The Brock Foam is permeable so airflow actively circulates around the beads accelerating evaporation and keeping the body cooler. In order to enhance air circulation and aid in moisture evaporation, Schutt has placed 5 mm ventilation holes on the plastic plates and covered the Brock Foam with a polyester mesh.

Large hard plastic plates act as the protector's first line of defense and diffuse ball impacts. The epaulet style shoulder caps are connected with Velcro and are adjustable for a more custom fit. The AiR Flex is available in M/L and XL/XXL sizes. The M/L fits 38” – 44” chest sizes and the XL/XXL fits 46” to 52” chest sizes.

Schutt sent me a M/L AiR Flex to test. My chest measures 46", so the M/L was a little snug, comfortable. The adjustable shoulder caps enhanced the fit. The AiR Flex is advertised as 14.5” long for the XL/XXL, and 13.5" for the M/L. My measurement from the collar to the bottom of the protector was 12.5”.

The front plates are very substantial and measure 11.5" long. The two large plates are attached with Velcro for cleaning. The padding and plate measure about 1 inch, although the plates are raised at points.

While I have a mild concern for the exposure outisde the plates at the ribs where the only protection is the Brock Foam, I have serious concerns for the protection around the clavicle. I put on a traditional mask and used a baseball to check its clavicle protection. I believe a ball could get past the plates and I doubt the Brock Foam's ability to protect the collar bone from a foul baseball. A softball, however, should not get past the plates to the collar bone.

The Schutt AiR Flex Umpire Chest Protector is advertised as available for purchase from the following retailers:

Online Sports for $121.95

Hit Run Score for $128.99

BOTTOM LINE: There are many things to like about the Schutt AiR Flex Umpire Chest Protector. It is light, highly breathable, available in different sizes, and is adjustable for a custom fit. However, the lack of clavicle protection really bothers me and, of course, the AiR Flex cracked during the drop test (although it scored highest in the G force measurement). Schutt is on the right track, but they need to finish the race.

Wilson Platinum
The Wilson Platinum scored worst in the drop test which is not surprising considering the tight, low-profile design and 1.25 inch thickness of padding and plastic plate. The Platinum has several plastic plates connected by rivets. I have been using this protector for two seasons and the drop test barely produced a scratch on the plastic plates.

The Wilson Platinum has the best clavicle protection. I don't understand why other chest protectors don't move their plates closer to the clavicle. It is not uncomfortable. The Wilson Platinum also sports additional breast plate protection.

The only criticism of the Platinum is that it tends to "droop" at times. While an adjustment in the straps will largely correct this issue, it doesn't fully solve the problem.

My Wilson Platinum measures 12.5" from the collar to bottom of the protector.

The Wilson Platinum Umpire Chest Protector is available from many retailers, including:

HQ4Sports for $139.95 with free shipping.

BOTTOM LINE: As Tina sang it, "You're simply the best. Better than all the rest. . ." I bet it annoys the other manufacturers to chase the Wilson Platinum year after year. It remains the best on the market, although the technology is getting a little dated. Note that it also performed worst in the drop test.


Champro Pro Plus Gold Chest Protector

The good folks at Champro sent me the Pro Plus Gold Chest Protector last summer to test and provide feedback. I now see that it is being offered to the public, so I included it in my current testing.

The Pro Plus Gold is the thickest protector in the test at 1.75 inches (padding and plate). As a result of the thick padding, it is quite bulky and not very breathable. On the other hand, I tested this CP in August heat in Missouri and I didn't find it any hotter than my Wilson Platinum.

The Pro Plus Gold has a stiff foam padding around the clavicle. It also features plastic buckles that beg to be broken by ball impacts. At 15" long it covers the ribs sufficiently and offers good protection around the abdomen.

The Champro Pro Plus Gold Umpire Chest Protector is available at:

Pro-Ref for $109.00

BOTTOM LINE: The Champro Pro Plus Gold Chest Protector is bulky and should be redesigned for less padding. The plastic plates held up and the protector performed well during the drop test. I have found the Champro to be a very savvy company with a keen eye for detail. While I think very highly of several of Champro's products, I think it has missed the mark with this hard shell chest protector.


Champion P210 Chest Protector
I REALLY LIKE the Champion P210 Chest Protector! Champion offers this CP in three lengths: the P200 at 17"; the P210 at 15"; and the P220 at 13". My Champion P210 measures an accurate 15".

The thickness of the Champion is 1.4". It is not bulky, however it retains a very substantial feel. It performed well during the drop test and withstood the impact.

The clavicle protection could be better. The plates are unnecessarily a little far from the collar bone, and could be relocated closer. That is the only criticism I have of this fantastic chest protector.

The Champion P Series Chest Protectors are available from:

Sport About Equipment for $40.95 (where I bought mine)

THE BOTTOM LINE: I highly recommend this CP for beginner and advanced umpires. It is serviceable at upper levels and I know of one umpire who wears it during D-I college games. The price is just unbeatable and the protection is very good.