Review of Smitty Apparel Expander Waist Umpire Pants (BBS-376)

Most baseball umpire associations around the country are now choosing charcoal as the pants color of choice. [“Pants?” “Pant?” Well, pants is the 19^th century shortened version of pantaloons. It seems that even then there was disagreement on whether the correct version should be “pant” or “pants:”  The thing named ‘pants’ in certain documents, A word not made for gentlemen, but ‘gents’. –American jurist/poet Oliver Wendell Holmes, Rhymed Lesson, 1846. With all due deference to Justice Holmes, I will stick with "pants" for purposes of this article. – ed.] Actually, this shift may have more to do with shirt color, since many groups now choose polo blue, black and cream colored shirts, which look best with charcoal pants, rather than navy or powder blue shirts. Softball umpires prefer to stay with the heather gray pants because it looks good with powder blue and red shirts.

In response to this shift, Smitty Apparel has introduced charcoal umpire pants with an expander waist system. These pants are 100% polyester (not a polyester-wool blend) and are machine washable for easy care. They also feature a Smitty Comfort Grip Waistband to keep your shirt tucked in, wide belt loops, a button tab and tuxedo clasp closure, a button loop on the left back pocket, and a heavy duty zipper.

I tested the Smitty Apparel BBS-376 charcoal umpire plate pants. Thanks to Dawn at Smitty Apparel for sending me a pair.

Like all plate pants, the BBS-376 uses saddle stitching to reinforce the seat. The legs are also cut wide to accommodate your leg guards. I reviewed Smitty Apparel pants previously, and found that the cut is slim through the hip area. I did not notice this while wearing the Smitty BBS-376 during my review. I had a full, unrestricted range, even with my healthy posterior. However, my measurements show that these pants are cut slightly slimmer. The rise is 11.5”, measured from the bottom of waistband to center point of crotch between legs, and the hips measurement (around the fullest part of the seat) is 52”. In comparison, the Honig’s poly-wools are cut “fuller” with a 12” rise and 54” around the hips. The Smitty pants are also slightly lighter weight than the Honig's poly-wools.

I had my doubts whether the expander waistband would be effective. I wondered if the expander would create a loose feeling fit while on the dish. Happily this was not the case. I wear two ball bags while working the plate, and I did not experience any “sag” from these pants. The expander waist seemed to work flawlessly - which could be a godsend for those early season games when I’m not yet at my fighting weight!

While the material is not the same as the Honig’s poly-wool pants, the material appearance is surprisingly similar between the two pants, especially from a distance. Unfortunately, there is a color difference that is noticeable.

On the left is a pair of Gerry Davis pants, in the center is the Honig's poly-wools, and on the right is the Smitty Apparel BBS-376. 

The Smitty Apparel Expander Waist Umpire Pants (BBS-376) can be purchased from Purchase Officials for $39.99. They are available in the expander waistband for base, plate or combo in heather or charcoal colors. These pants are also sold at Ump-Attire.com for $44.95.

Fair or Foul?

This call is like a screaming line drive down the right field line with no one on. The first base umpire must be avoid the ball and sometimes make an impossibly close call. First, the positives: (1) the expander waistband is terrific; (2) a polyester fabric means that you are not a slave to dry cleaning; (3) the fit is good; (4) the price is very, very good. 

Now the negatives: (1) the color does not match the two most popular charcoal pant worn by amateur umpires. Naturally, if you and your partner match, I have no reservations calling this product fair. For instance, the Collegiate Baseball Umpires Assigning Organization requires members to wear CBUAO embroidered Smitty charcoal pants. Finally, (2) the polyester material used in the Smitty Apparel Expander Waist Umpire Pants is not quite as good as the Honig's poly-wool blend pants.

So I need to get help from my partner on this call. Do umpires in your area wear Smitty Apparel charcoal pants? Then your call is "Fair." If your area does not wear Smitty Apparel charcoal pants, then the call is "Foul."

Review of the Smitty Thermal Full Zip Umpire Jacket

Hello, I’m Pete. This is my brother Darryl. . . a little over a year ago Midwest Ump reviewed the Majestic Therma Base Umpire Jacket. What a great jacket! Good fit, great quality, nice price. . .

and this is my other brother Darryl: the Smitty Thermal Full Zip Umpire Jacket.

Dawn at Smitty Apparel sent me a sample of their new thermal umpire jacket. I've mentioned it before on this site, the folks at Smitty are really, really nice people. They also happen to make very high quality officiating apparel!

The measurements of the XL Majestic and the XL Smitty are nearly identical. It is more practical to talk about the differences: the sleeves on the Smitty are ¼ inch longer; the overall length of the Smitty is ½ inch longer (not including the ribbed collar or ribbing at the bottom of the jacket); and the collar of the Smitty is 1/2 “ taller. Both the Smitty and the Majestic weigh exactly the same, 2.1 pounds (using a hanger and a fish scale from Bass Pro. Yep, real scientific-like).

Both jackets are very roomy and easily accommodate a chest protector, but also look good on the bases. Since these jackets are sized to accommodate a CP, it is recommended that you buy a size smaller if you desire a closer fit on the bases. The exterior of both coats is a polyester material that is water resistant, not water proof.  I cannot tell a difference in the material by touch. The interior fabric of the Smitty is 100% polyester fleece. The Majestic is 92% polyester and 8% spandex. The Majestic fleece is a little softer than the Smitty. However, Smitty has sewn in an interior polyester fabric on top of its fleece. This extra layer helps prevent wear and damage to the fleece from your CP.  

The construction quality of both jackets appears excellent. The stitching on both jackets is tight and uniform. There are no frayed edges or loose stitching. Both jackets have one breast pocket for your lineup cards. Neither jacket has hand pockets or an interior pocket.

The Smitty jacket I tested was a plain navy blue, a color required by the NFHS. The Smitty Thermal Full Zip Umpire Jacket is available in a variety in several popular colors including navy with red/white/navy shoulder stripes; black with white stripes; and black with white/powder blue stripes. Unlike the Majestic, there is no logo on the Smitty jacket I tested.

The best price tag on the Majestic Therma Base Jacket is around $80.  The new Smitty Thermal Jacket is being sold for $69.99 by Purchase Officials. I understand that all sizes and styles will be widely available after the first of the year.

Fair or Foul?

They say that "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" (well, Charles Caleb Colton said it first). The Majestic is an amazing coat and the Smitty Thermal Full Zip Umpire Jacket is a carbon copy of it. The Smitty is the same jacket offered at a lower price and available in different colors. So go ahead and call me a Darryl, 'cause  I call the Smitty Thermal Full Zip Umpire Jacket absolutely Fair!

Review of Smitty Official Apparel Umpire Jacket

In umpire parlance “smitty” is a derogatory term which means, among other things, “unprofessional.” For instance, “Look at that umpire with his hat on backwards. He looks smitty!”

A few years ago Smitty Officials Apparel sold umpire clothing that was widely regarded as, well, “smitty.” Times have changed. A couple years ago Smitty decided to revamp its umpire line and switched manufacturers. The result is a clothing line that has received praise from many umpires, including the Midwest Ump reviews.

In response to my request, Smitty sent me a BBS-322 umpire jacket to test. This jacket is black with white trim and open at the bottom (a “tuck-in” jacket). Tuck-in jackets are great for plate work because they do not ride up when you drop into your stance.

After testing Smitty shirts, pants, and now jacket, I find that the cut of Smitty clothing is slimmer than most. The XL jacket measures 28.5” across the chest and 7.25” from collar to shoulder along the seam. By comparison, Honig’s K-17 measures 30” across the chest and 8” down the shoulder seam. Perhaps as a result, the Smitty jacket weighs 14.5 ounces, two ounces lighter than the Honigs. I had no trouble fitting the Smitty jacket over my Wilson Platinum chest protector, and the slimmer cut means less material flapping in the breeze.

Both the Smitty and the Honig’s K-17 are made from 100% polyester with a 100% nylon lining. Smitty advertised that the polyester shell is treated with a weather resistant coating. The white stripes are identical to the Honig’s K-17. In fact, it is nearly impossible to distinguish the Honig’s from the Smitty from a distance. The collar of the Smitty is more substantial than the Honig’s K-17 and the polyester outer layer has a more “finished” appearance. Click on the image to the right for a close up and see what I mean.

Unlike the Honig’s jacket (sold exclusively by Honig’s for $59.95), the Smitty S-322 is available from several online retailers, including:

Ump-Attire for $59.99

S.O.S. Sports for $48.95

Purchase Officials for $45.00

THE BOTTOM LINE: If you haven’t checked out Smitty Official Apparel lately, you are missing out on some of the best umpire apparel on the market. The S-322 umpire jacket is a first-rate jacket and one that I am proud to wear on the field.

As a personal note, I have found dealing with Smitty to be very easy. My emails are replied to quickly which indicates a commitment to customer service and a confidence in their products. I recommend the Smitty company and its umpire apparel. Smitty is not "smitty" at all!

Review of Smitty Combo Pants

Several weeks ago I set out to conduct another product review - this time the subject is umpire pants. I contacted several manufacturers and received mixed responses. Some manufacturers did not respond at all to my invitations. Others sent pants for review. What I have for review are the following:

1. Honig's heather gray B1 base pants;
2. Honig's heather gray B2 plate pants;
3. Dalco heather gray combo pants;
4. Smitty Apparel heather gray combo pants; and
5. Gerry Davis dark gray combo pants.

Heather gray vs. charcoal vs. base pants vs. plate pants vs. combo pants. That's a lot of variations! An article comparing the above pants would be unfair to the manufacturers and would not produce much practical information. Instead I have decided to do a series of independent reviews. First up are the Smitty Apparel combo pants.

Smitty Apparel has been very open and receptive to my review of their products. Dawn at Smitty's has been very supportive and generous. I suppose it is easy to be that way when you have quality products and (despite some issues in the past) Smitty Apparel certainly produces quality products. I know, I know, some of you that can't get past the name. Well, that's too bad 'cause you're missing out on some great gear at great prices.

These Smitty heather gray combo pants are meant to be worn both in the field or behind the plate. Combo pants are especially useful for officials working younger age groups who may need to change from plate to bases quickly.

The pants come unhemmed and are available in odd and even sizes. The pants are made with a pleated front, which I don't personally care for, but is a popular style. They are made with 100% easy-to-care-for polyester and feature slash pockets, a button hook back pocket, double clasp front, and a Snug-Tex waist band to keep your shirt tucked. The material is attractive and substantial and the pants are made with a quality construction. After a few washings they look new and show no signs of wear.

The pant legs are a roomy 24" to accommodate shin guards. As you can see from the photo, my Diamond iX3 shin guards are plainly visible while standing. The fit in the leg, while a little "snug" with my large guards, is adequate and the fabric does not catch.

The saddle seat stitching provides added protection for plate work. I have an ample posterior (or as my five year old says, "junk in the trunk," see picture) and the fit is also snug. I did feel a little constrained by the fit, but was reassured by the saddle seat. The Sansabelt waist band worked great for me and provided a good fit around the waist (plus or minus that drive-in cheeseburger on the way to the park).

Ump-Attire sells Smitty combo pants for $42.95 with free shipping on orders over $300.

The Official's Call sells Smitty combo pants for $42.00 with free shipping on orders over $150.

Purchase Officials Supplies sells Smitty combo pants for $43.99.

My overall impression of these pants is very favorable. I recommend a smaller shin guard and a smaller tush for a great fit. For the umpire that can meet that criteria, the Smitty Apparel heather gray combo pants is a perfect pair(ing).

Note: As of this writing Purchase Officials Supplies is offering a deal on Smitty ComforTech shirts. Buy the first one for $23.00 and the second is $16.00. That's a very good deal for a very good shirt. See review.

Umpire Shirt Comparison Review

Many umpires cannot select their equipment and apparel in person and must make decisions based upon the advice of others and descriptions both on-line and in catalogs. Questions concerning fit and durability are frequent subjects on umpire forums. Today’s post takes a comparative look at seven different umpire shirts from different manufacturers.

My goal in this article is to provide information to umpires regarding the more popular umpire shirts and hopefully make the decision process a little easier. Shirts will be evaluated in seven categories: Weight, Breathability, Construction, Value, Appearance, a “Prick” test, and a Wrinkle test. The line-up is:

1. Gerry Davis Signature Umpire Shirt with thanks to Mary
2. Ump-Attire Ultimate Umpire Shirt with thanks to Jim Kirk
3. Honig’s Major League Umpire Shirt
4. Dalco D260 Umpire Shirt
5. Smitty Apparel Umpire Shirt with Comfortech 100 with thanks to Dawn
6. The Official’s Choice Umpire Shirt with thanks to Paul Anderson
7. Cliff Keen MXS Umpire Shirt

Initial Research
Before I begin, I need to discuss an important matter. When I set out to evaluate these seven umpire shirts I did not expect such a variety of different fabrics. All of the umpire shirts tested are made from some type of polyester fabric, however five of the shirts (The Official’s Choice, Cliff Keen, Ump-Attire, Dalco and Smitty Apparel) claim to be made from moisture wicking fabric.

The concept of moisture wicking clothing has been around a long time. The idea is to draw the moisture away from your skin to a place where it is either absorbed or can evaporate. An old hunter’s trick is to wear silk socks under wool socks. The silk socks wick away the moisture and the wool absorbs it.

Older polyester fabrics, like the disco shirts from the 1970s, did not breathe well which consequently trapped sweat and made Disco Stu into Stinky Stu. Early polyester clothing also tended to snag easily. Cotton breathes very well, but as every umpire knows cotton absorbs and holds moisture. The best sports fabrics are blends of high-tech polyester and cotton which use the best features of both: moisture wicking and breathability.

In the 1990s a Maryland Terrapins' football player tired of his soggy t-shirt worn under his football pads developed an undershirt that became the Under Armour brand. Under Armour (and all the copy-cat materials developed in its wake) wicks away sweat from your body so it can evaporate. Does it keep you cooler? I don’t know, but I can attest that my UA Heat Gear t-shirt keeps me feeling drier and more comfortable. I love my UA Heat Gear and recommend it to all umpires.

A moisture wicking undershirt is a great benefit, but that begs the question, “What benefit is provided by an outer layer of moisture wicking material?”

I asked this question to TUG (The Undershirt Guy) at UnderShirtGuy.com. TUG has done personal testing and review on undershirts and has this to say:

“I wouldn't say I'm an expert in moisture wicking technology, but from my research, it is my understanding that it would be better to have a single close/tight fitting moisture wicking product that would allow air to flow freely over the outer part of the garment to allow the wetness to dry out quicker. One thing to remember, if the garment is not tight fitting, the moisture from your body will not make contact with the garment and will not transfer to the outer layer of the fabric as effectively.

Also, from my personal experience, some moisture wicking materials dry much faster than others. I've had some that dry in 15-20 minutes and others that take hours to dry. So, these fabrics are definitely not all created equally. In the event you're interested, I've also been doing some additional research and have been finding evidence that moisture wicking products hold odor much more than other non-wicking materials like cotton so people have noticed, for example, that moisture wicking undershirts hold on to someone's B.O. a lot more than standard undershirts.”

Thanks to TUG, his research and his input. TUG has a number of informative articles on his site that are of interest to anyone sweating in the hot sun, including this one on moisture wicking undershirts:

http://www.undershirtguy.com/2008/06/13/moisture-wicking-undershirts-which-one-to-choose-and-why/

Testing and Measurements
Shoulder measurements were taken from the collar seam along the shoulder seam to the bottom of the sleeve. Chest measurements were taken from under the arm hole across the chest to the under the other arm hole.

To test breathability I used my wife’s hair dryer on cool setting to force air through the shirt onto my face. To weigh the shirts I used a postage scale. For the pricking test I ran a car key over the inside of the shirts to see if it would snag (and I wore each shirt with my Wilson Platinum chest protector). Unscientific? You bet! My apologies to the ghost of Lavoisier.

Now on to the review. . .

DALCO D260 UMPIRE SHIRT

Construction
The Dalco Umpire Shirt is one of five shirts made from moisture wicking material (the manufacturer description is “treated with Comfort Finish for moisture management”). I purchased this XXL shirt from a local retailer when asked to do a last minute USSSA softball tournament. It is one of two open-hole shirts in the review (the other is The Official’s Choice). The shirt performed poorly in the prick test and snagged frequently on my chest protector. The feel of the mesh is cheap and stiffer than the other shirts. The dimensions of this XXL shirt are quite large:
28.5” chest
28.5” bottom hem
19.5” shoulder

Breathability
As one of two open-hole shirts in this review, it is not surprising that the Dalco shirt performed extremely well in the breathability test, second only to the other open-hole shirt, The Official’s Choice.

Appearance
The shirt looks good although the open-hole design makes the shirt a little transparent. While not as transparent as The Official’s Choice shirt, a different undershirt shirt color will bleed through. The shirt performed adequately in the wrinkle test.

Weight
The Dalco shirt weighs 11 ounces and is surprisingly heavy for an open-hole shirt.

Value
Ump-Attire sells the Dalco D260 for $27.95.

$26.95 at CAT Sports

Final Rank: Last place
The Dalco shirt is cheaply made and costly. For the price of a Dalco D260 I can get a much nicer Gerry Davis Signature Shirt, or a Smitty Apparel Shirt and a Big Mac, or a shirt from The Official’s Choice and dinner at Applebee’s.


CLIFF KEEN MXS

Construction
The MXS stands for Moisture eXchange System and is one of the five shirts in this review made from moisture wicking fabric. The construction is fair, but with limited use shows wear faster than other shirts I have owned. The XL shirt dimensions are:
25” chest
25” bottom hem
19” shoulder

The Cliff Keen MXS accommodates a chest protector and fits me well enough on the bases. The Cliff Keen MXS feels “spongy” like a polyester shirt from the 70’s. The shirt construction is good and appears well-made around the seams. It is close-holed construction and the holes are very small. This shirt performed best in the prick test and the fabric is very soft and smooth (and spongy, did I mention that?).

Breathability
The Cliff Keen shirt performed the worst in the breathability test allowing almost no air through the fabric.

Appearance
This shirt looks good on the field, although it performed poorly in the wrinkle test.

Weight
The Cliff Keen MXS weighs in at 10 ounces - the middle of the pack in weight.

Value
A quick search for the Cliff Keen MXS found that it sells between $33.00-$36.00. This is a premium price for an umpire shirt:
$33.00 at Lester’s Upstate Sports

$36.00 on the Cliff Keen Website

$35.90 at Gerry Davis

Final Rank: 6th out of 7
I purchased this Cliff Keen MXS shirt from a local retailer last year when I needed a blank powder blue shirt for a few college softball fall games. I do not like the feel of this shirt or the lack of breathability. It is also one of the most expensive in the review. Even though it actually scores higher than the Dalco, it is my least favorite umpire shirt. A friend of mine owns this shirt and commented that the shirt stains easily and is hard to keep clean. Of course, maybe it’s my friend that is hard to keep clean.


THE OFFICIAL’S CHOICE

Construction
I have previously reviewed The Official’s Choice shirt. The shirt is open hole and made from a moisture wicking material the company calls “UmpDry.” I would rank the construction below average, but still very acceptable. The stitching is neither tight nor consistent and the seams are not as substantially bound (hey, I’m not a tailor, so please forgive my poor description. In simple terms the seams and stitching are not as “good” as other shirts). The Official’s Choice shirt performed poorly on the prick test although I have not had a problem with snagging with this shirt from my chest protector.

Be warned: The Official’s Choice shirts run large. The dimensions of the L shirt I tested are:
25” chest
25” bottom hem
18” shoulder

The XL measures:
25” chest
25” bottom hem
19” shoulders

Breathability
The Official’s Choice shirt performed the best in the breathability test. The open-hole design allowed the most airflow of the shirts tested. As discussed above, creating airflow is extremely important to the evaporation process.

Appearance
As detailed in my previous post, the open-hole design tends to show print underneath it and a different colored undershirt can bleed through. The shirt performed below average in the wrinkle test.

Weight
The Official’s Choice shirt weighs 8.75 ounces – the lightest of the shirts.

Value
These shirts are currently offered by The Official’s Choice starting at $19.84.

Final Rank: 5th place out of 7
Since the open-hole design has a greater “see-through” factor, I am reluctant to use this shirt behind the plate where the MLB emblem of my Wilson Platinum chest protector is plainly visible. However, my association requires a navy blue t-shirt under the navy blue baseball shirt, so I suspect this will be my favorite shirt for hot weather wear on the bases. As August rolls around, I might even talk myself in to using this shirt behind the plate. It is light weight, inexpensive, and very breathable. The bottom line is that I will purchase more of these shirts for hot weather wear.


HONIG’S MAJOR LEAGUE SHIRT

Construction
The Honig’s Major League Shirt is one of two shirts not made from moisture wicking material (the other is Gerry Davis). The holes are closed, but larger than other closed-hole shirts tested. After hundreds of ballgames I can personally attest to the durability of this shirt. However, this shirt does sometimes snag on my chest protector and performed below average in the prick test.

The Honig’s Major League Shirt is cut slimmer than other umpire shirts, but accommodates my chest protector adequately. The dimensions of the XL shirt I tested are:
24” chest
23” bottom hem
17” shoulder

Breathability
The Honig’s shirt performed surprisingly well during the breathability test and was the best of the closed-hole designs.

Appearance
The Honig’s navy baseball shirt is a lighter shade of navy blue than any other shirt tested. Since the shirt is cut a little slimmer it fits better and therefore looks better in the field. The shirt performed below average in the wrinkle test.

Weight
The Honig’s shirt weighs only 9.5 ounces, and tied with the Ump-Attire shirt as the second lightest shirt.

Value
These shirts are currently offered by Honig’s for $32.95. Honig’s also offers flat-rate ground shipping and 10% discounts for members of many associations.

Final Rank: 4th out of 7
Honig’s has a great reputation in the umpire community. Many umpires swear by the brand, including myself until conducting this review. Honig’s is a very good umpire shirt and its combination of light weight and breathability make it a good choice for year round work. On the other hand, it costs considerably more than other all-season shirts (like Smitty Apparel).


GERRY DAVIS SIGNATURE SHIRT

Construction
The Gerry Davis Signature Shirt is one of two shirts not made from moisture wicking material (the other is Honig’s). This shirt is actually manufactured by Cliff Keen. The holes are closed. This shirt has a very substantial feel to it and the stitching at the seams appears very well made. The Gerry Davis shirt was average during the prick test.

I described my frame (48” jacket, 5’10” 210#) to the folks at Gerry Davis and they sent me an XXL shirt. I wrote back before testing that I thought the shirt was a little large and was told that the shirt is “sized to accommodate your chest protector.” The dimensions of the XXL shirt I tested are:
27” chest
27“ bottom hem
18” shoulder

I found the XXL shirt obviously too large for me. Its dimensions are large, but not as large as the XXL Dalco reviewed here. Keep that in mind when ordering.

Breathability
The Gerry Davis shirt performed poorly in the breathability test.

Appearance
The Gerry Davis shirt is a sharp looking shirt. If looking your best is your only criteria, choose this shirt. It also performed surprisingly well in the wrinkle test.

Weight
The Gerry Davis shirt weighs 14 ounces, the heaviest shirt in this review and 5.25 ounces heavier than The Official’s Choice shirt.

Value
These shirts are currently offered by Gerry Davis for $25.90.

Final Rank: 3rd out of 7
Reading the above ranking might give the reader an impression that I dislike this shirt. Not so. The testing is heavily weighted to prefer shirts that perform well during hot summer days. But not all games are played in August. I remember playing in a snow storm during college when I couldn’t see the outfielders from the plate (yep, we got an official game in that day). I have also seen my share of snow, sleet, and freezing rain while umpiring. The Gerry Davis Signature shirt screams quality. It is also almost a half pound heavier than the other test shirts. I rank this shirt at the bottom of the list for a hot weather shirt, but at the top for cold weather.


SMITTY APPAREL UMPIRE SHIRT WITH COMFORTECH 100

Construction
The Smitty Apparel Umpire Shirt with ComforTech 100 is one of the five shirts made from moisture wicking material. It is a closed-hole design and well constructed. It also performed above average in the prick test and did not snag on my chest protector. The dimensions of the L shirt are:
23” chest
23.5” bottom hem
17.5 shoulder

The dimensions of the XL shirt are slimmer than most and very similar to Honig’s:
24” chest
25” bottom hem
17.5 shoulder

Breathability
The Smitty Apparel shirt performed average in the breathability test behind Honig’s and the two open-hole shirts (The Official’s Choice and Dalco).

Appearance
The shirt performed very well in the wrinkle test. In my opinion the Smitty Apparel shirt looks slightly better than the Cliff Keen shirt.

Weight
The Smitty Apparel shirt weighs 10.5 ounces and is in the middle of the pack.

Value
A quick search for the Smitty Apparel Umpire Shirt with ComforTech 100 found prices between $22.95-27.90:

$26.00 at The Official Call

$27.90 at Discount Umpire Gear

$22.95 at Ump-Attire


Final Rank: 2nd out of 7
I was pleasantly surprised by the Smitty Apparel shirt. At this price point I expected a cheaper quality shirt and did not expect it to perform as well during testing. Just like a scrappy middle infielder, the Smitty shirt just kept showing that it could do the job and hang with the big boys. It ended up second in the test, one point behind Ump-Attire, but over $10.00 cheaper in price than the Ump-Attire Ultimate Umpire Shirt.


UMP-ATTIRE ULTIMATE UMPIRE SHIRT

Construction
The Ump-Attire Ultimate Umpire Shirt is one of five shirts made from moisture wicking material. Jim Kirk, owner of Ump-Attire, reports an extensive process in the development of the Ultimate Umpire Shirt. It was important to Jim that these shirts withstand the rigors of umpiring and remain comfortable. He writes:

“What we found was a material used by the military that not only was comfortable and wicked moisture but also was wrinkle-free and most importantly could stand up to any metal or hard plastic rubbing against it. In other words, the fabric will not "pick".”

The holes are closed and the shirt is very well constructed. As Jim predicted, the shirt performed exceptionally well in the prick test and did not snag on my chest protector. The dimensions of this XL shirt are:
25.5” chest
25” bottom hem
18.5” shoulder

I like these dimensions on the plate. It is a little larger than the Honig’s shirt and accommodates my chest protector a little better.

Breathability
The Ump-Attire shirt performed below average in the breathability test.

Appearance
The shirt looks great and performed best in the wrinkle test. While I prefer the appearance of the Gerry Davis Signature Shirt, the Ultimate Umpire Shirt is a close second.

Weight
The Ump-Attire shirt weighs only 9.5 ounces, second lightest of all shirts (tied with Honig’s)

Value
Jim Kirk states that these shirts will be offered by Ump-Attire and sell for $32.95. That’s a competitive price with Cliff Keen and Honig’s for a nicer shirt.

Final Rank: First Place
The Ump-Attire Ultimate Umpire Shirt will be available in late March, 2009. Is this the ultimate umpire shirt? Well, after tallying all categories it scored the highest overall. This is definitely a quality shirt that was designed with care and attention to appeal to umpires across the board.

SCORES

Scale is 1 to 7; 7 being best

Weight

The Official's Choice 7, Ump-Attire 6, Honig's 6, Cliff Keen 4, Smitty Apparel 3, Dalco 2, Gerry Davis 1

Breathability

The Official's Choice 7, Dalco 6, Honig's 5, Smitty Apparel 4, Ump-Attire 3, Gerry Davis 2, Cliff Keen 1

Construction

Gerry Davis 7, Smitty Apparel 6, Ump-Attire 5, Honig's 5, Cliff Keen 3, The Official's Choice 2, Dalco 1

Value

Smitty Apparel 7, Gerry Davis 6, The Official's Choice 5, Ump-Attire 4, Honig's 3, Dalco 2, Cliff Keen 1

Appearance

Gerry Davis 7, Ump-Attire 6, Smitty Apparel 5, Cliff Keen 4, Honig's 3, Dalco 2, The Official's Choice 1

Prick Test

Cliff Keen 7, Ump-Attire 6, Smitty Apparel 5, Gerry Davis 4, Honig's 3, The Official's Choice 2, Dalco 1

Wrinkle Test
Ump-Attire 7, Smitty Apparel 6, Gerry Davis 6, Dalco 4,Honig's 3, The Official's Choice 3, Cliff Keen 1

Total

1. Ump-Attire (37)

2. Smitty Apparel (36)

3. Gerry Davis (33)
4. Honig’s (28)
5. The Official’s Choice (27)
6. Cliff Keen (21)
7. Dalco (18)

CONCLUSION AND FINAL THOUGHTS
I encountered a few surprises in writing this article. As stated the first surprise was the different moisture wicking materials used in these shirts. I was also surprised by the differences in weight and breathability. Finally, I was surprised that the quality of construction was actually very similar – none of these shirts will fall apart on you.

So which is the best shirt? For me I found the answer to this question depends on the weather. The best cold weather shirt is undoubtedly the Gerry Davis Signature Shirt which is heavy, does not breathe well (a plus in cold weather), and costs only $25.90. A close second is the Ump-Attire shirt with a $32.95 price tag.

In warm to hot weather I would choose the Smitty Apparel shirt for its decent breathability, wrinkle resistance, solid marks across the board, and very low cost ($22.95). Note that the weight difference between Smitty Apparel, Honig’s, and Ump-Attire is merely one ounce.

In the dog days of August I choose The Official’s Choice shirt at under 9 ounces for its open-hole mesh design and superior breathability. It is also the cheapest shirt in the review at $19.84. When its 98 degrees, no wind, and high humidity, I’ll take the lightest and most breathable shirt I can find. The Official’s Choice is the ideal shirt for that day.