Catchers Gear Reviews

My 16 yr old son just got the custom all-star set and absolutely loves it. He really likes the better padding in the knees. The chest protector is also nice. He feels it deadens the ball very well with little actual chest thump. That's with 85mph+ pitching.

Your best bet for getting the right gear is to try it on fit and comfort before buying it. The style doesn't matter if it doesn't fit just right.

I found a $139 All Star catchers helmet for $39.00 a few months ago at Academy and grabbed it. My son really likes it.

I bought each piece of catchers equipment individually which I did because I could spread out the costs over about 6 months.

My son started out with Easton gear several years ago and switched over to All Star. He has never looked back saying that All Star makes the best. He has just bought the custom gear and feels that the All Star System 7 chest protector just deadens the ball as well dropping it exactly where it needs to be. Just switched over to the traditional mask with much happiness.

My son started with Easton, and as components have been replaced he has selected All Star, so he has an All Star hockey style mask, and All Star leg guards. He's really a fan of the leg guards - light weight with good protection.

This thread reminds me that he needs a chest protector. Might be a day for a trip to his favorite sporting goods store.

I agree with trying on gear before you buy, but unfortunately we didn't have that option. My son liked the look of the Mizuno Pro G2 gear so we ordered everything over the weekend. If the gear doesn't fit we will send it back and look at the All Star equipment. The coach (former mlb player) my son works with used All Star gear and he seems to be a pretty big fan of it.

I actually bought a All Star helmet about a year or so ago, but ended up sending it back because he couldn't get over the size. Said he looked like an alien!! .

I will try to report back once he has had a chance to use the new equipment over the next couple of weeks.

bought my (then) 14 y/o All Star system 7 last season and he loves it. He has had Rawlings, Wilson and Easton and likes the All Star far better than the others.

If you can find it try the Nike Pro Gold.Dont use thier helmet though.

I have a reviews page on my website http://www.catching-101.com Catching-101, but I haven't updated it lately. This gives me a good reason to do that!

My son has now used the gear in numerous bullpens / practices and seems to be very happy with it. He really likes how the chest protector absorbs the impact of balls in the dirt. The outer layer is really soft, but has a much firmer feel towards the back. The chest also comes with side protection that is attached with velcro. These can easily be removed, but he decided to give them a try and liked the extra protection. I guess the side attachments would be useful during a play when a runner may come up high with the spikes. The only negative we found was the length of the straps. My son is still fairly thin and this is an adult chect protector so we had to double up the straps a couple of times to get a good fit. He is just at that age where youth / intermediate is to small and the adult gear is meant to fit a wide range of heavier people. The shins fit great and don't move around. They have an adjustable knee pad that provides really good protection / comfort. Another really cool feature is the toe caps have a strap that goes around the cleat and fastens on the other side. He loves this feature, but I wonder how long the strap will last. You have to make sure you place the strap between cleats or it will get cut pretty quick. There was an initial mixup of helmets so we just got the correct one yesterday and it seems to be made really well with a nice leather chin / jaw piece. He said vision was good and weight seemed fine. Overall for the money I think the gear was a great buy. We went with the black / gray which I think looks really sharp. I found a retailer online (Ron at hocksports.com) who made me a great deal and was very easy to work with. I hope some of the info may help others out.