Catchers’ Equipment Buying Guide
Are you also looking for decent catcher protective gear for yourself? If yes, then, my dear friend 🤗, you have landed at the right place.
This article will assist in finding an apt best catcher’s gear set, but before moving towards it, do you know the essential points you must keep in mind while selecting a product?
Do not worry! If you don’t have an idea about the same, stay in touch with the article to learn all the relevant information. The information provided below has been derived keeping in mind all types of catchers- baseball catchers gear clearance, base players, base runners, softball players, etc.
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Essential Pieces Of Equipment That A Catcher Needs
A Catcher needs the types of equipment that protect their vital body parts; some examples are a Chest protector, skin guard, and catcher’s helmet. An appropriate choice of the catcher’s gear allows you to play with all determination and ease. In addition, a good quality product with advanced protection will provide flexibility to your body so that the catcher can play with utmost efficiency.
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Primary Factors To Consider While Buying The Best Catchers Gear
Check out some of the basic but most essential features you must consider before buying the catcher’s gear.
Have a look at the given below the list:
- Protection – Proper Protection is the most crucial feature you have to look for when buying a catcher’s gear set. Keep in mind that the particular equipment is worthy enough to protect you from any accident that might take place in the field.
- Comfort – Your catcher’s equipment should be very comfortable so that you can quickly move your body as a catcher needs to change its position frequently.
- Durability – When buying the catcher’s gear, you must make sure about the product’s lifecycle. The catchers become habitual of using a piece of equipment for a longer period according to their comfort level. Thus, the product must last longer.
- Brands – It is advisable to purchase your catcher’s set from a trusted and renowned brand, to be 100% sure about the quality of the products. Also, good brands offer the additional benefit of allowing you to choose from various color options as per your desire.
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Basic Advantages Of Separate Items in the Catchers Gear Set
While considering what catcher’s gear shall you purchase, you must evaluate the pieces of equipment of the catchers’ gear separately in terms of the price range( cost ) and quality.
1) Catcher’s Mitts
Since the role of the catcher’s mitts youth is to provide extra palm protection while catching the ball, you would like something solid and reliable. Thus, the first thing that you should look for in a catcher’s mitt is the quality of the leather used. Superior Quality material leather would stay longer and last longer, making for a longer break-in period.
Furthermore, the amount of proper protection(determined by padding quality) and break-in time must be considered.
2) Catcher’s Masks
Undoubtedly, the mask is the most critical protective equipment of the catchers’ gear as it protects the skull, face, jaw, and back of the head. Thus, before opting for the best catcher’s mask, you must look for three things(the features are the same for youth masks as well as adult masks):
- Safety(depending upon the metal used and padding for complete protection)
- Comfort(depending upon the right fit)
- Fit(differs for youth players and adult players)
Catcher’s mask has two main categories to offer, including piece style and hockey-style helmets. The former is easy to pull off but offers moderate protection than the hockey-style mask. In contrast, the hockey-style helmet does provide superior protection, but it can hinder your peripheral vision. At times, even the youth league asks for advanced masks. Thus you must reassure it from the league you are a part of.
3) Chest Protectors [Sizing and Fit]
Chest protectors provide extra protection to the shoulders, neck, chest, and stomach from foul tips and wild pitches. In addition, this equipment offers security to the entire body. Thus it is very much vital that you double-check the quality of the chest protectors. To opt for the best protector, you must be sure that the foam-like material of the protector is of high quality with enhanced rebound control, and there should be more layers of padding. Also, the foam should be light in weight and softer to enable better movement. Other than that, the sizing catcher’s gear matters a lot in the chest protectors. If the measurements are not up to the mark, they won’t perform their role correctly as they will not cover up your body properly.
4) Leg Guards [Fitting and Sizing]
Leg guards protect ankles, shins, and knees and comfort the players who have to kneel for a more extended time. A good leg guard consists of ample padding inside with a hard external shell to shield the shins and knees. You have to be very cautious while opting for the proper leg guards because the wrong measurements completely fail the idea for which they are purchased in the first place. Other than the size, Leg guards must fulfill the following:
- leg guards must have an adjustable option for straps.
- Extra Padding material must be added to cover the inside of the shin and knee.
- Additional toe caps shall be there to protect feet and ankles.
- Leg guards must have moisture-wicking linings and breathable padding to keep legs and knees dry and comfortable throughout the game.
- Triple layers of padding in the knee caps to provide improved knee coverage while crouching.
5) Catcher’s Accessories
The catcher’s gear is incomplete without the necessary accessories which provide additional protection to the players. Accessories include a throat protector, knee savers, and a bag to put your gear in.
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Knee Savers
A Knee saver is used for reducing soreness in your knees. Since its role is to ease the discomfort caused by crouching, an essential feature to keep in mind is the quality of foam used in the padding of knee savers. The foam attached to the back of the knee saver should be soft so that it doesn’t harm the delicate surfaces and keeps you away from slipping and sliding on dry surfaces.
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Throat Protectors
Throat protectors provide additional support to the throat. The best throat protectors must compile with the following conditions:
- Throat protectors should be of the right size(since the adult size varies from the youth size), neither too tight nor too loose.
- It should hang off the lowest bar of the catcher’s mask.
- When the catcher looks up, the throat protector should dangle down and protect the neck area.
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Catchers Bags
The catchers’ gear sets definitely have a lot of equipment in them. So, it’s just not possible to manage all of the catcher’s gear and keep track of it, so you may want to consider getting a bag with deep pockets. A perfect catcher’s gear would be one that can store all your catcher’s gear types of equipment, including facemask, mitts, shin guards, and other gear, with convenience, which will help you stay organized.
However, before buying the suitable catchers’ bag for yourself, you must look for the following features:
- They must have special shallow pockets and sections to hold your gear.
- The catchers’ gear should have a good set of wheels that work well on many surfaces so that it’s easy to carry it.
- Hooks present in the bag for hanging the load on the dugout fence would be more preferable.
- High quality must be ensured.
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Wrapping Up
Hopefully, the above article was of great help to you. This article has served you all the necessary points to keep in mind before buying the best catcher’s gear set. You must thoroughly check the protection, durability, quality of the brand is reliable or not, and much more.
If you skipped out on any of the points or have any doubt, quickly go back and read it over again. After reading this informative article, you can surely buy the best and productive catcher’s gear keeping in mind all the key points you learned today. Good luck!! 😋
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