help with catcher's gear selection

my daughter won a bet with me and gets a new mitt and new gear. we have been looking at the mizuno samurai gear. does anybody have any better suggestions? she is 12 and 5'3" and plays travel team 12u, high school slow pitch, and probably high school fast pitch (tryouts in the fall). any and all help is greatly appreciated.

I like the Schutt Scorpion chest protector, it's female specific, it has high density foam for extra heart protection, and it says nice and snug to the body. I also like Schutt's leg guards that have ankle protection (they've saved my ankle bone a couple of times). Usually you can find these for a pretty good price nowadays. Helmet-wise I used the new All-Star MVP helmet, it's fantastic, I can field a bunt without having to flip it off and sometimes a pop up as well. Kind of pricey though. The Worth Liberty mitts are top notch, they break in SO quick and they'll last for a very long time. Pricey as well. I know Mizuno, Easton, and Louisville Slugger make some decent mitts as well.

Good luck

I agree with ninja, the Schutt leg guards are the best, tons of ankle protection and even offer some calf protection as well.

DD has Schutt scorpion also. Chest protector is nice but the shin guards are the best! Gel padding for knee caps, wide supports on leg bands so they don't dig in and cause scarrs on back of legs. For helmet I bought her a wilson schock fx. Has shock absorbers on the facemask. If your dd has ever taken a foul tip in the facemask you won't believe the difference after she takes one with this mask. The noise from a spectator perspective is not nearly as loud and dd says the jolt is not nearly as bad either. As for a glove, she is currently using a 3 yr old wilson 500 that she loves and don't want to replace. When we do replace it, it will probably be with an Akedema Praying Mantis. Good Luck with whatever you decide.

Well, I went against the norm. Found a place with a lot of different brands of catcher gear (3 hours away). They had Diamond catchers gear and she tried it on and loved it. She liked the Mizuno, didn't like the Wilson, and hated Easton. So we went with the Diamond gear. She also has a new Vinci catchers on the way and a Demarini CF5 Hope bat.

My 16 y.o. loves the Easton Stealth Speed gear. She doesn't like the back on the Schutt helmet...just a personal preference. She has used Mizuno mitts for years (used to be SSK). We've tried the Nokona glove, but she didn't care for it.

So we went with the Diamond gear. She also has a new Vinci catchers on the way and a Demarini CF5 Hope bat.

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So.....was this bet that she couldn't make you drop $1k on gear? ;-)

My dd is a big fan of the Schutt scorpion leg guards and chest protector too. BUT... the fastners for the chest protector are junk. Velcro is a cool idea, and works very well. But they need to design them so they don't curl up over time. The ends will start to curl, and rub on the inside of their arms. My dd would rub the inside of her arms raw on the velcro becuase they were curling up.

guero_gordo said:

So.....was this bet that she couldn't make you drop $1k on gear? ;-)

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HAHAHA, close to it. She knows that she only gets little things like clothes for Christmas and she's fine with that. I hoped that the Diamond iX3 catcher's gear, CF5 Hope bat, and the Vinci catchers mitt were going to be all, but the dang Vinci rep made me a deal so she has a new Vinci fielders glove as well. I need to buy her a cheap aluminum bat for the pitching machine. Unfortunately, she may also be getting a Easton Stealth or Synergy since I have a hookup on them real cheap. Figured it would be another quality bat to have as a back up in case something happened to the CF5 and she could use it in BP as well to keep the hit count lower on the CF5. The only thing that is left that she may need is a NO E2 catchers bag, but I find it hard to spend $150-175 on a bag. All in all, the mitt and glove should last her through high school, figured 2-3 years on the CF5 bat, and figured 2-3 years on the catchers gear. If she gets more than 3 years out of the bat and gear then I'll be happy. Just needed to get her some quality gear for as much as she plays. Rec league, travel team, high school slow pitch, and likely high school fastpitch (tryouts in the fall). I was a catcher from minor league to high school baseball and I can tell you there is a night and day difference in gear between the cheap stuff and quality gear. Its more comfortable and lasts longer, and confort goes a long way in the summer here on the Gulf Coast with a 100-115 heat index with the humidity. Sue me, its my little girl.

I haven't had to replace all those pieces in the same season yet, but I can totally sympathize.