Has anyone had any experience with the (relatively) new Rip It Defense Guard?
I had bought the Game Face (both sizes) and SportShields Defender, but my DD couldn't stand wearing any of them (neither do her teammates, to whom I had offered these same masks). She(they) complained that her(their) vision was obstructed, and the contact points (forehead, chin) became very uncomfortable once she(they) started sweating. No one managed to keep these on for more than an inning or two, not even a girl who had caught a short hop in the face during a game, to whom I loaned one of my masks to try on for size (when I asked her where my mask was a few games later, as she was not wearing it, she told me she tossed it! I guess she thought it was a free gift).
Since the batters we now face are more and more built like Crystl Bustos, I am very worried that this would increasingly become a game of Russian roulette for my DD, whose reflexes are not exactly lightning-like. Any other occupation where you are facing fast moving hard projectiles from 35 ft away would be considered hazardous enough to warrant all manners of government-mandated safety gears. I've seen more than enough close-calls even at the 12 U - 14 U level to ignore this very real potential for disaster in the years to come. So this mask thing has become a kind of sword of Damocles for me, always hanging over my head.
Rip-It claims that their alloy cage Defense Guard offers better vision than the polycarbonate masks. Does this produce a noticeable difference in practice for those who have tried on different masks and compared them against each other? More importantly, is the Defense Guard more comfortable to wear than the other models? This mask is priced much higher than most batting helmets. I'd hate to collect another promising gadget only to have it sit in our already full equipment closet.
Thanks for any feedback!
GT
I had bought the Game Face (both sizes) and SportShields Defender, but my DD couldn't stand wearing any of them (neither do her teammates, to whom I had offered these same masks). She(they) complained that her(their) vision was obstructed, and the contact points (forehead, chin) became very uncomfortable once she(they) started sweating. No one managed to keep these on for more than an inning or two, not even a girl who had caught a short hop in the face during a game, to whom I loaned one of my masks to try on for size (when I asked her where my mask was a few games later, as she was not wearing it, she told me she tossed it! I guess she thought it was a free gift).
Since the batters we now face are more and more built like Crystl Bustos, I am very worried that this would increasingly become a game of Russian roulette for my DD, whose reflexes are not exactly lightning-like. Any other occupation where you are facing fast moving hard projectiles from 35 ft away would be considered hazardous enough to warrant all manners of government-mandated safety gears. I've seen more than enough close-calls even at the 12 U - 14 U level to ignore this very real potential for disaster in the years to come. So this mask thing has become a kind of sword of Damocles for me, always hanging over my head.
Rip-It claims that their alloy cage Defense Guard offers better vision than the polycarbonate masks. Does this produce a noticeable difference in practice for those who have tried on different masks and compared them against each other? More importantly, is the Defense Guard more comfortable to wear than the other models? This mask is priced much higher than most batting helmets. I'd hate to collect another promising gadget only to have it sit in our already full equipment closet.
Thanks for any feedback!
GT