So far the Boombah CP has been great. She didn't try the helmet or leg guards. Not a lot of homework went into purchase, she wanted it because of colors available, but we have been very impressed with it so far. She had been using the All Star S7 chest and says the Boombah stays in place better when squatting (doesnt ride up into throat even though its cut high around neck), is cooler, clips are easy to open one handed and fits better overall. She says its about the same as her AS7 in regard to pad placement, blocking and deadening a ball. I had to "re-engineer" the straps a bit by shortening the vertical strap to get it to fit right over her shoulders (just folded and pinned out about 2" so it can be let out again as needed). We got the womans size 16.5 and its cut for a woman who is more developed in the chest than my 12 yo is, but fits very well overall. Can tell Boombah put some thought into this though, its definitely made to fit a woman's body. Quality is excellent, and it cleans up easily. The white parts of CP are vinyl so they don't turn the rusty brown color after inning 1 like the others we have tried did. The only minor con I see in it is that the leather piece that holds straps on back seems very flimsy (but has held up fine so far). I'll definitely be cutting another though out of a heavier piece of leather. Looks like something that will fail at exactly the wrong time.
Any thoughts on 8U catcher gear? The league provided some but like most it's rough. I was planning on going to the local shop to look for a decent used set during lunch.
Anything that fits pretty well at that age will do. There's nothing worse than a kid trying to catch in gear that doesn't fit.