Baseball or fastpitch catcher's mitt for Dad

[LEsoftballdad]

Yep. There is definitely an upside to having both as well, my twins being a pitcher and a catcher saved me from always being a bucket Dad and gave me the ability to watch each of them much more closely during countless hours of practice and training. They also push each harder and more often than you would find in most normal team scenarios and that has even continued into college (now in their Junior yr) although just due to living on campus with other teammates has altered the accessibility issue.

It's definitely saved me over the last few years too. But my girls are two years apart, so the oldest is away at college now, hence the reason for the original post. I'm back to being a bucket Dad.

 

[LEsoftballdad]

So, I took the new HOH baseball catcher's mitt for a full bullpen sessions today with my daughter. I was very pleased with the performance of the padding of this mitt versus the previous LA fastpitch mitt. I can't say whether the fastpitch HOH has an equal amount of padding to the baseball version, but I will never go back to using the LA.

The mitt isn't what I'd call game ready, but I'll never catch a game with it, so it was fine. No balls popped out, and the pocket is forming nicely to a softball size. Oh, and the thing has a beautiful sounding pop when the ball hits the pocket.

If you're a bucket dad looking for a new mitt with a daughter who throws 58+, I highly recommend using a higher quality baseball mitt rather than a fastpitch mitt. I also confirmed with a former Ole Miss catcher who said she always used a baseball mitt in college.

 

[LEsoftballdad]

This is my daughter's Nokona Kip leather fastpitch mitt next to my baseball Heart of The Hide mitt. That Nokona was almost $400 new, but there's no comparison in the padding between the two.

 

[ANNASDAD]

Hey LE, is it possible to show us a side by side open palm shot of both of those mitts with a 12” softball in the pocket?

 

[LEsoftballdad]

Hey LE, is it possible to show us a side by side open palm shot of both of those mitts with a 12” softball in the pocket?

Mind you, the Nokona is fully broken in, and the HOH is just getting started on its journey.

 

[ANNASDAD]

Web is definitely taller and wider (by design) on the FP mitt!

 

[LEsoftballdad]

Web is definitely taller and wider (by design) on the FP mitt!

There is no comparison in the padding, either on the edges or the palm, though.

 

[ANNASDAD]

There is no comparison in the padding, either on the edges or the palm, though.

We talk about the palm padding on Vinci FP mitts, and the thumb padding on the single break heel All-Star mitts….

But that HOH baseball mitt was designed for a grown man to catch another grown man throwing a very hard 100+ mph baseball, and foul tips that actually speed up!

 

[LEsoftballdad]

We talk about the palm padding on Vinci FP mitts, and the thumb padding on the single break heel All-Star mitts….

But that HOH baseball mitt was designed for a grown man to catch another grown man throwing a very hard 100+ mph baseball, and foul tips that actually speed up!

Absolutely! There's no comparison between a ball coming in at 60+ MPH and one at 100 MPH. I know we talk about the reaction times being similar between a 65-70 MPH softball pitch and a 100 MPH baseball, but the velocity is not the same.

I'm glad I went with the baseball version.

 

[LEsoftballdad]

So, after seeing my new baseball HOH, my older daughter decided her Nokona was no longer good enough for her. She decided to build a custom HOH catcher's mitt with her college's colors.

Nothing like waiting until January to build a mitt for her college season. Even the R2G break-in process will still mean it won't be ready for a while.