Easton Pro-X Catcher's Helmet
- Thread starter Eric F
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The clear best from a pure protection standpoint is the Force3. However, I have not yet met a player who is willing to wear it due to weight and appearance.
For the current offering from major brands, the Easton Pro-X, All-Star S7, and Wilson Pro Stock are all pretty similar in protection features. The All-Star has resilient mounts for the cage. The Easton and Wilson include specialty impact absorption material inside the crown of the shell. All 3 have eliminated cage mounts at the forehead (this is a big deal!).
For my DD, the Easton Pro-X is the only one she has been comfortable with, but that's just a personal fit issue.
DD has the Wilson Pro Stock DS has the All-star. The Wilson seems less stream lined to me, but DD likes it more than her brother's. Of course it could be she doesn't like the All-Star as much because it's her brother's. I'll vote for either. Another kid in baseball was borrowing the All-Star last night. He took a foul tip off the mask. I walked to the plate from the dug out to check on him, and he looked at me like... "What are you doing out here?" I'm happy with the results from both so far. No issues at all. On a side note, I still have a Shock FX that's too big for either of them. That's what I wear when I need to.
Thanks for the research and comments everyone. My older daughter (11) is wanting to catch and I agree with the "I'd be horrified if she got badly hurt because I was saving $40 on a helmet" so just bought her the Easton Pro-X.*
Her chest protector, skin guards and gear bag, however, came from the used sporting good store and came to a whopping $30 combined. MIzuno bag, Eason skin guards, Wilson chest protector. A nice mix and match set, but at least all the pieces are the same color.
* Baseball express has a 15% off and free shipping coupon code floating around which helped. Lowest end price I could find ($119)
Her chest protector, skin guards and gear bag, however, came from the used sporting good store and came to a whopping $30 combined. MIzuno bag, Eason skin guards, Wilson chest protector. A nice mix and match set, but at least all the pieces are the same color.
* Baseball express has a 15% off and free shipping coupon code floating around which helped. Lowest end price I could find ($119)
- Apr 28, 2019
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All Star/UA is supposed to be the best. Not sure about that. They are expensive though. Easton makes solid gear.,I've been anticipating the release of this helmet for a while, encouraged by the pics and info I've seen, in hopes of finding a helmet that does a better job with head impacts...and one my DD likes. It arrived today.
Thoughts and observations...
Easton got a lot of stuff right with this helmet, including improved padding materials and no forehead cage mounts. The main pads include 2 different materials - one soft, and one that squishes with some force applied to it (not rigid like EPS). In my estimation, these materials will do a good job of absorbing and dispersing impact energy. The marketing notes for the helmet mention PoronXRD padding material (good stuff!) in the crown of the helmet. I was expecting more than the two yellow strips.
Overall, my impression is that it isn't as full of safety features as the Force3 helmets (which struggles with appearance issues), but is on par with the All-Star. It's definitely a step forward for Easton, but not a huge revolution.
We have the Prowess Adult set but we prefer the Diamond Pro IX5 gear. Also like Rawlings Velo gear. Not much changes in catchers gear. I mean really innovative stuff. Really just colors/design cosmetic stuff.
DD really likes her Schutt air max, and one of our reasons for going this route was .. . . it was offered in white.
when are the manufacturers going to realize while all the dark colors may look cool, they just contribute to creating little ovens to cook our kids brains in. light colors folks, is it really all that hard to figure out? to me this is also safety or at least health related, if she has to catch 3 games in 95 degree heat (possible but unlikely, team has 2 Cs), want to do everything possible to cool her head off.
when are the manufacturers going to realize while all the dark colors may look cool, they just contribute to creating little ovens to cook our kids brains in. light colors folks, is it really all that hard to figure out? to me this is also safety or at least health related, if she has to catch 3 games in 95 degree heat (possible but unlikely, team has 2 Cs), want to do everything possible to cool her head off.
The All-Star System 7 helmet is great, and includes a lot of the features that Easton and Wilson have started to include on their latest models. For some girls, however, the fit of one or the other is a deal-breaker. For my DD, the All-Star was a no-go because of fit.
From what I can see, Diamond and Rawlings are lagging behind the others in terms of cage mounting improvements.
I would agree that catcher's gear evolves slowly. Unfortunately, some of the best designs have come and gone - Wilson FX2.0 helmet, and Wilson ProMotion chest protector. Force3 is making some big steps for increased head protection, but their form is still a little bit on the clunky side.
My DD is wearing the Under Armour Converge Pro gear in silver because we are in Arizona and she was sick of baking in her dark gear. She has taken a couple fouls to different parts of the masks/helmet and said she didn't feel much of anything. Legs are also holding up really well, she cracked a set of eastons in under 6 months.
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- Apr 28, 2019
- 1,423
- 83
I wear the Diamond IX5 and love it. Another plus which nobody else has caught on to that I know if is the plastic clips. Much easier/faster to get shin guards on/off. My daughter has adult Prowess gear but uses my Diamond shin guards. They stay in place and easy on easy off.
- Apr 28, 2019
- 1,423
- 83
Everybody has their favorites. I see Softball.com is pushing the Force 3 you mentioned. Slugger also made a good set in series 5 & 7. That was our 1st set.
I’m more concerned with cushioning and shock absorption than how mask is mounted. I guess looks count especially with girls but I’ll take substance over style in terms of protection.
