Catchers gear

[Shandar]

New here so not sure if this is ok to post. DD started catching last year and had a set of hand me down gear. Looking to upgrade as one of the knee pads cracked. Theres a lot of different sets and its pretty overwhelming. And no stores have them to try or see. What is a good set for her to get? I hear about the Vela but cant find it on their site. Is the afx an upgrade? Is the S7 ok for softball? I keep seeing the Jen Schro. Any advice or direction is welcome. DD is 5’0”, 130lb. Thank you for any help

 

[GhostCatcher]

Are you looking for a certain color? I have a set of unused Mizuno leg guards in black and orange that are too big for my 4'8" 9yo daughter.

A lot depends on the fit, those that wrap around are typically more comfortable and allow for more movement.

We bought All Star guards she loves. Lots of people will recommend Rawlings and Schutt and Easton and All-Star.

 

[YOCOACH]

As a general rule, Schutt S3, All-Stars AFX and the Diamond iX5 are considered top of the line sets. You can still find the All-Stars Vela sets on Amazon if you can find the colors you want. That said, many on here mix and match pieces from different manufacturers since sets often don't fit properly in one or more of the pieces. To find the proper fit, measure center of knee to top of the ankle for shin-guards, collar bone beneath the chin to navel for the chest protector and you'll need to get a seamstress measuring tape to find the circumference of her head and convert that to hat size for the helmet. You can find that conversion table here. Hat Sizing Chart (iastate.edu) Hope this helps.

 

[sydnishel]

Went from the Vela to the afx. My daughter loved the Vela and loves the afx just as much if not more. High quality equipment. Helmet is the same. Leg guards and chest protector are better.

 

[MadBandit22]

New here so not sure if this is ok to post. DD started catching last year and had a set of hand me down gear. Looking to upgrade as one of the knee pads cracked. Theres a lot of different sets and its pretty overwhelming. And no stores have them to try or see. What is a good set for her to get? I hear about the Vela but cant find it on their site. Is the afx an upgrade? Is the S7 ok for softball? I keep seeing the Jen Schro. Any advice or direction is welcome. DD is 5’0”, 130lb. Thank you for any help

Best gear is Allstar/Under Armour. Then Evoshield & Jen Schroeder IMO.
You can find Vela Pro on other websites. AFX is their most recent updated Fastpitch gear. S7 is fine for softball.
Sounds like your DD is a youth/intermediate size depending on brand.
Brands don’t have universal sizing. Different categories can have different sizes . As an example a Mizuno youth may have a 13” CP and a 14” LG while Rawlings may have a 14” CP & 13.5 LG. Helmets can vary as well.
You may have to mix & match to find perfect fit.
Hit a good local sports store and try on different brands to get the best fit. Schutt is also a solid brand if your on a limited budget.

 

[Shandar]

We ended up going with the AFX. We mixed the sizes based on her measurements and it all ended up fitting great. Shes already said how much better and more protective it is. Were pretty close to all-star it seems because we had it to us in like two days. Shes going to test it out in her first tournament this weekend. Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

[Chad504boy]

my dd is similar size, she now has a mizuno samurai set. (not the crap in avatar pic) we like it, not sure i'd recommend over some other sets or not. Just looked up the AFX set, looks nice. I bought all star stuff for my son's catching gear so i like allstar as well.