First Thoughts on New Wilson Titanium Mask

I have shared with several of you over the last few months that Wilson was working on a new umpire mask made of titanium - similar to Nike's titanium mask for catchers - and that it would be available as part of their 2009 selection. I was right about that but wrong that Wilson decided to treat this mask as automobile manufactures treat their cars by having stock of the upcoming year's version in the current year.

As soon as I found they were available, which was 2 weeks ago, we ordered a limited amount and scheduled a photo session (as Wilson's pic in their online catalog is not good nor is it the accurate padding color).

AVAILABLE ONLINE
The titanium umpire mask is now available to view online with some nice zoomed and alternative views.

One of the first things I did when I returned from vacation was to pull one of these from the warehouse to take a look. When I did, I expected to see a ray of light shine onto it from above and perhaps choral music and/or bugles proclaiming its arrival in the background. However, that didn't happen.

Instead, I was honestly a little disappointed. Yes, it's perhaps the best umpire mask on the market when you look at it feature by feature:

LIGHTWEIGHT
It's ultralight weight at 1 lb 3 ounces (1 and 1 without harness) makes it one of the lightest on the market.

SAFETY
It's wrap-around padding inherent on all Wilson umpire masks makes it perhaps one the safest mask on the market excluding a discussion of hockey style helmets.

PADDING
Its doeskin padding against the face will prove both comfortable and cool.

VISIBILITY
It's low-profile offers the best visibility available in a traditional umpire mask by offering around 15% better visibility through the main bars.

MIXED EMOTIONS
So why the disappointment? Perhaps it's mostly not what I had expected. Ever been disappointed by a good movie that you thought was going to be great?

For one, Wilson's '09 catalog shows the padding as all black. I had expected and hoped for the sleek look of the all black against the light gray titanium frame that I was used to seeing with the Nike titanium catcher's mask and that is trendy today. The color combination, though, I can live with that and others will likely prefer the tri-color combination anyway.

But what I have most difficulty living with is that Wilson went with a low profile frame rather than a more traditional curved frame. As a retailer, I had planned to push this mask with veteran umpires who see 80+ MPH fastballs on a regular basis, especially those in the college and MiLB ranks. It will be difficult to do that now as I know those customers prefer the more curved frame as physics dictates they'll allow for better glancing blows than a flatter mask. In the same line of thinking, it doesn't make sense for us to market a $200 mask to umpires who are just starting at a level where frame shape may not be as important.

Hmm. So as a retailer, I'm having trouble with the potential saleability of this umpire mask - especially in any significant numbers - given its price combined with its mix of features and very good available umpire mask alternatives.

BETTER CHOICES
Again, this is still a very good mask. But on the 4 features discussed above, there seem to be good alternatives at much better prices:

LIGHTWEIGHT
The Diamond Featherweight umpire mask is our best selling mask and at 1 pound (without the harness) is lighter than even the new Wilson Titanium. And if you just prefer the Wilson brand, the Chrome Moliben (New View) is indeed heavier but only by one-tenth of a pound. Both masks are under $80.

SAFETY
Because this new titanium mask has nothing like built-in shock absorbers featured on the new Wilson Shock FX umpire helmet, it can't boast that it's any more safer than any other Wilson mask. On the issue of safety, the under $50 Wilson dyna-lite will do for traditional style protection. Now if protection is your main concern and have you had the $200 you were thinking on using for the new titanium mask, I would highly recommend buying the Shock FX titanium helmet instead... much better insurance for your head.

PADDING
And if you want the two-tone padding or all doeskin, there are those as well for under $80.

VISIBILITY
If you've paid attention you now where this is going, and that is the chrome moliben offers the same visibility for again under $80.

TARGET MARKET
Based on the above, the only 2 target customers I see for this umpire mask are:

• Those who have to have the latest and greatest... and there are plenty of those out there (and by the way, we do love those customers); and
• those who just have to the multiple combination of features found in it that truly are not found elsewhere and at the same time have no problem dropping two Benjamins for it.

ETC
Wilson did not consult with me on the making of this mask, nor did I expect them to. When two current major league umpires have helped them design products in the past, and very good products at that, why would they venture beyond those guys? If they had, I would have strongly encouraged them to stick with the traditional frame shape and asked them to consider all-black leather at the hopes of a slightly lower price point.

Regardless, I do hope to gain further insights about the process of designing this mask during a meeting - that had been previously postponed - with our Wilson rep on Wednesday.

YOUR TURN
In the meantime, I would love your initial thoughts on this umpire mask including whether you agree or disagree with any of my thoughts above. I have been wrong before... and I hope I'm at least a little off here... and very well could be after umpires start providing feedback after its on-field use.