[Umpire in Chief]

Disclaimer: I received this product compliment of Jim and Ump-Attire. I feel obligated to let the members know as they read this review, but this will/has not affect my review.

The first thing I notice is the stitching. It appears to be pretty sturdy. This is especially important where the belt slips through. Every ball bag I've had, other than the original Ump-Attire Ultimate Ball Bag, had ended up needing to restitched at the belt hoops. I don’t see this being an issue with the Ultimate Pro Style ball bag.

Another thing I like about the stitching is the fact that the inside pockets for a brush, pencil, lineup card holder (which is a must for me) have bottoms sewn in. My now former ball bags irritated me because the pockets were too deep and it was irritating especially when trying to remove your brush or if you use a bullet pencil which you can't get out. I actually took them to my mother to sew bottoms into the pocket.

Another thing I like about the Ultimate Pro Style ball bag is that they are truly nave blue. Some people may mistake them for black, which I like versus some of the brighter navy blue ball bags.

While I really liked my original Ultimate Ball Bag, it was shunned by some of the more senior umpires for having the elastic top; the Ultimate Pro Style ball bag seems to be slightly tapered at the top which should give a similar effect of keeping balls in the bag while hustling down the line.

One of my favorite features from the original was the zippered pocket on the back is still there. I love keeping my wallet and keys in that pocket as well as an extra indicator.

The new Pro Style bag also features a waterproof lining to keep your sweat from getting on the baseballs. Another thing I like about this lining is that I think it will help in terms of cleaning. I have silt in the bottom of my ball bags that just seems to get stuck in the material. The waterproof lining may help with this.

The material seems standard, not at thick as the original which is something I really liked about the original, but I understand some people had problems with fading on the original style even though I didn't. So this is probably an overall improvement.

Also missing from the pro style bag from the original is the small loop which was on the original, but I never knew what the purpose of it was, but it didn't bother me that it was there.

The price is fair at $17.95. This is more than most other ball bags, but in this case you do get what you pay for, a higher quality product.

Overall a great product. I'll follow up at the end of the HS season and see how it goes through the season.