So, what's on everyone's Want, Need & Wish lists for the holidays this year? There's been some cool stuff posted in the previous end-of-year gear threads. My #1: Speedcross 4 GTX (Goretex) - need something for less slippage on wet and really soft/muddy fields while keeping feet dry/warm. I'm praying their 14's fit since that's their max size. Amazon has them on sale for $112.46, down from $149 or so. Thanks to several here for pointing these out. Upgrade Time: I think I want vibrating stoppage reminder & countdown alarms on my next primary referee watch - too many players are reacting my watch "beeps". Needs to display large numbers like I have now. The Spintso Pro is on sale at OSI for $109.95 - perhaps there's a better source? Or, maybe the right smartwatch is the answer... But, my simpleton-self is telling me to go with the tried-and-true solution as I've seen a number of smartwatch foul-up's during games this year... Stocking Stuffer: Thinking about trying the Fox40 Fuziun whistle just for something different (current #1 is Dolfin-F). Anyone else tried the Fuziun? Pros/cons, like/hate it? Wishful thinking: Some sort of mid/lower-end comms, specifically for HS duals to prevent some missed/mixed signals with certain partners. Well, they might help prevent them... I'll likely have analysis paralysis for several more months.
My referee wish list is actually pretty limited this year. 1) White US Soccer polo 2) Referee shorts (I only have 1 pair that fits correctly) 3) Blue long sleeve US Soccer shirt One thing that I'm just going to get myself is an automatic ball pump. I know some people on here have the TorrX, but I couldn't bring myself to spend that much. But, the referees in the college chapter got this in the fall, Morpilot Automatic Pump. At $25 I think it is a steal.
just a suggestion but the RefScorer watch is probably better value than Sprintso. I have heard way too many people have problems with Sprintso. refScorer also has a vibrate function but has a much more normal sized watch profile.
TorrX is nice but way overkill for a referee. For a coach that might need to pump 20 balls at a time it makes sense. For a ref that normally will only have to do 5 or 6 at most, it’s not worth it.
Important to note that the machine is AGONIZINGLY slow. I can pump and measure soccer balls in half the time that expensive thing takes.
I have the Fuziun and absolutely hate it. It’s impossible for me to get a good sound out of it, so I wouldn’t recommend. As for watches, I used a Spintso for a few years then upgraded to the Garmin/Referee Watch Pro version. It tracks fitness info with the same (maybe even a little better) features of the spintso, but is significantly more expensive. I haven’t tried the RefScorer, but I can tell you I’ve never had an issue with my spintso, just getting the battery changed every year is about $20 at a local place (you can do it yourself but if you break the watch you void the warranty). As for my wishlist: 1. Some UEFA gear from Macron. Waiting for a jacket to get back in stock then I’ll be ordering a couple of things. 2. A set of cards from writeoncards.com 3. Some OSI shirts and a pullover
Whether the Garmin or Spintso solution is more expensive depends on what Garmin you get and what deal you get on it--part of what sold me on trying the Garmin solution was I got my Garmin for appreciably less than I could find a Spintso at the time. But it is also certainly true that there are Garmins that cost a lot more than the Spintso.
I'm contemplating the OSI oversized bag. I'm told the smaller wheeled bag is too small to hold flags. If not this, what do you use/recommend?
I carried the old big bag for years and it's a big mistake because it tends to get filled up. Don't need all that stuff; downsize. But you spend a lot of time on the road so ... maybe.
Yeah I had that bag and quickly found it was way too much and I was filling it up. I use the current USSF carryon which has plenty of room if you organizer properly. Flags in a case (at least my b+d’s and OSI ones) don’t fit diagonally for me but they are on top of other things so maybe they would fit if you put them on the bottom? What I do is take the flags out of the case and put them in like that (usually close to the top of the bag). I then fold up an OSI case flat and stick that in there too. That way if the flags are wet or muddy I can put them in the case and either carry them or rest them against the extending handle. I also have a bunch of carabiners on the outside zippers to attach things to, like shoes or a flag case. Stuff I use for organization with the bag: OSI shoe bag, Refsworld gear organizer (OSI one works too), large organizer for my shirts (holds ten, has 2 sections, goes on bottom of bag), and the rest falls in place but it’s definitely personal preference where things go and what you actually carry. I wouldn’t recommend the newest OSI suitcase because it’s even shorter than the current one so I don’t feel it would fit flags. PM me if you want a full rundown on the stuff I carry.
Maybe you should charge the battery more often. I've had one for a while, and it works great. Also, be careful not to leave it somewhere in extreme hot/cold conditions. This could have a negative impact on the battery.
For what it's worth, the resident lifeguard has the Classic, the Mini, and the Fuziun. The Classic and Mini get used; the Fuziun stays home.
I thought about doing this but their stuff is incredibly expensive. I actually contacted Savi to look into getting a CONCACAF warmup but the cost of the international shipping for it was more than I was willing to spend. Anyway, my wishlist... 1. Hard shell suitcase- it’s about time to retire my duffel bag 2. OSI shirt and/or full zip training jacket- haven’t decided yet exactly what I want yet 3. Amazfit Bip watch thanks to @tomek75 recommendation- came yesterday, seems great so far- hope to try it out in games this weekend 4. POTENTIALLY full NISOA kit and other gear- still working with my assignor to hopefully get in for next year Think that’s it for now...
+ 1 for the Morpilot Automatic Pump at $25. I use it to inflate our balls at practice, and have brought it out at a few games only when I knew the coaches would have flat soccer balls and no pump... I use a Garmin Vivoactive that I bought refurbished. Great deal, great watch, with the App. Wishlist: new bag. I use a bag that holds my gear for playing, and for reffing. Need to separate the stuff
I've listened to some videos online, but it's hard to tell -- how would you describe the difference between the Fuzion and classic or sonic blast etc?
I'm not sure what the shipping will be yet but it's a cool enough purchase where I can just forget about it (the joys of being young, right?). Plus I need a jacket that isn't a windbreaker/raincoat because I have like 5 of those. Good on you for the suitcase! Welcome to the dark side. Also good luck to you with the NISOA stuff! I'm hoping to break into ECSR next fall so I have to look good in front of the assignor at an April tournament so maybe I'll be adding that to my wishlist for the summer. As for CONCACAF, you should move to Florida! A lot of the Florida 6's, 5's, 4's, and 3's are lucky enough to have the connections to attend the U15 CONCACAF Championships. I've seen Dallas Cup games with CONCACAF gear as well if I remember correctly. Lots of opportunities.
I have the Morpilot pump. I love it, and I bought one to also put in my son's soccer bag to pump up his and his teammates' soccer balls. My wishlist is also pretty limited this year. I'm looking for a couple of polo shirts since I have two of the pullovers, perhaps the rain jacket, and some of the pink referee shirts from RefereeStore.com so I can fit my crew with pink shirts for games (please, USSF, make this an official color instead of the primary colors we have now). For the watch option, I do think a very good "mid-cost" option is to buy the Spintso and then buy a less expensive GPS watch. I own a Garmin and then use a basic Ironman as my backup, but if you want a vibrating watch and a GPS watch going the Spintso/Ticwatch option would be a very viable lower-cost option.
When the OSI holiday catalog came in the mail recently, my wife handed me the catalog and a marker and said, "Circle what you want." I don't think she knows how dangerous that is. So many choices.
The temptation to lay it down on notebook paper and circle the whole book would be strong. Just for laughs.
Oof i only buy stuff from osi I absolutely have to. I am almost embarrassed to say but I am jonesing for a lulu lemon warmup jacket. I am asking for one of these for Christmas, in black of course https://www.amazon.com/Unisex-Origi...?dchild=1&keywords=buff&qid=1575561054&sr=8-3 I also am constantly looking for a durable backup watch (I primary a garmin 230 with the referee app) that vibrates. My early presbyopia keeps me from considering the spintso and the standard timex expedition and the new ref scorer watch. so I found this on timex https://www.timex.com/command-shock...SOs7O9fM5Tsqnsp0fO0O_tWtumHEWq8RoC1YQQAvD_BwE big numbers and should be durable. Seems stupid to spend so much on a non- smart watch but to me the backup should not be rechargeable.
Haven't had it out for quite a while, but I don't recall it sounding (as the one blowing it) much different from the classic.
While I'm a fan of Speedcrosses, they are a bit too narrow for my feet. I actually bought the Supercross GTX shoes. They seem very similar to the Speedcrosses, but are a little wider and fit my feet better. Speedcrosses do have a wide version, but not in the GTX version.