Sports Product Reviewhttp://www.sportsproductreview.com/review/The sports page for gear and gadgetsen-US2010-09-03T13:00:27ZSquarespace Site Server v5.11.5 (http://www.squarespace.com/)August 29, 2010 - Slip In and Diphttp://www.sportsproductreview.com/review/2010/8/29/august-29-2010-slip-in-and-dip.htmlBrian Gotta2010-08-29T15:21:00ZSurfingMy son went off to college yesterday. After loading in his baseball gear, he grabbed his two surf boards, his wetsuit, and his new favorite products, Suit Juice and Suit Fresh, by North Shore Products (www.wetsuitessentials.com). North Shore sent us a sampling of their full product line to try. He’s usually pretty resistant to trying new things – he thinks he’s got everything figured out – so for me to hear that he liked and uses the stuff was all the endorsement I needed to hear.

What does Suit Juice do? It is a wet suit and dry suit lubricant, which makes it easier to get in and out. It also extends the life of expensive suits by neutralizing and eliminating uric acids and oils naturally caused by the human body. These acids will destroy latex and increase fading to neoprene.

Suit Fresh is the only product to clean, deodorize and condition wetsuits and dry suits. It removes your suit of oil, salt, odors, sunscreen and anything else the water or your body might leave behind. Properly cleaning the suit with Suit Fresh and conditioning it with Suit Juice extends its life, while keeping it fresh.

After surfing all summer with a ripped old half-suit that let in the 60 degree ocean, we bought my son a new full suit that he just loves for his birthday. Judging by the way I see him taking care of his prized possession, it seems that maybe doing without for so long has made him better appreciate what he has now.

Source North Shore Products

]]>August 23, 2010 - Annoyingly Effectivehttp://www.sportsproductreview.com/review/2010/8/23/august-23-2010-annoyingly-effective.htmlBrian Gotta2010-08-24T04:26:06ZGeneralWhile coaching baseball and softball, I have used a tennis illustration many times with my teams to explain getting ready for each pitch. I show them how players look as they prepare to return a serve. How they hop from one foot to the other on the balls of their feet. What I’m trying to teach them is what every coach knows, which is that when bodies are at rest it is difficult to overcome inertia. In other words, if you’re standing still – flat-footed, you will not be able to react and move as quickly as you would if you already had some momentum created by movement. This is why tennis players bounce and baseball infielders “step-step” each time the pitcher releases the ball.

So, as a coach or parent, you can preach it all you want, but when it’s hot, the game or match is dragging on, and players are tired, they tend to get lazy and stand flat-footed. So rather then having to constantly monitor and bark, “On your toes!” the folks at 2-Hop (www.2-hop.com) invented a device that buzzes that instruction to you.

The Quick Step Trainer is a buzzing system in your shoe that alerts you when your weight and position are incorrect. Simply slip these rubberized heel inserts into shoes or cleats and go out and practice. Anytime your feet rest in the wrong, flat-footed position for more than two seconds, a slight buzzing sensation alerts you that you need to get up on the balls of your feet.

My oldest son has grown a lot recently, has big feet and he tends to run and play the field flat-footed. So when 2-Hop sent us a pair to try I was excited. We went down to the field and he reluctantly inserted the devices, and then went out to play short. After a dozen or so ground balls I asked him how they felt. He yelled back, “Annoying.” I had to laugh.

I don’t mind him being annoyed if he learns to stay on his toes. He has gotten to the point where he doesn’t listen to me much anymore anyway. But that’s fine. I don’t have to tell him to get off his heels. The Quick Step Trainer does it for me.

Source: Quick Step Trainer

]]>August 15, 2010 - Prepared for Battlehttp://www.sportsproductreview.com/review/2010/8/15/august-15-2010-prepared-for-battle.htmlBrian Gotta2010-08-15T17:39:55ZBaseball SoftballIn sports and in life, confidence is everything. On the playing field, it’s a constant battle waged in the mind. Every athlete faces fear. Am I good enough? Am I prepared? What if something goes wrong?

Perhaps the most insidious fear that athletes face is the fear of injury. Elite athletes may have trained themselves to overcome the fear of pain associated with their sport, but they dread an injury that will sideline them and potentially eliminate their livelihood. Younger players often don’t think in these broad terms, but rather simply worry about getting hurt for the most basic reason – because it hurts.

In either case, players who take the field with even the slightest worry or doubt are setting themselves up for not only failure, but also greater potential for harm. That’s one of the reasons we’re such huge fans of the XProTex line of gloves, (www.xprotex.com).

They sent us some gloves to try. The “wow” factor alone when they come out of the package is enough reason to put these high up on any player’s gift wish list. But it’s when the action starts that they truly shine.

The Reaktr infielder’s glove covers the hand inside the mitt and protects the wrist, palm and fingers from hard throws and short-hop bounces. It’s tough catching a hard throw from a teammate and, in that instant before it hits the mitt, if a players senses impending pain, any flinch might cause him to miss. At the very least, a lack of aggressiveness coming to get the ball could be the difference between safe and out on a bang-bang play.

My son, who is a shortstop, says he loves the way the glove protects his wrist from getting dinged up on bad hops. It helps him focus more on doing whatever it takes to make the play, to get in front of a ball that’s smoked, and worry less about the consequences if the ball doesn’t do what he expects it to.

XProTex gloves are among the most innovative new products to come along in the baseball world in some time, and help athletes step onto the field knowing they’re prepared and protected. And a player with the utmost confidence is sure to have the utmost success.

Source: XProTex

]]>August 7, 2010 - Skincare for Dummieshttp://www.sportsproductreview.com/review/2010/8/7/august-7-2010-skincare-for-dummies.htmlBrian Gotta2010-08-08T01:16:13ZOutdoorsOK. Sometimes I can be really stupid. Last week, my niece and nephew were out from the Midwest for a visit. They said all they wanted to do was go to the beach. So, along with my wife and kids, they went every day. Saturday, I finally took a day off of work and joined them. It was an ideal beach day. Not a cloud in the sky, warm and breezy – perfect weather.

Baseball season had recently ended and I hadn't been to the beach yet this summer. I took off my shirt and decided it was high time to get rid of my “coach’s tan.” My daughter said, “You’re going to get burned,” but I didn’t worry about it. About three hours later I was feeling a little red so I finally got out the sunscreen. Too little, too late.

I woke up the next day, as red as a beet in the shape of a T-shirt. It was so bad I had trouble sleeping a few nights. We all know what comes next, the peeling and maybe even blistering. Sure enough, in the middle of my chest, I not only peeled, but suffered a dozen or so small blisters. As stupid as getting burned like that was, what I did next was kind of smart.

I remembered that a couple of years ago the people at Mission Skin care (www.missionskincare.com) sent me some of their Ultra-Soothing After-Sun Revive Gel. I hadn’t used it for a sunburn before and thought I’d give it a shot. The website says, “Tested and proven in some of the harshest environments on earth, After-Sun Revive Gel is a high-performance recovery product that's vitamin and antioxidant enriched, so it's perfect for anyone who faces the elements -- even if the most extreme thing you do is just lay out at the beach.”

Well, in my case, lying out at the beach was extreme. I slathered my chest with the ointment and instantly felt better. But more impressively, a day later, nearly all the blisters were gone and the peeling had stopped. I’d tried ordinary lotion as well as aloe, and got nowhere near the same results. This stuff worked wonders. And you don’t have to use it only when you’ve been sunburned. It’s excellent care for skin that is exposed to any elements; cold, wind, sun, and more. It would also work great as an after-shave balm.

We all know what an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of. So the best course of action next time will be to reach for the sunblock much sooner. But when I “forget,” again, as I probably will, it’s nice to know Mission has a cure.

Source: Mission Skincare

]]>July 30, 2010 - Soften the Blowhttp://www.sportsproductreview.com/review/2010/7/30/july-30-2010-soften-the-blow.htmlBrian Gotta2010-07-30T14:31:41ZBaseball BasketballIt was awful. This past weekend, I was watching my teenage sons’ summer ball double-header at a high school field. They were playing on the JV field, which had a short, chain-link fence in the outfield. No warning track, no padding. I was out behind the center-field fence and a drive was hit in my direction. It looked to me, and apparently to the center-fielder, that it was catchable. He got a great jump, tracked it like he should and then, BOOM! Full-speed he ran face-first into the fence post as the ball went over. He collapsed on the field and for a moment I feared he was unconscious – or worse. Fortunately, after about fifteen minutes he did get up and was carted off the field. He appeared to be shaken, but all right.

That field isn’t safe. The fence is too short for high-school age kids, there is no warning track, but worst of all, no padding. That’s where a company like Promats Athletics (www.promatsathletics.com) comes in. Promats provides a wide variety of products designed to pad or protect chain link fence top rails, horizontal mid and bottom rails, as well as the vertical posts. That would have come in handy last weekend.

Promats does interior padding as well. They just finished the new indoor basketball practice facility at Indiana University, (my alma-mater). I was back in Bloomington a few weeks ago for my niece’s wedding. I took a tour of the place and its awesome. You can see what it looks like here. 

So, whether you are looking to pad these dangerous rails and posts, or simply protect against the fence mesh extending above the top rail, or need protection against the walls in your gym, ask the experts at Promats. They’ve have it covered.

Source: Promats


]]>July 19, 2010 - The Doughnut that’s Good For Youhttp://www.sportsproductreview.com/review/2010/7/19/july-19-2010-the-doughnut-thats-good-for-you.htmlBrian Gotta2010-07-19T23:15:28ZGeneralThe Grip Pro Trainer (www.gripprotrainer.com) is on my desk at all times. The Grip Pro comes in 3 different levels of difficulty: Green-30lb max resistance (easier)-for lighter weight people and warming up, black-40lb max resistance (medium), and red 50lb max resistance (difficult). They sent us all three versions several years ago. I’ve probably averaged ten squeezes per hand, per day of the 50 pound doughnut. And while ten quick reps may not seem like a lot, add it up over fifty-two weeks times three, and that’s a pretty firm handshake. I’ve put one on my baseball-playing sons’ desks as well, hoping they see the correlation between stronger forearms and better bat-control and power.

One of the advantage of the Grip Pro Trainer over other squeeze devices is that not only can you squeeze it the regular way in about any conceivable manner, to include single pairs of fingers or any group of fingers, to include your fingertips, but you can also stick your fingers into the center hole and develop the outward pushing strength of your hands. This is useful for rock climbers who need this “reverse” grip strength as they jam their fingers into holes for climbing. If you can move this thing that way, those are some strong fingers.

Use it as a stress-reliever or a forearm builder. One thing for sure, it’s easier to eat a doughnut than squeeze it. But three years from now which one would you rather have done a thousand times?

Source: Grip Pro Trainer

]]>July 12, 2010 - Superior Shooting made Simplehttp://www.sportsproductreview.com/review/2010/7/12/july-12-2010-superior-shooting-made-simple.htmlBrian Gotta2010-07-12T22:19:29ZBasketballEver watch an NBA player backpedal to get on defense after swishing a long-range jumper, his wrist still limply flexed in the post-shot position? While that looks a little too “grandstand” for my liking, there is a technical reason for this behavior which is, these guys have learned to shoot with proper form. One of the reasons they’re where they are, is that they’ve had it drilled into their heads to finish ever shot with the wrist straight, (not flexed to one side or the other), and it has become a permanent muscle-memory.

You can spend years trying to develop that same technique, or you can dramatically speed up the process by getting a J-Glove, (www.jglove.com). The J-Glove is a training aid that assists players of all levels and abilities learn proper grip and shooting skills.

The Glove works on two critical aspects of the shot. For most amateur shooters, the main reason for inconsistent shooting is improper side-to-side wrist flaws during follow through. Shooters commonly flex their index finger during follow through, causing the wrist to finish toward the outside. Some players flex their ring finger during the shot, causing their wrist to finish towards the inside. Because of its unique finger splint design, the J-Glove prevents finger flexion at the base and middle finger joints, preventing the wrist from finishing to one side during follow through.

In addition, the glove design develops proper finger separation within your "finger fork", and ensures maximum extension at the wrist joint to create a proper "trigger position". Because of the finger splint design, if the ball is resting on a player's palm, the player's index finger will not be in contact with the ball, thus reinforcing proper shot set up with every repetition.

J-Glove sent us a sample to try out. It is extremely simple in design, like putting on a golf glove or a batting glove. My son went out and shot free-throws with it and complained that he only made 7 of 15 with it on then made 11 of 15 with it off. I had to explain that was the point, it wasn’t supposed make your shot better while wearing it, but after you take it off. Looks like it worked.

Source: J-Glove

]]>June 26, 2010 - These Bats Rockhttp://www.sportsproductreview.com/review/2010/6/26/june-26-2010-these-bats-rock.htmlBrian Gotta2010-06-26T17:58:18ZBaseballIt looks great, feels even better, but oh my goodness, how it hits. Splitrock Bats (www.splitrockbats.com) may make you think twice about ever swinging aluminum again.

They sent us two birch models to try: The 110 shown here, and the JH9, which we’ll get to in a subsequent review. It would be hyperbole to say any wood bat hits with the same “pop” as aluminum, but my son, who is playing in a wood bat summer league, says this is as close as he’s ever felt.

For sixteen years, Splitrock has been a leading provider of lumber to the minor leagues. And I can see why. While watching my son’s double-header last weekend I noticed the way the other kids on the team coveted his bat. He’d get on base and the on-deck batter would retrieve the 110 and, inevitably, look at it, even half-swing it on the way back to the dugout. Maybe I was just paying closer attention, but I saw more players looking at the label of this bat than all the other kids’ bats combined.

There’s a lot of good wood out there and it would be impossible to say any make or model is definitively “the best.” But based on the feedback from one 18 year-old wood bat “expert,” I can say if you get yourself a Splitrock, you’re going to love everything about it.

Source: Splitrock Bats

]]>June 17, 2010 - Nothing to Fearhttp://www.sportsproductreview.com/review/2010/6/17/june-17-2010-nothing-to-fear.htmlBrian Gotta2010-06-17T21:05:35ZBaseballSeveral years ago, a boy on a Little League team I was coaching had his 12 year-old season end prematurely when he squared to bunt and took an inside pitch off the wrist. We knew by the way it swelled up that it was probably broken. When I called his parents that evening it was the worst news possible: Broken bone, in a cast for 4-6 weeks – out for the season.

I can say with 99% assurance, it wouldn’t have happened if he’d been wearing Hammr batting gloves, made by a fantastic up-and-coming company in the baseball world, XProTex, (www.xprotex.com).

The Hammr offers both wrist and hand protection for batters. They’re designed to help protect the small bones in the hand and in the wrist that are most vulnerable to injury from a pitched ball. The gloves boast Advanced Impact Composite (AIC) protection on the outside of the hand and wrist. AIC is a flexible, yet impact-absorbing intelligent material conceived through 30 months of development and testing.

XProTex sent us a pair to try out and you can tell just by touching the AIC protection that nothing that hits this is going to hurt. The XProTex website says that the impact load generated by a 100 MPH ball is reduced to the equivalent of being struck with a 40 MPH ball. And how many of us face 100 MPH fastballs? Even if you have never been hit on the wrist by a pitch, the self-assurance these gloves give hitters is phenomenal. I have seen my son attack more inside pitches because in the back of his mind he knows he has nothing to worry about. That additional confidence alone is worth the price of the gloves.

We have nothing to fear but fear itself? How about that pitch running up an in at the hands? Get yourself a pair of XProTex gloves and now, instead of bailing out, you can “Hammr” it.

Source: XProTex

]]>June 3, 2010 - Hit Me With Your Best Shothttp://www.sportsproductreview.com/review/2010/6/3/june-3-2010-hit-me-with-your-best-shot.htmlBrian Gotta2010-06-03T22:39:06ZFootballWho is Zoombang? You might not know of them yet, but there’s no doubt you’ve seen players wearing their products. Virtually every NFL player and many in the NHL wear protective gear from Zoombang (www.zoombang.com).

My sons play high school football and have tried all of the clunky rib and back pads to protect them when they go up to catch passes at receiver. Zoombang sent us a sample of their rib/shoulder shirt and it is amazing. It fits like a compression shirt, incorporates shock-absorbing padding that minimizes the harshest hits, yet does not in the least diminish flexibility and reach. The padding uses the most advanced material available which dissipates more energy than foams and gels by up to 80% while being 40% lighter.

It’s soft at rest yet instantly stiffens upon impact and dramatically improves the fit and comfort of traditional pads. No wonder the pros all swear by it.

Zoombang is present in nearly every sport imaginable, including skating and snowboarding and makes products for industrial and military applications too. From padded shirts and girdles, knee and elbow pads to hand and foot protection, if something’s going to hit you, Zoombang has you covered from head to toe. OK, maybe just from shoulder to toe, but you’re already wearing a helmet.

Source: Zoombang

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