Easton Stealth Catcher's Mask Versus All Star Professional Catcher's Mask

For the vast majority of my baseball playing career, in which I briefly played college ball, I have been a catcher. During my time, the equipment that catchers use has greatly evolved. I will now compare and contrast the old school model All Star professional mask and the more modern Easton Stealth mask.

The All Star professional catcher's mask is a two piece style mask. The catcher must first put on a skull cap, which is somewhat similar to a batting helmet, and then strap the mask over the skull cap. While the All Star mask is a two piece, the Easton Stealth mask is one piece, very similar to what hockey goalies wear. The All Star mask is what catchers have worn for decades and the Stealth hockey style mask was invented in the early 1990s. Although the Stealth is a more recent creation, most high school leagues force catcher's to wear it, instead of the All Star. Despite not being mandatory in college and professional baseball, many catchers can be seen using the Easton Stealth. The All Star professional mask once dominated the market, but the introduction of the Easton Stealth has vastly changed market preference.

Perhaps one of the most important aspects of a catcher's mask is the amount of visibility it provides. The Easton Stealth provides maximum visibility in addition to being light weight. The All Star professional does not provide as much visibility as the Easton Stealth, yet those catchers using the All Star mask are not at a disadvantage. Any visibility that the All Star does not provide is made up with the ease of taking the All Star mask off. While the Easton Stealth mask comes off the catcher's head easily, the All Star professional mask wins this competition. Being a two piece mask the mask slips off the skull cap smoothly, while the Stealth mask can occasional get caught on the catcher's forehead.

While visibility is extremely important, protection and performance are not far behind. The Easton Stealth mask offers by far the most protection. Being a one piece mask, the catcher's head is completely protected by the Stealth mask. The All Star professional mask does not offer the complete protection of the catcher's head like the Stealth mask does. The All Star mask leaves the ears open to be hit by foul balls or the hitter's backswing. Although the Stealth covers the head more, the All Star professional covers the catcher's throat more efficiently. The All Star mask has a steel piece that comes down to protect the catcher's neck and the Easton Stealth does not. Easton has realized this and a throat guard is offered at an additional price.

With protection and visibility covered, the final aspect of the mask is its performance. While the All Star professional mask comes off with ease, it also seems to fall off when the catcher attempts to throw out a base runner. This temporary blockage of vision can throw the catcher off and result in a bad throw. The one piece Easton Stealth mask does not move very much when the catcher throws the ball to a base. The Stealth stays in place for the most part and does not hinder the catcher's vision.

Although each mask has its pros and cons, each individual catcher has his own preference. With both the Easton Stealth and the All Star professional masks retailing at around one hundred dollars it is highly suggested to decide on which is the better fit before making a purchase. For my entire high school career I used the Easton Stealth but in college I switched to the All Star professional mask. Despite changing in the middle of my career, I would still recommend the Easton Stealth over the All Star professional model.