I want to share my experience that I have had with Mizuno as a company and with their product. Last year my 12-year-old son (13 now) was due for new catching equipment, and he really liked the look of the matte black Samurai gear by Mizuno. We have had Wilson and Rawlings gear in the past and they had held up for multiple seasons (he grew out of the Wilson gear). We did some research and discussed with other parents and players and most suggested to go with the All-Star brand. However, he really wanted the Samurai gear, so we went with Mizuno. For the most part the equipment is fine except for a few months ago (while still under warranty) the helmet pads started to separate and fall out. It started with the back head plate so I tried to use adhesive (Gorilla glue from my garage), but it would not hold. Eventually he lost track of that pad, and it got lost. The fact that this has never happened to other brand’s helmets/gear, I did not think of it as a warranty concern (my mistake); I figured it was a fluke, a onetime occurrence. Well, over the next few months, most of the helmet pads have separated and/or fallen off. I tried again to glue them on but no luck; my son has taken to wearing a hat backwards or borrowing another helmet. So, I reached out to Mizuno to share this concern and to see if they would help with a fix. Well, their response was quick and clear; they had no interest in assisting. They stated that since it was a couple of months past the warranty (again, my fault), they “regret to inform you” they would not assist. I was not asking for a replacement helmet; I was just shocked that it would fall apart within the first year. In my opinion, they were not shocked, and it seemed that this might be a normal concern due to their canned responses regarding warranty and no replacement parts/pads. However, they did have some wonderful suggestions how other companies could assist with the repairs of their Mizuno equipment, such as shop online for universal pads, shop a local retailer who may have an older helmet to take pads from or again, use “Gorilla Glue”. With this response as quickly as it came, in my opinion, shows me that it is not the first time they have addressed this issue and obviously clear that they do not stand behind their “quality products”. Also, it is my son’s head we are trying to protect and to not sound overly cautious, I don’t think that used pads and glue are in the best interest of his brain. Again, this is only my experience and my opinion of the Mizuno brand and equipment.
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