The Ref Stop

New season, new gear

Dino Ref

Dino Ref

Well-Known Member
Hello,

I know we're a month or two into the new season but I'm looking to buy some new gear.

I've got a new kit but other than that I'm looking for some suggestions.

I'm looking for:

*A whistle, current one is getting a bit worn.
* A watch or two, currently being a level 7 who does mostly juniors with the odd adult and AR Im currently using a £10 one from Argos that has a stopwatch
* Set of flags, Currently have some but are getting old.

Also does anyone know where I can find the Nike academy 19 drill top to do warm ups in? Whenever I am an AR the other two seems to always have them but everywhere I look they're sold out. :https://referee-equipment.co.uk/product/new-nike-academy-19-drill-top-in-anthracite/

Does anyone know anywhere that could also print Badges if I managed to get the drill top?

Thanks for any suggestions.
 
The Ref Stop
Ive got 2 £10 Argos watches. They're fantastic and will outlast me that's for sure.

As for flags, the cheapest flags do tend to be pretty poor quality, mid range ones are perfectly fine.

A&H for ref gear in my experience, although the card wallets there don't tend to last long. They do match sheets with sin bin columns on them now. You can get the sheets, a new whistle and a yellow card with all the sin bin permutations on it for about £10 in a bundle. Really good value.
 
JamieA said:
* Set of flags, Currently have some but are getting old.
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Touchline Premier flags on A+H are good. However, I would invest in a pair of cheap rubbish to give for when you have club linesmen. You absolutely don't want your good kit going anywhere near them, they'll be ruined.

Cheap watches are fine, the only thing you might want to consider is a GPS watch, something like Fitbit or Garmin, whatever, with GPS built-in, preferably without the need to have your phone nearby. That will allow you to track your mileage and other running attributes, which can help if you want to keep a record and monitor your fitness over time. Don't get them unless you're very serious about it though, they're pricey in my opinion.
 
JamieA said:
Hello,

I know we're a month or two into the new season but I'm looking to buy some new gear.

I've got a new kit but other than that I'm looking for some suggestions.

I'm looking for:

*A whistle, current one is getting a bit worn.
* A watch or two, currently being a level 7 who does mostly juniors with the odd adult and AR Im currently using a £10 one from Argos that has a stopwatch
* Set of flags, Currently have some but are getting old.

Also does anyone know where I can find the Nike academy 19 drill top to do warm ups in? Whenever I am an AR the other two seems to always have them but everywhere I look they're sold out. :https://referee-equipment.co.uk/product/new-nike-academy-19-drill-top-in-anthracite/

Does anyone know anywhere that could also print Badges if I managed to get the drill top?

Thanks for any suggestions.
Click to expand...
Fox40 whistles. Either the Classic or the Mini, depending on your preference for size, both give good control over tone and volume. And if you can access a supplier, they come in a range of colours for a decent price.
 
Will you be leading a team of 3 anytime soon? When I found out I'd be in the middle with NARs, I bought some good Touchline flags on eBay for about £30 (you can get them new for a similar price, but they were sold out literally everywhere when I was looking). Like previously mentioned, keep your old flags for when you're working with club assistants. I've found that it's worth experimenting with whistles to find one that suits yourself. I bought a set of 3 Fox whistles on Amazon for around < £20. As for your watch, cheap is definitely fine, but it isn't a bad idea investing a bit more in a good watch. I'm loving my Apple Watch, which I use RefSix on. It's worth the money for me, as I use it everyday anyway and it's genuinely helpful for life outside refereeing. If you're not gonna use it everyday and only for refereeing, I probably wouldn't spend a lot of money on a watch. I think RefSix still do a finance plan where you can buy the watch and the Pro version of the app on a 0% interest monthly plan; that's what I'm doing. It's roughly £20 a month (for my Apple Watch Series 3 with Pro), depending on the length of the plan which is usually paid for by a match fee per month.
 
Nij said:
Fox40 whistles. Either the Classic or the Mini, depending on your preference for size, both give good control over tone and volume. And if you can access a supplier, they come in a range of colours for a decent price.
Click to expand...

Those are definitely the classic choices--my personal preference it he mini, for reasons I can't explain. I'd add the Molten Dolphin as a good, yet still inexpensive, whistle option. As well as the new Fox40 Fuzion. The Acme Tornado (a bit funny looking, like a bent piece of gum) is a nice option if you do games with side by side fields, as it has a unique sound. (Some use the Fox40 Pearl for the same reason, but I've never liked the pearl for some reason.) (Can you tell I went whistle sampling for a while . . . I use all four of the above depending on my mood, and occasionally one of my others on low key games.)

For watches, you can always get away with cheap watches, but something more referee focused. The Referee Watch ap for the Garmin watches does everything I've every wanted from a watch as a referee. (I really like my watch to vibrate at time up--I never want it to beep, and the vibrate means I can't lose track.)
 
at early stage refreeing uour gear is fine i have known hundeds of referees buy the most expensive watch, whistle, 6months later they decide refereeing isnt for them,
as for whistles i cant get a sound out the fusion and the pearl is dreadfull
 
Molten Dolphin is a cracking whistle (use the Acme Tornado 2000 as my second), Dolphin is less than a tenner and haven't looked at a Fox 40 since. 10 quid Casio watch from Argos is the way to go, I run one of them with my Samsung watch (using RefSix) and it'll no doubt at last me.
 
Love the joys of youth, hope and expectation, all the gear, lets hope they have some idea!!!

My first few games were (No idea).... a borrowed whistle...... that's it!!!! ;)
 
Sheffields Finest said:
Love the joys of youth, hope and expectation, all the gear, lets hope they have some idea!!!

My first few games were (No idea).... a borrowed whistle...... that's it!!!! ;)
Click to expand...

I take it you used the goalposts as impromptu sun-dials to work out how much time had elapsed? 😉
 
Eddie said:
I take it you used the goalposts as impromptu sun-dials to work out how much time had elapsed? 😉
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Probably but I could manage men, horrible men, they feared me more than I feared them, it’s not the fancy shirt or the gadgets it’s what’s underneath that makes the man!
 
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