I try to review things whether I like them or not, but the truth is that a) I tend to not be excited enough about things I don’t like to write a whole review post about them b) things that I don’t like are usually sold or flung to the far depths of my closet, thus promptly forgotten about. So I’ve tried to gather a list of all the things I can think of that I’ve had in the past couple years that I didn’t like, and write a very brief explanation as to why.
Clipmaster clippers – I’m pretty sure these things were invented by Satan. So heavy, so loud, and the damn vent blows the clipped hair right at you. They’re well made and do a good job, but so do other clippers without all the negatives. I’ll happily keep my Lister Stars.
Equine Couture suede belt – It’s a pretty belt, if you like the look of the TS suede belts but not the price. Sadly, mine started to fray and come apart within only a few wearings. When I contacted EC about it both via email and on facebook, I never heard back from them. Boo.
TuffRider/Smartpak breeches – I thought the TuffRider and SP breeches were very similar so I’ve lumped them together here. Aside from the fact that they didn’t fit me very well (really gappy in the waist yet tight in the thigh) I thought the fabric was too thick, heavy, hot, and sagged in the crotch. Of course, I’m used to something very different.
Rebound hoof pack – I saw lots of people online saying that they preferred Rebound to Magic Cushion, so when I ran out of MC I decided to give Rebound a try. It seems to work well, but it does NOT stay in the foot for more than an hour unless I wrap it. I had a lot more luck with the MC staying in. If it won’t stay in, it’s kind of useless.
Wilkers baby pad – My pretty navy and yellow Wilkers pad that I just got came apart the first time I washed it. It’s still usable, but about 2.5″ of the binding came unstitched in one corner. It’s been a while since I’ve had a Wilkers since I’ve swapped over to BobbyGee’s, and this makes me definitely want to stick with BG.
Ovation fuzzy dressage girth – This was one of the girths I bought while I was trying to find the right one for Princess Henry and god I hated this thing. It would bunch up at the ends, slide around, and generally drive me effing nuts. The elastic seemed a little TOO stretchy, so everything just moved around all over the place unless I over-tightened the hell out of it.
Total Saddle Fit leathers – I got these at a discount during a promotional deal that TSF was running, and I just feel kind of lukewarm about them. I don’t hate them… they’re fine.. but they’re a little bit wider and thicker than I prefer, and just have a bit of a cheap plasticy look to the leather. Meh. Definitely nowhere near as nice as my Schleese calfskin leathers.
Rider’s Sport sunshirt – Another “meh” for me. If I’d never had Kastels I probably would like the Rider’s Sport shirt, but in comparison it feels stiff, thick, and boxy, plus it’s a bit short in the arms and torso. Of all the sunshirts in my closet, I almost never reach for this one.
Every knock-off Ogilvy cover I’ve ever seen/tried – I tried several different covers and one knock-off pad from Etsy shops and didn’t like any of them. The materials aren’t even comparable and everything was either mis-sized (a cover that was huge, a pad that was tiny) or just did not wash/wear well at all. I’ll just spend a little extra $ on the real thing.
And not recent purchases, but since I’m on a roll of grumpiness now – general things other people love that I’ve always hated. I don’t get it. Explain these things to me:
Zocks – I understood these when we still had pull-on boots, but now I don’t get it. They’re so thin that they don’t last very long, they provide no cushion, and they feel slippery on your feet.
Show Sheen – Didn’t we realize many years ago that silicone dries out the hair?
No Knot Hairnet – If you do your hair properly, it takes 30 seconds and there will be nothing on your forehead (including knots) with just a regular Aerborn heavyweight hairnet. Plus it looks better. And you can get 6 Aerborn hairnets for the price of one No Knot.
Show Bows – I know it’s my h/j upbringing rearing it’s ugly head here, but I still get twitchy about a show bow. You used to see them a lot in eventing but now they’re fairly rare, most people seem to have gone the way of the hairnet. Granted, I am the kind of person who determines when to get a haircut based on how my helmet is fitting with my hair up in it. No way I could stuff it into a little bag on the back of my neck, I feel like that would drive me crazy.
Nylon Spur Straps – Stop it.
Okay, that was a little therapeutic.
breedrideevent.com 
I LOVE my TuffRider breeches…although I’m definitely not traditional rider shaped…so this gives me hope I might actually like the SmartPak ones, too, if they’re similar.
LikeLike
They’re so thick and hot, I dunno how you do it! Maybe in winter…
LikeLike
I recently got a pair of the Pipers, and I actually like them. There’s a tiny bit of sagging, but with a belt, it’s pretty much a non-issue. I was surprised, because I figured with my hips, I would hate them. I haven’t ridden in them in hot weather, but so far in our mild weather they’ve been great.
LikeLike
I admittedly can’t stand having to wear a belt to keep my pants up. I like my breeches to stay in one spot, never sag, and never require me to pull them up. Especially the crotch and the back. Granted I’m super picky, and my ADE and Animo perform perfectly.
LikeLike
I’ve always had to wear a belt with any pants/shorts/whatever, so I feel weird without. I’m still waiting for the pair of ADEs I want to be restocked in my size. Maybe they’ll be life changing.
LikeLike
I only wear a belt when I tuck my shirt in. Which is like… lessons and shows. Or picture days maybe. That’s about it. Otherwise it’s not happening lol.
LikeLike
I get the cheap ribbed low rise ones and they aren’t heavy at all. Obviously I’m not fancy 🙂
LikeLike
I was ruined by ADE and Animo.
LikeLike
And obviously this was meant to go up with my previous breeches comment…sigh…
LikeLike
Love them, but true THAT. I cannot ride in them in summer.
LikeLike
Swamp crotch = no bueno
LikeLiked by 1 person
your comments on the Ogilvy knock off pads/covers is really helpful. I have been debating if I should blow all that money on a real one or save on a knock off. I was actually looking at the Wilkers version.
LikeLike
ps. you also ruined me on breast plates. I really want that PS Sweden one you reviewed but alas… the expense.
LikeLike
I still need to review my 3-point from them. LOVE it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I completely agree with you on the Zocks. I never understood them. Also the no-knot hair nets don’t work for me at all. I must be doing it wrong.
LikeLike
The no-knots are really designed for people who do it wrong, so maybe you’re actually doing it right. 😉
LikeLike
Oh dude, I HATE nylon spur straps. HATE.
LikeLike
WHY DO THEY EXIST?
LikeLike
i’m pretty religious about hair nets… but also a bit of a miser. and the price tag of the no-knot has always kept me from even trying it out. nice to know i’m not missing anything! also i still REALLY need to try a BG saddle pad…. why can’t moneys grow on trees?!?
LikeLike
I dunno, but it’d be a lot cooler if it did.
LikeLike
I love Zocks… mostly because with anything thicker I can’t zip up my boots
LikeLike
I’m in the same Zocks boat!
LikeLike
I’m with you 100% on everything (especially the Zocks), except for show bows. Mainly because I cut my hair shorter recently, and it still doesn’t really fit in my helmet. It’s a safety thing. If I have to wear a helmet big enough to fit my hair, it’s not really safe. So, show bow.
That said. No to blonde show bows. Why do these exist? Use black. And get all your hair in the thing. And center it. And don’t let it fuck with your helmet position. Ugh. Bad turnout.
LikeLike
I have two different liners for my Samshield – one that fits with my hair in it, and one that fits with my hair out. Love that feature, because before interchangeable liners I had to pick one or the other. But even with my long hair it’s only 1/8″ difference since the way I put my hair up smushes it down flat. Whoever thought of interchangeable liners is a genius.
LikeLike
I do like the interchangeable liners. Unfortunately, my hair is freakishly thick. If need to size up completely to make my helmet fit w/ hair. I did that when I did hunters, but am so happy to cut my costs and just have the one.
LikeLike
Good to know about the clippers and I’m in the market!
LikeLike
Osters are THE WORST. I’ve wrtitten entire posts on this before.
And also. 😉 Smartpak breeches might be winter weight for Texas, but they’re not in the rest of the world. And I still love them. And I don’t care that you don’t.
LikeLike
More power to you, I was dying in 80 degree weather lol. I sweat like a beast though, and it’s not cute when you start sweating through the crotch. I do wish the breeches I love went on sale for $40! That part is nice.
LikeLike
I love tuffrider and Smartpak but that might be because thats all I can afford….haha.
Fully agree with you on the Satan clippers, dear god. They were a gift or I would have dumped them ages ago.
LikeLike
I sold my Clipmasters for $175 and bought a pair of Listers for $125 lol. Win!
LikeLike
I completely agree on the Zocks. However, I disagree on the no-knot hairnets. They are great for when my hair is too short to be pulled back in a pony tail (pig tails are the only way I can get ALMOST all of it pulled back). These keep it all back and tight under my helmet when my hair is short, which it usually is.
LikeLike
I used to be the “hair girl” in the barn… short hair and super thick curly hair were definitely the hardest for me to figure out how to get into a regular hair net, but eventually I got the process down. If the No Knot’s work for you then great, I just really hate them personally lol.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Short curly hair, that’s me!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ok, so I love my fake Ogilvy cover, but I’ve never had a real one, so there’s that. I wear my Pipers in the heat of summer here in Florida. Of course, I sweat so bad when I just think about going to the barn that the thick fabric is actually helpful to me. Seems to help with chafing for some reason. Anywho, Zocks always were pointless, and I have never in my life worn a hairnet, even when in HJ land. I just cut my hair short enough that is doesn’t stick out of my helmet, lol.
LikeLike
That’s why I love the interior tech fabric lining of the ADE and Animo’s in the summer – no chafing! Plus sweat doesn’t show and they don’t stretch or sag.
LikeLike
Oster clippers suck. I don’t have the big ones, but my small A5s weren’t working correctly within 6 months of buying them.
Do you have any dressage girths laying around you’re wanting to get rid of? I know you had a few that you didn’t like at one point, but wasn’t sure if you already unloaded them.
I don’t wear breeches very often, but the ADE breeches are really nice. The crotch was too saggy on the Piper breeches for my liking, plus I could pull them off without unzipping or unbuttoning them in my normal/what would normally be a size too small.
LikeLike
I have like 5 rejected dressage girths all floating around somewhere.
LikeLike
I’ll message you on Facebook. 🙂
LikeLike
I hate putting my hair up in my helmet because I think it makes me look like a dude (also I’ve never learned how to do it right), but I also hate the show bows (because I hate bows…which is kind of weird…) so what I do is put my hair in a low bun put the hair net over it and twist it so it’s tight against the bun and keeps everything in. Then the rest of the hair net goes around the rest of my head. Not exactly traditional…but whatevs….
The fact that I can’t wear my smartpaks without a belt either also drives me a little nuts, but yeah, for $40 on sale I’m perfectly happy with them. The thickness of them works for where I am too – they’re maybe a little cold in the winter and a little hot in the summer but perfectly bearable ether way. I can definitely see how they wouldn’t be so great for Texas summers though!
LikeLike
I’m with you on the Osters. I want to find Listers so I can never ever use the clippers of Satan again.
LikeLike
Egh, the Clipmasters…hot, heavy, hairy beasts. I went with the Lister Legend after the Clipmasters and its awesome!
LikeLike
I can not get my super long hair up in anything other than a No Knot Hair net. If you have any tips I would love to hear them 🙂 I dislike all the non-Ogilvy covers too. Just not the same.
LikeLike
Previously a Piper fan, but they are HOT and I moved to GA so looking for something cooler. I just got my pair of ADEs I ordered on Black Friday. Out of the bag, I thought Holy Sh*t these look huge (I did spent a lot of time with the measuring chart so they shouldn’t be). Then I put them on. In fact, they are not huge. They are amazing… BUT a tiny bit tight in the waist. A size up would be huge everywhere else (butt, hips, legs). So, I realize why you said something about Pipers gapping in the waist on you (they don’t on me) and you don’t need a belt for your ADEs. So, what to do? My solution is to keep them and lose 1 inch in my waist. Started running again today. Totally worth it. LOL
LikeLike
HA! I agree.
LikeLike
I thought about getting hair extensions once (for like 0.5 seconds). And then I thought, “NOPE WON’T FIT IN THE HELMET. CAN’T DO IT.” Nevermind the good ones are stupid expensive. My roommate has them and her hair always looks amazing, but she also has zero animals (why are we even friends come to think about it?) so she has disposable income for dumb a$$ shit like that. So, no, you aren’t the only crazy person who plans their hair around it fitting in their helmet.
LikeLike
With you all the way!!
LikeLike
I literally HAVE to use a no knot hair net or my hair will not go up. I have super thick curly hair and after countless attempts and fails I was never able to get my hair up right. Finally gave in and the no knot works perfectly. At least for me lol
LikeLike