Favorite 100g Turnout Blanket - 2022 edition

I may be confused. AFAIK Schneider’s is the only manufacturer of the Teknofleece turnouts. Horze Avalanches come in 0g and 150g and 250g, but not a fleece option.

You can only get the fleece turnouts from sstack.com - but they do have last year’s model on sale for like $185 or something. (FWIW they’re always on sale lol). You can get the Avalanches from TOTD and Smartpak and a few other discount retailers at the moment, in some sizes.

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Hmmm It says fleece lined. So now I’m not sure if the whole blanket is lined with fleeceor if they just meant the wither area.

I had and wanted to love a Schneiders Teknofleece, one of their high neck turnout options. I cant remember the specific model now but it was 1200D, black with red binding. I LOVED the weight and breathability. I didn’t love the fit or waterproofing. It stayed waterproof for about 18 months–basically 1.5 winters. Came out one day and without warning I had a soaked horse. I also had a horse manage to get his jaw stuck on the front strap of this particular blanket–not sure I blame that blanket specifically or just horses being horses, but he hasn’t replicated the incident with any other blankets since. :crossed_fingers:

In terms of temps, I am in Northern CA in a valley that gets some Delta influence. The lowest we usually get is high 20s a couple times a year, but most of the time our lows will fluctuate from low 30s-low 40s, and winter highs will range from high 40s to mid 60s. Being within a couple hours of the coast, we’ll get relatively warm storms (50s or so) but we can also get some wet, windy, cold drenching storms with gusts upwards of 60mph, pouring COLD rain, etc. It varies pretty widely.

The horses have free access to hay and I almost never blanket when it is dry (horses are clipped VERY early Fall, like late Sept/early Oct and are rarely reclipped) unless it is very windy, the lows are looking to be in the lowest 30s or 20s, or we’re expecting substantial fog/cold moisture. A nasty morning can pretty quickly give way to a lovely sunny midday, so I try to pull blankets as soon as rain is off the table, or no later than 9am if it’s going to be even slightly sunny. Of the four horses, one runs very warm, two are pretty normal, and one runs cold.

The one who runs warm, he gets a blanket clip and I use a 70g on for rain or cold. On him I can get away with low 60s if cloudy or rainy, low 50s if its sunny before he starts sweating. If it is a particularly nasty cold or storm, I will layer his back on track mesh sheet underneath. They were blanketed yesterday and overnight for a storm that lasted until about 9ish this morning before the clouds broke. I pulled blankets late, around 11:00am due to a meeting, and he was definitely a bit toasty–the morning rain had broken to a sunny day, I think it was around 54 or so when I pulled his 70g and he was a bit sweaty on the shoulder, but not drenched by any means.

The two normal guys have 100gs they wear in pretty much the same circumstances as above. When I pulled their blankets this morning, they were warm but not sweaty. They each also get a BOT liner if the weather is expected to be unusually nasty.

The cold fellow gets a 150g or his 100g with BOT, in the same circumstances as above. During dry cold when the others are often naked, he’ll usually get a sheet with his BOT on overnight, pulled in the morning and put back on around 7pm. In exceptional cold he gets the 150g with BOT. This morning he was in his 150g when I pulled blankets and again, warm but not sweaty.

I’m not sure if this makes any sense at all, or is just rambling. Hopefully it makes some semblance of sense, if not I’ll try to clarify when I’m not typing on my phone!

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Huh. Well I’m honestly not sure! None of my Avalanches have fleece linings.

Again the Schneider’s has a slicker lining against the horse but is insulated with fleece, so no static or sticking to shavings or whatever.

As far as long term waterproofing and all that? We shall see. I tend to lose even the toughest blankets to giant rips from pasture mates before they fail otherwise :laughing:

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Okay I think I might just go with 150 g then. I worry about static. Or maybe Schneider’s. It is pretty dry here so I can probably take a chance on waterproofing…

Dang the 150 gram is sold out in his size. So I will either have to take a chance with the fleece lined one or try schneiders with the fleece/or 100 gram.

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Okay so I just decided and bought a 100 gram Tough One blanket. I have a few other Tough One blankets, in medium and heavyweights and I’ve been pretty happy with them for the price. They’ve held up well for two seasons in a row with no rips, no leaking and they fit him well (he’s a QH.)

I’m sure I’ll end up with a fleece lined blanket at some point ha ha. I have blanket racks that my husband put up for me in my garage because I literally have so many. This horse has six if I include this new 100 g. And then I have 4 others that are a different size that I keep around just in case a blanket fails, someone else is in need (last year we had some brutal weather and I went one to a boarder for a few nights) and I use thee for my daughters golden oldie lease horse.

I did manage to sell one blanket that I really didn’t need and was a new condition and giant. So I let go at least one of them lol!

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I just swapped my girl from the 150 gram Avalanche to the Teknofleece and the Avalanche is definitely lighter. They are both 84" high necks.

It seems like a fleece lining would get lots of hay and shavings stuck to it, in addition to the potential static.

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Today will be a high of 38 but cloudy. I’m hoping that my horse can stay blanketed. But I’ll have to go check him in the afternoon because it will be iffy if whether he might still get warm. Looking forward to the 100 gram one getting here and trying it in our rotation!

It basically becomes a hair magnet during shedding season too. Mainly with an unclipped horse.

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Gosh my guy’s such a woolly mammoth, it would be a nightmare!!

I would bet money this is why people are having waterproofing problems with their new Horsewear Ireland blankets:

European companies had to begin phasing out PFAS chemicals in 2021.

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Thank you for sharing. That makes me feel better. While I want waterproof blankets for my horses, protecting the environment and the health of workers is more important.

Nikwax states their products have never used PFAS in case anyone is curious

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I agree. I’ll get some Nikwax - have never used it. I will post pictures later of my brand new Rambos again last night NOT waterproof. Both the remaining 1680 that I bought through Jeffers and they continue to not get back to me and I will NEVER order from them again. AND, my replacement Original and the other new Original are both not waterproof either.

What I know going forward is I’m not paying a premium like Rambo charges for blankets that aren’t waterproof.

The Premier Equine blanket has grown on me SO much that I will at some point - maybe next year order the Titan and get the sandwich velcro.

Thank GOD I have multiple blankets from my days of full turnout and knowing you always need back ups. It’s been so good to have a heated tack room and be able to pull soaked through blankets and dry them under heat and a fan and get them into fresh dry blankets.

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The irony is my $50 Jeffers blanket I bought for the yearling is waterproof. My old Amigo Bravo blanket I bought in 2011 is still waterproof. I have Rambo blankets I purchased used that are probably older than the horses who wear them and are still waterproof.

So exactly your point: why would anyone spend premium prices for an inferior product? If Rambo doesn’t make this right, they are going to find themselves without a market.

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This thread convinced me I could probably use a good
waterproof 100 gm. blanket but
if my old favorite brand Rambo
doesn’t keep them dry, well here in rainy Fl., that won’t work.
Plus the new prices on Rambos
is terrible.

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What was in those original Rambos to make them so indestructible? Seriously. I have three Rambo Originals that are 15-20 years old, all hand-me-downs from barnmates when their horses sold or passed. I purchased a brand new Rambo rain sheet two years ago for $260 ( :sob: ) and it already needs to be re-waterproofed. The hardware and cut / fit is way better, but not its waterproofing.

Holden is wearing a Rambo that’s twice his age right now. :joy:

It made me wonder, maybe the blanket industry was adversely affected by some of the manufacturing changes pushed by environmental concerns. I don’t usually believe it when people say “XYZ isn’t as high quality as it used to be” but for Rambos, I think it is true.

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I’m seriously torn between Rambos and Amigos now. While I haven’t had any issue with my Rambos (including some bought this year), I also have bought some new Amigos and they are so similar to the Rambo and at such a better price point. I actually prefer the older style hardware on the Amigos and no longer on the Rambos.

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I definitely suspect phasing out PFAS is to blame. I grew up a stone’s throw from multiple locations where they manufactured Gore-Tex. It has recently come to light how extensive the problem of PFAS contamination is in the groundwater. Gore supposedly had known this for decades but didn’t make any changes to their products until they knew couldn’t keep it a secret anymore, then they adopted safer polymer alternatives and quietly started CYA mitigations.

Since then, there have been a lot of complaints that the newer products are inferior. I didn’t put it all together, though, until I met someone who asked me to join a class action lawsuit on the topic (I didn’t join, it wouldn’t make a lot of sense for me at this point).

Until recently, I never had any negative thoughts towards Gore. From my POV, they seemed to be good neighbors and good members of the community when I was growing up. :woman_shrugging: But their impact on the environment has proven pretty damning and it’s unclear how much of that damage was done knowingly.

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What exactly did you purchase? Jeffers is interestly out of stock on many Rambo blankets last I checked and isn’t that curious? I will be raising hell when I have some time. I do not want the 1680. It’s too heavy and feels like 100 lbs when it’s wet. I’d ideally have no fill (I use liners) or max 100gms.

I also plan to go to Rambo with my experience at Jeffers. I have not time for crap like this. I am so pissed to spend that much and not get help.

Jeffers now has no size or fill available that works for me. I’m going to Rambo. Does anyone have a contact number? And of course you cannot call Rambo so I just emailed them.

***Edited to add I just received a return label from Jeffers… I just emailed them to confirm I will get a straight out refund since there my original purchase was a black and gold Supreme which they were out of and instead sent the 1680.