I’ve seen these stirrups everywhere, but I’m wondering what makes them so special? Have you used them? What did you think?
I usually ride in plain, stainless steel stirrups because I love the look of shiny stirrups, but have been forced into Sprenger’s because my knees aren’t holding up as well as they used to, and I find the flexibility comforting.
That being said, if the JIN stirrups are meant for comfort too, I would be more apt to use them since I love the stainless steel look 
I love them. I can no longer ride in filis irons due to some ankle arthritis. I also cannot stand riding in any kind of flexible stirrup. The lightness and wide footbed of the Jins keep me serviceably sound I didn’t want to go with one of the more plasticky looking wide footbed stirrups, so I do like them as well for their more classic look.
I like mine, and the wide footbed does seem a lot more comfortable to me, both for my feet and knees. I like a solid stirrup, not the bendy types, so this meets that need as well. I will say I prefer my Lorenzini ones just a bit more (have the Jins on one saddle, Lorenzinis on another), but they are even less traditional looking that the Jins.
They were kind of life changing to me. I can’t do bendy stirrups so I can’t compare, but I love my Jins
I got a set after they were recommended to me and I HATE them. I hate the wide footbed, I feel like I can’t keep my heels down, I felt like I kept shifting my weight and standing on my toes. I would loose them and then they were so lightweight they flopped around and were hard to regain. I gave them away and that girl thought they felt awkward as well but apparently once you get used to them they’re nice.
Full disclosure… I love my heavy fillis irons.
Does anyone notice a difference between JIN stirrups and Tech Stirrups?
I agree with all of those who’ve said they don’t like “bendy” stirrups - I don’t either! I had a pair, got rid of them and went back to fillis stirrups but they hurt my knees after riding (especially after course work) so I switched back. Remembering why I got rid of my bendy ones in the first place :rolleyes:
I got the JIN Kinko stirrup (the one with the offset, rather than centered, bar) and really liked them, but i found they made my feet go numb. I’d never had this issue with my old fillis irons. It was strange, because I rode in a friend’s pair several times before buying and loved them. I am petite and wear a size 7 shoe so my foot is not that large, and I thought maybe it was due to the wide footbed and long length of the stirrup iron just being the wrong proportion. I still have them but ended up getting a pair of flex royal riders which i like. I generally prefer a stiffer iron but the royal riders have been great. Maybe I’ll pull my Jins out again and see how they feel now.
I haven’t tried the Tech Stirrups but just looking at pictures online, they might have a more grippy tread than the Jins. That’s one thing about the Jins that is a “con” for me - the tread can be a little less grippy and when it is wet, I find that my boot will slip a bit more in them than my Lorenzinis (which have a more cheese grater like tread). But I haven’t seen the Techs in person so I’m just basing that on looking at photos.
Love my Jin stirrups.
Hated the Tech Athena irons. Hated them. I found they were very light and would slip back towards my heel, a problem I’ve never had before or since. And they’re so light that they do flop around if you drop your irons/lose an iron.
Just got the Tech Safety stirrup - So far so good. Very grippy tread, light but not too light and doesn’t look weird (or scratch my saddle) like the Freestyle. Looks fine for the hunter ring too.
I have both the regular and the Kinko and I like them both. I put the Kinko on the saddle I use more often. With my arthritis, I have more trouble keeping the stirrup at the proper angle on my foot than I used to, and the Kinko helps some with that. I wouldn’t want a more grippy footbed. After having made an unplanned dismount or two, I recall having to consciously kick at least one of the stirrups clear as I was bailing out, and one still scratched up my boot pretty badly. I don’t think I’d want to be any more stuck in them. And I’m someone who learned how to fall well, having had plenty of practice as a kid. The grip is nice until it isn’t!
I have the Jins, and I love them! The only irons that I have ridden in that come close to my Jins is the MDC Hunter (Classic?) Irons. I really liked them as well, but they were heavier and I’m not sure that I really liked that, but they might be good for someone who likes the heavy fills irons.
I have also ridden in the Athena Tech Irons as few times and really didn’t like them. Also, I have seen them wear the bottoms of boots really bad.
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