Rambo duo durability

[Jolenedoo]

I just purchased a Rambo duo with liners and neck rug. I’m super stoked about the interchangeability and the reviews of this blanket! But I think I’m having buyers doubt… that it will not stand up to his daily rolling, laying down and the daily nip and bite that his pasture mate seems to need to give him. Any thoughts? I went with the 1000denier and I’m just super nervous about the investment I made 🙃 am I just being too nervous?
He has ripped a tough-1 blanket in the past, but I am chalking that up to a poor lean-to situation with possible nail rips- which in that case nothing would hold up. But he is not in that place anymore and is really in a safer nail free environment.

Second- did I make a mistake ordering a size that he has always fit into? He measures as 78jnches and fits very well into a 78 tough 1 and smart pack brand. Is Horsewear Ireland/ Rambo run that big? (I guess I’ll find out when it gets here but I’d like opinions in case I need to order one size up/down)
TIA!

[Gainer]

Rambos tend to run a bit big. I used to love Rambos. I have some in the barn that are 20 years old that were worn daily and they’re just now starting to fall apart.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been as pleased with some of the newer Rambos I’ve purchased. The quality seems to have gone down while the prices have shot up.

[Jolenedoo]

Gainer, well that’s not what I want to hear 🤣 #stillworried
thank you for your opinion!!

[GreyDes]

I’ve had good experiences with the Duo durability. I have had to replace the liners occasionally - they don’t hold up nearly as well as the shell.

[Absolut_Equestrian]

@GreyDes

I’ve had good experiences with the Duo durability. I have had to replace the liners occasionally - they don’t hold up nearly as well as the shell.

This. The last Duo I bought was retired after 12 years, and only because the horse it was purchased for passed away. It was washed 2-3x a season according to instructions, but I never had to re-waterproof it. The 100g liners would get replaced every few years, but the shell remained in great shape after many seasons of nearly 25/7 wear during the winter.

[LEL]

I bought a brand new Rambo Duo last season and it didn’t hold up as well as I would have liked. No holes or tears in the body, but the binding along his right shoulder is hanging and the binding along the edge of the hood came unstitched as well. Mine also had a reflector strip diagonally across the shoulders. The reflector strip tore off after just a few wears. Mostly easy repairs, but I was hoping for no repairs at all in the first season. 🤷🏼”â™€ï¸

Contrary to posters above, the lining looks perfect after a season. It really had minimal wear though. NoVA only required the extra heavy blankets a few weeks out of the season.

[Jolenedoo]

LEL-

Is your horse turned out with other horses? Are they a blanket hudini? I would be slightly disapointed with those small repairs too but they dont seem to be to the effect of the blanket being useless thank goodness

[LEL]

@Jolenedoo

LEL-

Is your horse turned out with other horses? Are they a blanket hudini? I would be slightly disapointed with those small repairs too but they dont seem to be to the effect of the blanket being useless thank goodness

He’s turned out alone and isn’t really a Houdini, but he will tug at bell boots. He may have pulled at the binding on the shoulder. I don’t think he could have reached the hood binding. The blanket is definitely NOT useless. Minor, annoying repairs. Nothing major. Probably still worth the investment. 😊

[Farys]

I believe the new Rambo’s are made in China now and they definitely don’t hold up like the original ones. I had a duo for 12 years and the shell finally died last winter. I can’t complain as I feel my investment was well worth the money. I won’t buy another one though as I feel the quality now doesn’t compare and I can’t justify it for the price. I used to always buy the Amigo Bravo rainsheets, but after the last 4 I bought lasted 1-2 seasons compared to how they used to hold up, I won’t be buying Horseware any more. The Rambo’s fit big and are measured differently. If your horse wears a 78" normally, you will likely want a 75" Duo.

[Jolenedoo]

@Farys

I believe the new Rambo’s are made in China now and they definitely don’t hold up like the original ones. I had a duo for 12 years and the shell finally died last winter. I can’t complain as I feel my investment was well worth the money. I won’t buy another one though as I feel the quality now doesn’t compare and I can’t justify it for the price. I used to always buy the Amigo Bravo rainsheets, but after the last 4 I bought lasted 1-2 seasons compared to how they used to hold up, I won’t be buying Horseware any more. The Rambo’s fit big and are measured differently. If your horse wears a 78" normally, you will likely want a 75" Duo.

What brand would you go with now? Turns out I have to return in anyways, it is too big. SOoooooo either I buy the 75 and just stop worrying… OR I was looking at the 1620D Weather betas.:uhoh:
Side note- I noticed the Rambo duo didn’t have leg straps… so new question… did any of you Rambo owners notice slipping? I have an Ariabian cross, not wide in the shoulders at all. There is a triangle size gap as well between the shoulder-chest and neck rug.
ps- thanks all for your opinions, I’m jumping head first into fully owning this old guy again, and it has been the time of my life… worry or not

[TWH_Girl]

I’m happy with my Rambo Duo in my horses regular size.

if I had to look at something else, I’d try Bucas.

[Postandrails]

@Farys

I believe the new Rambo’s are made in China now and they definitely don’t hold up like the original ones. I had a duo for 12 years and the shell finally died last winter. I can’t complain as I feel my investment was well worth the money. I won’t buy another one though as I feel the quality now doesn’t compare and I can’t justify it for the price. I used to always buy the Amigo Bravo rainsheets, but after the last 4 I bought lasted 1-2 seasons compared to how they used to hold up, I won’t be buying Horseware any more. The Rambo’s fit big and are measured differently. If your horse wears a 78" normally, you will likely want a 75" Duo.

Back in the day Rambos used to be made with a 3 layer system like gortex. I cut the neck off a very old Wug plus as the neck didn’t fit my horse, and I saw how it was made. I have a newer Rambo original with leg arches which ended up with a large tear in the tailflap which allowed me to see that they are now made with the waterproof backing laminated directly on the underside of the nylon outer, similar to how all the other brands do it. I think this old 3 layer method is why there are so many reports of Rambos staying waterproof for years and years. I have no idea when they stopped the old waterproofing method. The Rambo original I bought lasted 2 seasons before it started leaking. After 2 years a few of the seams had come undone, the webbing on the V-front was wearing through, and the reflective tape had become unstitched. This rug was never washed, as it was aways used with liners. The tag says “made in Ireland”.

To be honest, I just don’t see the value in Rambos any more. I can get 2 or 3 seasons out of most mid-range brands without spending the huge amounts required to buy Rambos.

[Farys]

@Jolenedoo

What brand would you go with now? Turns out I have to return in anyways, it is too big. SOoooooo either I buy the 75 and just stop worrying… OR I was looking at the 1620D Weather betas.:uhoh:
Side note- I noticed the Rambo duo didn’t have leg straps… so new question… did any of you Rambo owners notice slipping? I have an Ariabian cross, not wide in the shoulders at all. There is a triangle size gap as well between the shoulder-chest and neck rug.
ps- thanks all for your opinions, I’m jumping head first into fully owning this old guy again, and it has been the time of my life… worry or not

I go with a cheaper option in a high denier now. I like the company Canadian Horseware (I’m in Canada so these are readily available and at a super price point). I still have a couple of Rambo sheets that I’m using and none of them have leg straps. If the blanket is the correct size you should have no issues with slipping with just the tail strap. I find when the blanket is too big, that’s when you have shifting and slipping. Too many people have blankets on their horses that are way too big. The back of the blanket towards the tail should end right at the top of the tail and not go beyond that.

[islgrl]

I was not impressed with the waterproofing on my rambo sheet. Considering the price I thought it would last longer than two seasons. I won’t spend that money again with them.