Smartpak Sheets and blankets

Overall quality for the money? What builds do they tend to fit best? Is the Ultimate version worth the extra money, or is the Classic version a better deal overall ?

I buy the Ultimate for the 10 year guarantee. It’s unbeatable right now.

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I’ve had several. I have an Ultimate sheet right now. It’s pretty decent. It’s a few years old now, so we’ll see how the waterproofing is this year (he hasn’t been rained on in it this season yet). It fits him pretty well and is generous through the chest/doesn’t rub him. It’s washed well each year too.

I’ve had a few of their Deluxe sheets/blankets too. They’re nice too, less expensive and definitely not as nice as the Ultimate but not bad either. They fit very similarly to the Ultimate. The waterproofing lasted several years and overall they held up pretty well.

I had one Classic for our (now deceased) retired QH. It was cheap for a reason, I was not impressed. It was the Rockin SP stock horse option so the cut was different than the standard sheets/blankets.

If it were me I’d go for the Ultimate just because of the warranty they offer (10 years no matter what). There’s almost always a sale going on or coming up soon for their in-house branded items too.

The one thing I don’t like is how the neck rugs attach. It’s just three little clips, and the neck rug material flips up really easily when they’re grazing so the base of their necks can be exposed to the elements. It’s much worse in the sheets than in the blankets with fill.

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I think overall, they’re pretty solid blankets! I do think the Horseware Rhinos & Rambos have better waterproofing but they’re more expensive than the SmartPak blankets. I bought the SmartPak Ultimate High Neck Turnout blanket in 220g about a year ago and it has held up fairly well. It runs pretty accurate in terms of sizing even on a horse that has a pretty solid build, no rubs

I really like them! I have a mix of Deluxe and Ultimate. Mine have gotten a few tears on the inside lining, but aside from that have held up well. The tears have been easy to re-sew as well.

Aside from quality, I think they fit a variety of horses well. I used to primarily buy Rambo, but found that Smartpaks are much more roomy in the shoulder.

We have a bunch of horses in the ultimates… mostly just the front snaps break but smartpak replaces them immediately for free.

Did have one horse very good at ripping his to pieces :rofl: and they replaced it every time no issues just a pic to confirm the damage and a new one was on its way!

I bought the Ultimate Trifecta for my mare since she’s on full turnout and the Midatlantic area has variable weather (plus an additional 100g liner so we can swap out or add on) and in the second season the barn manager says my mare has the nicest blankets of any of the horses on the property, so I guess that’s a vote in their favor. The only visible wear is a little fuzziness on the trim around the tail. The navy does show mud like crazy though which is annoying but unavoidable (my mare loves her mud naps). I also wish the drop was a little lower but I have a backup Schneider’s Viking blanket that is basically a dress so maybe I have a skewed perception.

I just called about a tear in my 6-year old medium weight Ultimate turn out and they are sending me a new one. You don’t even have to send the old one back to them anymore. So seems like it’s still a pretty good deal to me.

I bought the ultimate high neck sheet from them AND the same thing (high neck sheet) from SS Tack with the 10 yr warranty. Both are pretty new so not super sure about durability HOWEVER the SSTack one seems MUCH sturdier than the SP one. The SP one is okay but the exterior nylon isn’t as nice as the SS and the hardware on the SS is much beefier. The SP liner is softer but the SS tack one is just fine too. I am ordering more SS tack ones now and not looking at the SP stuff anymore.

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I found the high neck versions to fit several different body types awkwardly, and had two relatively new Ultimates leak. They were replaced under warranty, but then you don’t have a blanket for a bit which is a pain (I have backups on hand, but not everyone does).

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This was my only issue.

My Ultimate was many years old and when it was no longer water proof I figured it had lived its useful life, but all my friends encouraged me to return it for a replacement because it was still within the 10 years.
I call, very helpful woman explains the process. I wash the old sheet and mail it in and then crickets. Nothing. Nada.
I call, there was some confusion since the model I had was no longer available and was I OK with something slightly different. Yes.
Crickets. Nothing. Nada. Weeks pass, no new sheet arrives.
I call, a very nice customer service person says that I need to confirm some fee because the blanket I am getting costs more than the one I originally bought. I am shocked and simply say that I thought this was a one for one replacement, why do I need to send them money exactly? (It was $60.) Got transferred to a supervisor who agreed there should be no charge. All set now. New sheet will be on its way.
Crickets. Nothing. Nada. Weeks pass, no new sheet arrives.
I call, a very nice customer service person says the order is on hold waiting for me to approve a color change since the new sheet is only available in a different color than my previous sheet was.
I approve the new color and my new sheet arrives two days later.
This exchange took two months. Thankfully I had another sheet to use while I waited.
I get monthly smartpaks, they have my cell number they send texts to, they have my email that they send emails to. But three times if I had not called the return would have just been sitting there waiting for input from someone to process it thru. So weird.

I am told this is not the normal experience by my friends who have exchanged successfully.

Edit to add, otherwise I like this product. Both styles (the one not available anymore, and the new replacement) fit my weird to fit horse well. There is plenty of adjustability in the front closures and surcingles.

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When was this? I’ve had to get 3 ultimates replaced and they always send the new one immediately but say they want the old one back. I kept one of the old ones all winter as a back up before sending it back in the spring. But I had the replacement one 1 week after I called about it. I would not send the original back in the future until the replacement has arrived.

This late winter early spring, say started in February or March 2022.
They said I had to send back the sheet before the replacement would be sent out.
They have always been very quick to send replacement front clips.

Thankfully I have two identical sheets so I was able to just transfer over to the second sheet while I waited forever for the replacement sheet.

Maybe they changed the policy because too many people were not ever sending the old one back, they felt like people were just trying to get a second sheet? (I have no idea.)

I had an Ultimate fly sheet tear and I texted customer service, agreed to a different color, and a new sheet was there in 2 days. They did not ask for the old sheet back, though I offered to send it. In the end I mended it and it’s a very functional backup.

I LOVE the Smartpak Ultimates because of the warranty. Also, I think they hold up well. A few insights…

The ultimate sheets are much heavier I think–like physically heavy. So, I keep an Amigo Mio for warmer days.

Customer service replaces them no problem. I’ve never had them ask me to return the replaced sheet or blanket. So, bonus.

I really like the high necks for their versatility, because the neck can fold down. Unfortunately, they removed that design aspect this year.

I have the high neck sheet, the high neck 150 gram, and the full neck 220 gram. I’ve gotten all of them on sale, sometimes on clearance (the highneck sheet was $45 on sale in the spring…).

Timely thread. I’ve had ultimates for 2 years and had never been asked to return one to get a replacement as long as I sent photos of the damage.

Horse ripped the hardware and velcro straps clean off his neck cover a couple of days ago. Contacted SmartPak to request a replacement. The model I have is discontinued so they offered another replacement. I agreed, and then they told me I would need to wash and ship back the ruined cover before a replacement would be shipped.

What are they going to do with a damaged, discontinued product other than throw it in the dumpster? Seems like a waste of time, shipping materials, and fuel to me.

That is so odd. Several weeks ago I called about a tear in my medium weight blanket and they shipped me a new one within a week. No requirement to send the old one back and they didn’t even require pictures. I wonder if it just depends which customer service person you talk to?

So interesting. For my return they even sent me a return label, so they paid for it to go back.

I think the first rep I spoke to was new or confused. I called back yesterday and talked to a different customer service person. Replacement neck cover shipped out same day, no need for return of the old one.

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