Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Majyk Equipe Infinity Series DSB Review

Since I didn't take pictures of them clean and new and never worn.

Penn has been wearing his Majyk Equipe boots (purchased from Riding Warehouse, who had the best price) for about a week and a half, and I think I have enough information to do a review.

All white and new.

Purpose of purchase: Turnout boots for Penn. I didn't get them to ride in, so mine are seeing extra wear and tear. I do trail ride in them though.

#ProjectBubbleWrap

Construction/Durability: The boots just feel tough, right out of the box. They have an awesome flexible/hard shell with a ton of holes. There is a strike plate along the inside that feels tough. The elastic feels resilient, the velcro has awesome easy pull tabs at the very end, the edges of the boots are smooth, and the foam lining is soft and has a ton of pin holes. Between the holes in the shell and foam, you can see daylight through the boot. Totally on the right path for breathability. So far the boots have held up well, even after a couple washes (more on that later). They're being worn about 14 hours per day, every day, in the rain/shine/heat/mud and everything is still in excellent structural shape. I would expect them to last at least 10-12 months, being used for daily turnout.

I'm terrible at this. I took pictures after the boots had been worn, and not even after they were washed!

Fit: I bought him Mediums for the front, Larges for the hind. They fit well with excellent coverage and stay in place, even after many hours worth of use.

You can kind of see daylight. I was using an already set sun to try to get a good pic. Fail again!

Making good on product promises: Excellent. The company promises protection and cool legs. Penn's legs have been cool to slightly warm after wearing them for overnight turnout. No puffiness in any leg when they've come off has made me REALLY happy. This was my biggest concern when I got them. You know the leg sweat marks that show up under boots on the fetlock joint after a hard work? He doesn't have those after wearing these boots all night. We've had some pretty hot and humid nights too (keep in mind that he doesn't wear them until it's time to turnout and they won't turnout if it's blazing hot out still). They absolutely do not hold any water.

9 nights of wear, so around  126 hours of wear.

Cleaning: OK, this is my one beef with the boots. The inside cleans up really well and doesn't hold dirt. This makes me happy because that's the part that matters since it sits directly on my horse. The outsides leave something to be desired since the DSB only comes in white (the XC boot comes in black or white). I can't get the elastic or the edges stain-free. I scrubbed them with a stiff brush and microtek shampoo, put them in the washing machine on gentle, and scrubbed them again with a furniture detergent (not all on the same day!), yet they will not come clean.

Sunday morning, pre-washing machine. Post washing machine didn't look much better.

The washing machine is the worst way to clean them. It barely did anything. I scrubbed them by hand after they got out of the washing machine and got them mostly clean. Maybe I shouldn't gripe about it since they do have a lot of hours of wear (esp since it's dirty hours in turnout), except the only option is white unless you want to get XC boots for a bit more money.

After scrubbing by hand on Sunday

I may try to dye the edges and elastic navy or black. I hate the stains, so I just want to cover them. We'll see, I don't want to damage the boots though, or cause the shell to discolor.


Verdict: I really like these  boots and I wish I would have followed my original thoughts earlier in the year and gone with something more expensive like these instead of trying the Davis Splint Boots. I give them 4/5 stars, because of the price (I spent $164 on all 4), these ones only being available in white, and the difficulty in cleaning them. That said, they look sharp on Penn from a distance while he's outside, and he doesn't get a reaction from wearing them so much. Sensitive horse approved! I'm not sure I'd be happy with them if I intended to use them for riding. The dirty elastic and edges would bother me too much.

As a side note,  I wash them at least once a week, and that never go on wet legs. I always towel dry Penn's legs in front of a fan before putting him out for the night. His legs also get cleaned 5 days a week, which cuts down on any sweat or dirt that might accumulate between turnout sessions.

If you're looking for a turnout boot in hot climates, this is definitely something to try!

12 comments:

  1. It makes me so sad that they don't clean up that well. I've been eyeballing them for quite some time but I love the look of pristine white. I take forever to do polos so I've been looking for some boots but if I'm getting white boots I want them to be white. Thanks for the review.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't understand why they don't come in black! They make the XC boot in black, and it's the same materials. I bet they wouldn't get as dirty used as just riding boots. These stayed super clean until Penn actively laid down on them in mud. Plus $900 FB Pony left some good cleaning tips below!

      Delete
  2. I throw my XC boots in the washing machine and they come pretty darn clean. I let them soak for at least an hour in Oxyclean and detergent before I start the actual wash cycle. Helps to spray a little Shout on the fabric areas (trim and elastic) first, if they're really dirty. Then I just run them through the wash as normal and let them dry in the sun. It's worked well for me so far, about 6 months in to owning my white boots.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll give that a try! The barn doesn't stock Oxyclean for their washer, so I'll get my own little bottle to keep out there. Thanks so much for the tip! I saw yours are always bright white, and they go through XC. Knowing there is a way to make them white (or whiter) makes me hopeful!

      Delete
  3. I have the V1 dressage boots and they're really nice, except that white boots on a grey horse is just a nope and yeah, they're a pain to keep clean. I really wish they made the dressage boots in black!!!

    However, nice tip from Amanda. I might have to try Oxyclean and soaking...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I just wish I had gone for these earlier! I just don't understand why they don't come in black.

      I'll def be trying Amanda's suggestion- I have Oxyclean White Revive for my other white items, and their pre-wash spray (which is incredible and you can see it working). I never really thought to use them, simply because the boots don't come home to wash.

      Delete
  4. They look lovely. Sadly, C doesn't do the non-slip liners.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aww, I like these since Penn seems sensitive to things on his legs. I'm sorry C doesn't like them!

      Delete
  5. Oxyclean is a great tip. I have the xc boots and have a few notes on those:
    1. The black also gets dirty and is hard to clean. Poop stains on the elastic are basically there for life.
    2. The insides also stay very clean and nice.
    3. The xc variety have strike plates over the tendons NOT over the splint bone, meaning I find them basically useless. I only use them for trail rides.
    4. I find the strike plates to be kind of flimsy. I prefer something that is either so padded it will absorb any kind of strike force (like fleece DSBs or wraps/liners). These feel like you could still damage via blunt force, though protect against a cut/puncture.

    I was given these, or otherwise wouldn't own them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. All good points. I enjoyed dalmar xc boots when I still evented because their strike plates are carbon fiber. I wanted the strike plate over the splint since I don't do XC and Penn just interferes and skins himself (and has caused his own swelling from it). I thought the plates were though. They're not going to absorb impacts, but they will prevent the horse from tearing himself up. I can't do fleece because they water log and hold way too much heat for the 14 hours they'd have to be on. But I bought these for turnout, not riding.

      Delete
  6. Glad they are doing their job of protecting his legs without introducing and funk or rubs or anything!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes! So far it's going well and I'm really happy with them. Trainer liked them a bunch too- one of her new "baby" horses is out there shredding his legs too.

      Delete