Rambo® Optimo Liner
4.3
5
25
26
Smart design
I bought this to fit under a "non" Rambo turnout sheet. Fits perfect never shifts and the 400 fill is very warm. no need to put the extra weight of lots of blankets your horse when you use this one. I intend to buy the lighter weights for the changing seasons. This is easy to wash and can't find anything I don't like about it.
February 12, 2013
Really good but could be a bit better
I think the Optimo blanket is really good but a couple of small tweaks would make it perfect: 1) if the liner had belly straps then it could be used solo as a stable blanket; 2) Plastic clips attaching the liner to the outer sheet should be metal; 3) the velcro attaching the liner to the outer sheet at the neck seems backwards and is a little hard to use. But these are minor for a blanket that's really pretty great.
January 30, 2013
Great liner for that extra warmth
I live in Texas where the days are warm and the winter nights can get under freezing. I had a turnout sheet and a heavy blanket - one was too much heat and one wasn't enough, so I bought this liner with a little fill to go under the turnout sheet. I like how it hooks to the sheet in the back so I don't have a ton of cords through her legs. I worry that it might slip around otherwise and it seems to be a little bigger in the front than my sheet so if she's drenched that might be a problem, but I haven't witnessed these as problems personally. If you want extra fill without buying another blanket this is a good idea. You can even buy several of them in different fill amounts and still be paying less than buying a bunch of different blankets.
January 24, 2013
Love it!
I was debating getting a liner vs. another heavyweight blanket and I opted for the liner- best decision! I can add it under my horse's med. weight blanket to make a heavyweight and under his sheet to make a light weight. So versatile and keeps him warm! Easy to put on/off. I saw some comments about this liner running large/small, but I went with the size he normally is and it fits him great. Great product!
January 18, 2013
Not as good as the original Rambo liners
I had one of the navy liners that does not have the gussets. Through no fault of my horse's, it was damaged betond repair so I needed a new one. I hate paying shipping so since Smart Pak does not have the navy ones, ordered this liner.
I love the different weights and got the 100gm to use with my 100gm Rambo blanket. Provides plenty of warmth for my clipped horse in Texas.
I find this liner with the gussets tends to want to slip around and the attachments at the front are annoying to use. Attachments at the back critical that you use them but easy to use.
The neck fits a little large compared to the navy liners.
January 17, 2013
Only blanket that hasn't caused shoulder rubs
I've never been able to find a blanket that doesn't eventually give my horse really bad shoulder rubs- bald spots, sensitive skin, etc. Until the Optimo. I was quite leery of shelling out such an exorbitant amount for a turnout, but our old ones were getting a bit worn after 10 years of use, so I did it. And in New England they spend so much of the year wearing some sort of turnout or other, I wanted to shoot for something that had a chance of not rubbing his shoulders. It's been amazing- no rubbing at all.
I like the idea of switching out different liners for space saving purposes & customizing the exact warmth desired. (My horse has the 100, 200, and 400 g liners.) However, it takes about 3x as long to put on or take off the Optimo compared to a normal Rambo turnouts because there are so many fasteners. It's even longer if you are switching liners. Also, for barn staff it's not as easy to tell at a glance what weight of turnout the horse is wearing, because it all looks the same from the outside (as opposed to the other Rambos which have different colors for different weights). That's fine for me because I am at the barn every day and can do my owner blanket changes, but for someone who isn't always there it could make things harder.
In addition to the fantastic freedom of movement in the shoulders, I really appreciate some of the innovations in these newer Rambos including removable/interchangeable surcingles which makes for easy repairs if one breaks, and multiple front closures (the front of the blanket would still stay closed if 1 of the closures broke). Some people have been concerned about the plastic snaps that attach the liners to the blankets but (knock on wood), none of them have broken, despite my horse being really hard on his apparel (see Cashel fly mask review!)
The Optimo does run larger than the Rambo Original or the Rambo Wug/Wug Plus. My horse is an 84 in those, and in the case of the Original, the 84 is borderline too small. The Optimo is perfect for him in an 81, and if I use it without a liner it's actually a little too roomy.
August 7, 2012