D30 invictus saddle/half pads

[Boughtabay]

I’ve gone down a bit of a rabbit hole - after finding a thread on here while comparing avacallo & VIP I saw that the Kavalkade Invictus pad with D30 seems to be the ultimate shock absorber due to the impact response of the material. The Invictus is about £130 on Horze and I couldn’t see any other brand using this material for saddle pads available in the UK, that was until just now.

so, has anyone heard of “microperformance”? they have full pads with d30 incorporated where a half pad might sit & retail at £45-55. Are they comparable to the Invictus?

 

[Boughtabay]

Acavallo*

 

[sbloom]

I’ve gone down a bit of a rabbit hole - after finding a thread on here while comparing avacallo & VIP I saw that the Kavalkade Invictus pad with D30 seems to be the ultimate shock absorber due to the impact response of the material. The Invictus is about £130 on Horze and I couldn’t see any other brand using this material for saddle pads available in the UK, that was until just now.

so, has anyone heard of “microperformance”? they have full pads with d30 incorporated where a half pad might sit & retail at £45-55. Are they comparable to the Invictus?

Not really, it's a great idea but the design isn't perfect, if they improve it then worth looking at again. Pockets are set much too wide apart and the pockets are stretchy allowing a little movement in the shims, they can overlap.

 

[Boughtabay]

Oh really, that’s a shame! I had hoped they’d be more stable as part of a whole numnah/less bulky than adding a half pad. I like the sound of the material

 

[Boughtabay]

Not really, it's a great idea but the design isn't perfect, if they improve it then worth looking at again. Pockets are set much too wide apart and the pockets are stretchy allowing a little movement in the shims, they can overlap.

Thanks for your reply

 

[MrsMyope]

They were a very good price so I bought 2 but had to send them back as they were shaped like a very high wither pad so it bunched under the pommel. The d30 panels were too far apart so part of the saddle panels were on the pad not the d30 and the fixing tabs had very stretchy elastic which was useless. Quality was lovely and they refunded me very quickly. However I did explain all the problems I had so if they have rectified them it would be a brilliant pad.

 

[sbloom]

Oh really, that’s a shame! I had hoped they’d be more stable as part of a whole numnah/less bulky than adding a half pad. I like the sound of the material

The half pad is super stable, it's not thick, and it does improve stability of the saddle in some cases.

 

[Boughtabay]

They were a very good price so I bought 2 but had to send them back as they were shaped like a very high wither pad so it bunched under the pommel. The d30 panels were too far apart so part of the saddle panels were on the pad not the d30 and the fixing tabs had very stretchy elastic which was useless. Quality was lovely and they refunded me very quickly. However I did explain all the problems I had so if they have rectified them it would be a brilliant pad.

I have ordered one just to try before I splurge on an invictus but my boy doesn’t have much of a wither so it doesn’t sound very promising. Glad to hear they’re good with returns though! It’s a shame as the idea of having it in the pad already is what drew me to it plus the price point. I’ll report back if there have been any useful design changes

 

[Cherryblossom]

I’ll have either a lightly used invictus necesse or a brand new shimmable one for sale if I can ever motivate myself to work out which to keep. If the one you’ve got doesn’t work out, feel free to pm me and we can see if we can make a deal!

 

[Boughtabay]

I’ll have either a lightly used invictus necesse or a brand new shimmable one for sale if I can ever motivate myself to work out which to keep. If the one you’ve got doesn’t work out, feel free to pm me and we can see if we can make a deal!

Ooh thankyou for letting me know! I’ll let you know how I get on with this one ?

 

[Boughtabay]

Update: the microperformance pad did have fit issues - the D30 parts are about an inch or two too low either side for the saddle pads. I have let them know so hopefully they’ll begin to modify the design if a few people have made them aware. Really helpful customer service & very contactable so it’s a shame. The pad itself fits beautifully, just the inserts are too low on mine. I do wonder if there’s a certain “type” of saddle it’s been designed/tested with because they do have pros using the pads either way not for us at the moment sadly!

 

[Pinkvboots]

Update: the microperformance pad did have fit issues - the D30 parts are about an inch or two too low either side for the saddle pads. I have let them know so hopefully they’ll begin to modify the design if a few people have made them aware. Really helpful customer service & very contactable so it’s a shame. The pad itself fits beautifully, just the inserts are too low on mine. I do wonder if there’s a certain “type” of saddle it’s been designed/tested with because they do have pros using the pads either way not for us at the moment sadly!

Thats a shame I was looking at them as I currently use the nuumed shim wool numnahs and mine are looking tatty so thought I would try something else, it looks like the pockets need to be a bit longer I can imaging some saddles will sit on the seems.

 

[sbloom]

Update: the microperformance pad did have fit issues - the D30 parts are about an inch or two too low either side for the saddle pads. I have let them know so hopefully they’ll begin to modify the design if a few people have made them aware. Really helpful customer service & very contactable so it’s a shame. The pad itself fits beautifully, just the inserts are too low on mine. I do wonder if there’s a certain “type” of saddle it’s been designed/tested with because they do have pros using the pads either way not for us at the moment sadly!

The owner has known for maybe 2 years, he's not had time to look at a redesign.

 

[Boughtabay]

The owner has known for maybe 2 years, he's not had time to look at a redesign.

that’s a shame -I’d consider it very good value for money if it sat where I wanted it to!!

 

[Hormonal Filly]

Just to bump this back up. Did you buy a Invictus OP?

Considering buying one. Would like some type of shock absorbing pad but can’t use sheepskin as it adjusts the fit to much.

 

[Boughtabay]

I have not yet I’ve been keeping an eye out for one second hand but they don’t pop up very often. They were recently on sale so I might wait for the next one …

 

[Jambarissa]

I went down this rabbit hole a while back but couldn't justify buying to see.

In the end I bought a sheet of poron xrd (similar to D30) and cut shims to fit a pad I already had.

I can't say I notice any difference but then I never had any issues. I did lots of experiments with the foam eg putting it on my leg and pressing a screwdriver into it really hard, sitting on my hands with the foam in between, putting it on my husbands back and standing on him All seemed very good. I'm using offcuts as insoles, they are excellent too.

 

[Boughtabay]

I’ve done it, I’ve ordered an invictus pad - I’ll let you all know what I think

 

[expanding_horizon]

I went down this rabbit hole a while back but couldn't justify buying to see.

In the end I bought a sheet of poron xrd (similar to D30) and cut shims to fit a pad I already had.

I can't say I notice any difference but then I never had any issues. I did lots of experiments with the foam eg putting it on my leg and pressing a screwdriver into it really hard, sitting on my hands with the foam in between, putting it on my husbands back and standing on him All seemed very good. I'm using offcuts as insoles, they are excellent too.

Ooh were did you order that from?

 

[Jambarissa]

Ooh were did you order that from?

Just looked through my emails but I can't find it. If you Google there are a few places.

6mm seems to be the recommended thickness but think I had to order a meter, so I bought a 3mm sheet and doubled up, very easy to cut. Was about 140x100 for £70ish.

They sell smaller sheets on ebay/amazon to cut your own insoles, worth checking those out.

Make sure you get the yellow stuff, I think the black is different.

 

[Boughtabay]

It has arrived - not put it on the horse yet, that’ll be tomorrow but first impressions are very good. It’s slimline no joints anywhere and appears (without horse) to fit nicely under the saddle, the panels sit where I’d expect and the spine is left clear. I’m not really expecting it to change his way of going because he’s not displaying any signs of discomfort BUT I’m hoping it’ll give his ever changing back a little extra protection between saddle checks

 

[Boughtabay]

Final update - it’s staying! It’s very slimline, fits nicely and horse went well with it on