OK, I'll bite. The best piece of tack I ever bought was one of the
SnugPaks from Sportack. They didn't have the size and color I wanted at
Tevis, but made one up and had it to me within ten days and it's worked
great ever since. It really doesn't bounce one bit and is worth every
penny, not that it was all that expensive to begin with.
The biggest bust is far and away the spring stirrup from Orthoflex.
They were very expensive and repeatedly broke every single time I rode
in them---at best, resulting in an aborted ride because the d**m thing
had broken AGAIN, at worst resulting in a break, a foot flying from the
stirrup and a bad fall and a pull during a ride that had cost me ALOT to
get to. The so-called "customer service" I got from Orthoflex went from
apathetic to rude to non-existent. I finally threw the stirrups away
because I couldn't face the guilt of selling them and having the blood
of someone else's injury or death on my hands, but I still grit my teeth
everytime I think about those things.
Susan Garlinghouse