The longevity of SKITO pads and misc. stuff

It has been a long time since I've mentioned how my SKITO pad is hanging in there.  When I originally purchased it the price was about $89 US.   A few years later that will buy about "half of it."  The price on them has shot up as much everything else in our world has.  I used this pad the first 1000 miles on my old arab mare, and it probably has an additional 500 + miles on it with Phebes.  I still put it in the washer and let it soak, then wash on gentle, air dry, and put the inserts back in.  It looks almost as good as the day I purchased it.  This pad has the polyblend backing and it has never given me a problem with either heat, or a sore back (my neoprene pad gave issues in the spring/summer months).     The only thing that could be better than having a SKITO would be having two of them.

Her back up pad is a Coolback Toklat which is a nice pad, but I'd probably prefer wool to the synthetic.  The synthetic can be a little slippery on her coat though we can manage with the breastcollar on.

Speaking of gear, I managed to snag two blue Rubbermaid BPA free water bottles with flip up caps at CVS of all places.  2 for $5.00   

I was a little worried about the flip up caps not having a good seal but brought them home and filled one up with water, snapped the lid shut and shook the crap out of it, turned it upside down even and it didn't leak, so I'm going to give these a try in the saddle.  They hold 20 oz. so the two of them should last me until the halfway on a warm day. The labeling peels off in case you are wondering and they should slide right into the Snugpax water bottle holders.  These come in several colors: Royal Blue cap, Green cap, and Red cap.  For the ladies that love purple, I didn't see purple. ~E.G.