cheryl makofka - 2014-03-04 3:25 PM From what Ed Wright said his pads and 5 stars to wool is processed at the same plant, his pads the will comes from Texas, whereas 5 star comes from china, talking raw form, not sure about this. From my understanding the Wright and 5 star are the only pads that are felted together, and with this the more heat and pressure, the pad will continue to felt, never tried an Ed Wright pad. I do have a 5 star and have had it for 10 years, I used to use it a lot haven't in the past 5 years, and no it is not as soft as when I first got it. I have looked at other 5 stars since then and the quality is not as good as it was when they first started IMO. For 200 dollars you aren't going to find a good quality saddle pad, you get what you pay for. If you want a true wool pad, you can get ones custom made where raw wool is used a gunnea sack and the wool is pulled through the sack. In my area I believe they are 180 new. It takes some time to decompress the wool when riding for the saddle not to roll, but they are soft and pliable. If you want a picture pm me and I can show you what they look like

cheryl makofka - 2014-03-04 3:25 PM

From what Ed Wright said his pads and 5 stars to wool is processed at the same plant, his pads the will comes from Texas, whereas 5 star comes from china, talking raw form, not sure about this.
From my understanding the Wright and 5 star are the only pads that are felted together, and with this the more heat and pressure, the pad will continue to felt, never tried an Ed Wright pad.

I do have a 5 star and have had it for 10 years, I used to use it a lot haven't in the past 5 years, and no it is not as soft as when I first got it. I have looked at other 5 stars since then and the quality is not as good as it was when they first started IMO.

For 200 dollars you aren't going to find a good quality saddle pad, you get what you pay for.

If you want a true wool pad, you can get ones custom made where raw wool is used a gunnea sack and the wool is pulled through the sack. In my area I believe they are 180 new. It takes some time to decompress the wool when riding for the saddle not to roll, but they are soft and pliable.

If you want a picture pm me and I can show you what they look like

MNcanchaser7 - 2014-03-04 3:01 PM I guess I'm comparing apples to Oranges with a 5 year old Ed pad and a 3 year old 5 star. I have certainly taken better care of my 5 star than I did the ed Wright pad. I guess my concern is, I remember the Ed pad being rather stiff when I first bought it. I have a 5 star with less than 5 rides on it and I swear I could sleep on it, it is so soft.. does anyone have a newer Ed pad? Is it fairly soft or stiffer than a 5 star?

Rockyroad - 2014-03-04 7:43 PM  The simple answer is you won't find a wool pad that is softer than the 5 Stars.  The reason is the amount of virgin wool in them.  Many wool pads advertise they are 100% wool, but it's kind of a "play on words."   First, some people refer to a "felt pad" or a "wool pad".  There is no such fiber as "felt" - it is a process.  There are 2 types - needled & pressed industrial felt(ing).  A great article that explains this is http://www.5starequineproducts.com/research-articles/saddle-pad-research/  .  Wool pads are first made with virgin wool & the amount varies among the different brands.  They have a % of virgin wool, then usually a % of "reworked" or reused wool, & then the balance is reworked other fibers - can be wool, cotton, polyester, etc - of course, the ones w/the higher amounts of poly, rayon, etc are the cheaper brands.  5 Star used to be 92% virgin wool in their natural (the heather gray ones) and 98% in the colored ones, but a couple yrs ago, they went to 100% virgin wool & they are the ONLY ones that are.  Yes, their felted sheets are felted at the same Canadian place as Slones, Wrights, etc - but ALL of the wool comes from the same place.  Each brand has their own "recipe" of how much virgin wool are in their pads.  They have in the range of 55-60% virgin.  The pressed industrial felt is also rated according to their amount of virgin wool & 5 Stars used to be F10 & F11 but are now closer to F9 due to using only the virgin wool.  What this also means, besides the 5 Stars being the softest, most conforming wool pad, they also have the highest compression/concussion rating of any of them.

I am tired - it has been a long day, so hopefully I am explaining well enough.    I know that article explains the differences between all kinds of pads - it is lengthy, but a good, informative read.

just4fun - 2014-03-04 11:11 PM  I have a 5-Star, but I'm not crazy about the "softness" that everyone else seems to love. To me, it's too floppy. However, I still use it every ride after 6+ years.

I love Slone pads, but couldn't afford a new one. So, I recently purchased a Smith Bros. 100% wool pad for about $50 on clearance and am loving it! It's not as soft as the 5-Star and the contour isn't as deep. Definitely worth the price though!

 

just4fun - 2014-03-04 11:11 PM

 I have a 5-Star, but I'm not crazy about the "softness" that everyone else seems to love. To me, it's too floppy. However, I still use it every ride after 6+ years.
I love Slone pads, but couldn't afford a new one. So, I recently purchased a Smith Bros. 100% wool pad for about $50 on clearance and am loving it! It's not as soft as the 5-Star and the contour isn't as deep. Definitely worth the price though!
 

Rockyroad - 2014-03-04 8:43 PM


 The simple answer is you won't find a wool pad that is softer than the 5 Stars.  The reason is the amount of virgin wool in them.  Many wool pads advertise they are 100% wool, but it's kind of a "play on words."   First, some people refer to a "felt pad" or a "wool pad".  There is no such fiber as "felt" - it is a process.  There are 2 types - needled & pressed industrial felt(ing).  A great article that explains this is http://www.5starequineproducts.com/research-articles/saddle-pad-research/  .  Wool pads are first made with virgin wool & the amount varies among the different brands.  They have a % of virgin wool, then usually a % of "reworked" or reused wool, & then the balance is reworked other fibers - can be wool, cotton, polyester, etc - of course, the ones w/the higher amounts of poly, rayon, etc are the cheaper brands.  5 Star used to be 92% virgin wool in their natural (the heather gray ones) and 98% in the colored ones, but a couple yrs ago, they went to 100% virgin wool & they are the ONLY ones that are.  Yes, their felted sheets are felted at the same Canadian place as Slones, Wrights, etc - but ALL of the wool comes from the same place.  Each brand has their own "recipe" of how much virgin wool are in their pads.  They have in the range of 55-60% virgin.  The pressed industrial felt is also rated according to their amount of virgin wool & 5 Stars used to be F10 & F11 but are now closer to F9 due to using only the virgin wool.  What this also means, besides the 5 Stars being the softest, most conforming wool pad, they also have the highest compression/concussion rating of any of them.
I am tired - it has been a long day, so hopefully I am explaining well enough.    I know that article explains the differences between all kinds of pads - it is lengthy, but a good, informative read.

cheryl makofka - 2014-03-05 11:33 AM


So you are telling me when I bought mine 10 years ago and 5 star guaranteed me it was 100 percent wool, they were lying, that is fraud.

Mine has no color so I got less wool then a coloured one. That just ****es me off, I bought my 5 star because it was 100 percent wool, and I designed mine myself and it cost me over 300.

So 10 years from now are we going to learn that the product they claimed was all wool in fact wasn't as they have already lied once and got away with it.

barrelracr131 - 2014-03-05 10:44 AM I think you misread what she wrote... there is a small percentage of reused wool, but it is all wool as I understood it. The %'s are for virgin wool I could be wrong but that is how I took it. I think she said the "cheaper" brands have the polyester, rayon, etc