February 18, 2015

Product Review: CWD Tack Cleaning Kit (But Really Just the Conditioner!)

One of the extras Mary gave me was a CWD tack cleaning kit.

It's sitting on a wine rack, if that helps with scale at all.

It's designed to hang on a stall when open, but I found that it also hangs nicely on a wine rack, for anyone who may be interested in combining their imbibing with their tack cleaning (cough cough Austen):

Elastic bands keep everything in place.


Inside is their cleaning soap (shown here open), a sponge, their conditioner, and a soft, velvety mitt for applying the conditioner.


I used the soap to clean my saddle, Micklem, and girth, and was not impressed.  It just didn't do that good of a job, coming from Higher Standards Leather Care as I do.  It appears to be glycerine based.  It did okay on the not-dirty saddle, but was fairly ineffective against my dirty girth.  I'll probably use it on the saddle because I should, but stick to Higher Standards for everything else.

Freshly cleaned saddle wearing its protective leather CWD hat.  I find the hat hilarious for some reason.


However.

The conditioner.

Oh my gosh.

I texted Mary and I was like "Where has the CWD conditioner been all my life?" and she was like "One of our best kept secrets!"

Not sure why this is a secret.  My tack has never felt this good.

In the can, it's a solid, soft and oily, and that's in a 64 degree house.  It would probably be liquid in a warm barn in the summer.  If you are familiar with Lederbalsam, it's softer and more wet, rather than waxy.



It comes with a an applicator mitt, which is awesome, because you can get conditioner all over the hand and work a large area on the saddle, or put it on the thumb and fingers and get both sides of your strapgoods at once.  Way faster than my paintbrush method with the Lederbalsam.


I swiped the mitt gently across the conditioner and swiped it gently across my tack to apply.  It glistened like it was wet.  Depending on the tack, between 10-60 minutes, it was completely absorbed, leaving even my cracked Micklem bit straps feeling soft and with a well-cared for gleam.  Plus no requirement to wipe off excess like the Lederbalsam, which leaves my tack feeling tacky.

Right after applying the oil.  This Nunn Finer bridle that I got used was not well taken care of in its previous life.  It started soaking up the conditioner immediately, you can already see it going in this picture.

Nunn Finer figure 8 in various stages of conditioner absorption.

Browband still soaking, but the bridle has absorbed it fully.

At $28.99 for a 200g tub, it's pretty pricey, but it also takes a lot less of this (and a lot less effort in applying it) to condition compared to my Lederbalsam, and I only condition once every 1-3 months, so I feel like it's a good value.  I'll definitely be buying this again when this tub runs out.

Two thumbs up!

17 comments:

  1. You say that like there's something wrong with getting completely shitcanned while scrubbing grime off your tack. Hello! Why do you think I clean it so much! ;)

    Btw: I gave up on the brush method with the lederbalsam. I just stick my fingers in an slather it on with my hand. The heat from my fingers helps it really soak in,

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    1. I more or less did the same with the lederbalsam, but this is like lederbalsam + heat without the effort. It's already so soft.

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  2. That hanging thing is worth the money alone! I need that!!

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  3. That is some nice conditioner. Can you even buy it without going through a rep?

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    1. Haha, clicked the link after I asked. Just ignore me.

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  4. Seriously, I want the hanging thing and a hat and a jacket. Not want, NEED.

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  5. nice! glad you're happy with the kit, even if the soap is meh. love the saddle hat too - wish my saddle had one on before my mare dumped it onto a driveway... ugh...

    also - slight side question: do you do anything for the brass clinchers on your brow band? i have the same one, but there's significant tarnishing in spots and i've been hesitant to dig into it for fear of messing up the leather...

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    1. I just sold that bridle! I actually did not try that hard to clean it, I only had it for a few months. It was quite tarnished though. I thought about trying some NeverDull on it.

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  6. Love the CWD conditioner. the soap sucks imo. But the conditioner is great. It's pretty much a less oily version of the Devoucoux stff that doesn't smell quite as sweet. Definitely my favorite conditioner.

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    1. Glad to hear someone agrees with me on the soap. It seriously didn't do a thing on my girth.

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  7. I've been debating getting the CWD conditioner for my CWD saddle, good to known it might be worth it. My bridle gets dry, I'd love to have a good conditioner a little stronger than the HS Stuff.

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    1. I have not heard great things about the HS conditioner, although the soap is very good. You might give this a try, it's really great.

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  8. Conditioner sounds like something I need!
    Newcomer to your blog, off to investigate a bit now. Can't wait to find out moar ☺

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    1. Welcome, nice to meet you! I'll have to start following yours too!

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  9. I got Prestige Conditioner with my saddle, and it changed my life!

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